Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05AMMAN5907
2005-07-25 13:27:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

Jordan's Request for Science Fellows

Tags:  SENV EAID TSPL TPHY TBIO KSCA JO 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005907 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR OES/STC, OES/ENV, AND OES/PCI
STATE ALSO FOR OES - PDAS ROCK, DAS MCMURRAY
EPA FOR ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR AYRES

E.O. 12658: N.A.
TAGS: SENV EAID TSPL TPHY TBIO KSCA JO
SUBJECT: Jordan's Request for Science Fellows

REFS: (A) State 123789
(B) Amman 3794
(C) Amman 3358

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005907

SIPDIS

STATE FOR OES/STC, OES/ENV, AND OES/PCI
STATE ALSO FOR OES - PDAS ROCK, DAS MCMURRAY
EPA FOR ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR AYRES

E.O. 12658: N.A.
TAGS: SENV EAID TSPL TPHY TBIO KSCA JO
SUBJECT: Jordan's Request for Science Fellows

REFS: (A) State 123789
(B) Amman 3794
(C) Amman 3358


1. Summary: Post requests four Embassy Science Fellows (Ref
A). One Science Fellow would fill a longstanding commitment
to the Government of Jordan under the Joint Environmental
Forum (JEF) of the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement to
provide an environmental economist. The second fellow would
conduct a comprehensive review of science and technology
capabilities in Jordan. We expect the first Fellow to come
from EPA, the second from the National Science Foundation.
Two more fellows from the EPA would be welcome to conduct a
landfill site remediation assessment, and to assess an
industrial liquid waste facility. Although timing is
somewhat flexible, post would best be able to accommodate
Science Fellows from September through December, 2005. End
summary.

EPA Environmental Economist
--------------


2. The first U.S.-Jordan Joint Environmental Forum was
convened under the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement. The
Plan of Action from the JEF signed on September 14, 2004 by
OES PDAS Rock and then-Minister of Environment Alia Bouran
called for an environmental economist from the United States
to visit Jordan and advise the Ministry of Environment (MOE)
on establishing economically sustainable ways to support
environmental protection in Jordan. Our request is for a
Science Fellow (Ref A) from EPA to come to Jordan to meet
this longstanding USG obligation.


3. Three consecutive Ministers have expressed their
interest in this project, and Embassy Amman fully supports
it as well (RefS B, C). The Ministry of Environment is very
interested in having the environmental economist come to
Amman as soon as possible, and it has provided a work
strategy paper to the Embassy and to EPA that lays out MOE's
plan for employing the economist.


4. We expect that the environmental economist would be in
Amman for 2-3 months, and that most of that person's time
would be spent at the Ministry of Environment itself,

interacting with top-level officials there, including the
Minister, to design national programs and present options
for decisions.


5. The current Minister of Environment Khaled Irani is
personally interested in hosting an environmental economist
at the ministry. The minister also represents a resource
for the USG in implementing economically friendly
environmental planning and projects. He previously headed
the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature that
manages eco-tourism facilities in Jordan, linked ecotourism
and local development, and uses free-market mechanisms
widely to support its work. We need to move quickly to take
advantage of Irani's presence in the Minister's suite at
MOE.

NSF Fellow for Evaluation of S&T in Jordan
--------------


6. Our second request for a 2005-2006 Science Fellow (ref
A) is for a person from the National Science Foundation to
visit Jordan for 2-3 months to make a comprehensive overview
of Jordan's S&T capability. This would include on-the-
ground assessments of science and technology at Jordan's
major universities, governmental institutions and quasi-
governmental organizations such as the Higher Council for
Science and Technology and the Royal Scientific Society.
The President of the 17,000-student Jordan University of
Science and Technology (JUST) and the President of Al-Balqa
Applied University have both made personal appeals directly
to Embassy officers to expand S&T cooperation between their
universities and American institutions.


7. An NSF overview of the current strengths and weaknesses
in Jordan's S&T sector would be extremely helpful in
allowing the USG to target specific areas of S&T that would
be most useful to both Jordan and the United States. In
addition, Jordan is in a position to be a regional center
for S&T. Jordan is home to a large population of foreign
students from around the Arab world, and it has taken
several concrete steps to assist Iraqi reconstruction
specifically in S&T. It is strongly in our own interest to
evaluate Jordan's S&T sector, as it will play an important
role in regional development.

EPA Fellow for Landfill Site Remediation Assessment
-------------- --------------


8. Post requests a third, one-month Fellow, most likely
from EPA, to visit Jordan to assess the Russeifah municipal
solid waste facility and mine tailings which create large
amounts of dust. The site is now closed but contaminants
may pose a health risk. USAID and other donors are working
with Jordanian government agencies to address the problems
at this but urgently need an overall assessment from an
experienced professional to set the course for action.
Experience in analyzing, prioritizing solid waste issues and
charting a course of action including possible budget
estimates are the skills that this person would need to
bring to the table.

EPA Fellow to Assess Industrial Liquid Waste Site
-------------- --------------


9. Finally, Post and the Government of Jordan are both
keenly interested in having an EPA Science Fellow for one
month to assess an industrial liquid waste facility that is
near the Syrian border. A variety of industrial wastes have
been dumped into holding ponds with little or no planning
for their remediation. Ideally, the Fellow would assess the
situation, outline a plan for remediating the site, and
train Ministry of Environment officials on how the
assessment and remediation plans are developed.

Amman Has Hosted Previous Science Fellows
--------------


10. Embassy Amman has previously hosted Embassy Science
Fellows from both EPA and from USDA. The work of EPA
Science Fellow Rick Baird in April 2004 was a cornerstone in
cementing the strategy of the Ministry of Environment, and
led directly to the current request for an environmental
economist. The Embassy is familiar with the program and its
obligations. Arrangements will be made in conjunction with
the sending agency for specifics on timing and length of
stay, office space, residential space and local travel.

General Requirements
--------------


11. Although Arabic language skills would of course be
welcome, they are not required. Jordan's educational and
governmental officials are virtually universally fluent in
English. Furthermore, there is strong respect for the
United States' S&T institutions, and Fellows would receive
top-level support from their Jordanian counterparts.


12. Fellows will have a chance to influence policies and
programs at the top level in a country critical to U.S.
foreign policy interests. The Fellows will also have a
great degree of personal autonomy to make recommendations
and design their own in-country work plans. These are not
cookie-cutter jobs. The Embassy will support Fellows with
resources, introductions and ideas but the ultimate work
product will be heavily influenced by the Fellow's own ideas
and contributions, not by a plan laid out in advance by
others.

Background on Jordan
--------------


13. As of July 24, hardship differential at Embassy Amman
was 5% and administrative danger pay was 15%. Many Embassy
employees have their families, including schoolchildren, in
Amman. Jordan is also the home of several globally
recognized cultural and recreational sites such as Petra,
Jerash and the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan's climate is pleasant,
sunny and dry, not unlike parts of Arizona and New Mexico.

HALE