Assessing the impact of urban governance system on forest degradation: The case of Barqash Forests - Jordan
Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Natural forests in Jordan are a cornerstone of sustainable development.They support biodiversity, support good quality soil and water, fight climate change, and are essential to provide a livelihood for the locals.However, they only encompass about 1.1 percent of the country (≈98,000 hectares), and a reported 89 percent lie under private ownership.In a country where roughly 90% of the land is drylands, the impact of climate change, water scarcity, population expansion, and rapid urbanization combine to drive up deforestation and land degradation.As such, these dynamics impede policymakers' attempts to oversee forestlands and strike a balance between environmental, social, and economic outcomes.The study identifies the relevant authorities, coordination mechanisms, and stakeholder collaborations of appropriate sectors in the current policy framework available in Jordan and highlights their role in forest conservation policies more generally.It also examines the ways land ownership structures condition policy effectiveness and frame different actors towards policy enforcement.Based on the mixed methods design and using the case of Barqash Forests, the research is based on the content analysis of main strategies, policies, and action plans by the national governments for forest management.Empirical data were collected from 34 semi-structured in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in forest stewardship, and 214 community surveys on local views of responsibilities and practices for the maintenance of natural forests.Findings reveal that forest degradation results from interlocking administrative, legislative, economic, and social aspects.Governance is focused primarily on three major ministries: the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and the Ministry of Environment.In practice, these authorities work in parallel, without common holistic programs.While integrated, long-term management plans are nascent.Poor inter-agency coordination, a lack of a modern forest tenure regime, fragmented ownership, and the absence of a single national database impede effective implementation.State protection (law bimensal, leasing, or exchange of forests), as against fewer state restrictions on privately owned forests, means that publicly owned forests are less degraded and the states allow greater developmental and investment activities, but privately owned forests are more vulnerable to conversion and ecological degradation.The study suggests, to sustain the future existence of Jordan's forest ecosystems and promote targeted SDGs of the sustainable forest ecosystem, (1) strengthening legal and policy instruments to determine mandates and fill enforcement gaps; (2) institutionalizing inter-agency coordination and data sharing via an integrated national forest information system; (3) promoting sustainable forest management that considers diversity of ownership; (4) entrenching community-led frameworks that acknowledge local stewardship and motivation, and (5) developing and implement ecotourism initiatives that generate livelihoods while enhancing conservation objectives.Together, these actions will serve to realign governance, ownership, and practice toward effective forest preservation in Jordan.
Source: ISOCARP World Planning Congress
DOI: 10.47472/ra6gdpfi
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7163387593