Petra National Trust joins campaign to save Dibbeen forest

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By Cheryl Haines 

AMMAN— Petra National Trust has joined the Kingdom’s environmental circles in petitioning against the construction of a JD100 million tourism complex in Dibbeen.

Environmentalists fear the ecological ramifications of the proposed 500-dunum complex —  a joint venture by Jordan Dubai Capital (JDC) and the Social Security Corporation.

“You can’t see natural heritage as separate from cultural heritage,” Aysar Akrawi, Executive Director of Petra National Trust told the Jordan Times. 

“Petra National Trust is concerned with [Jordan’s] natural heritage… you cannot divide concern over       heritage and natural diversity,“ she explained, adding that the organisation was approached by the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN), who is spearheading the “Stop the Dibbeen Tragedy” campaign to raise awareness about the construction in one of country’s few remaining forests, which is the most southerly natural pine forest in the world.

Petra National Trust has been operating since 1989 with a mandate to preserve the Kingdom’s antiquarian and cultural heritage sites.

JDC and Eco-Consult, an environmental consulting agency, submitted the terms of reference for the proposed project to the Ministry of Environment at a scoping session in early December. 

The terms constitute a list of specifications relating to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which is required under the Kingdom’s environmental protection act if the ministry decides to go through with the project.

The terms includes methods of site analysis, qualification of those involved in the assessment and the relevant environmental regulations.

In the presence of concerned parties, including the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the Jordan Environment Society, the terms of  reference was rejected for being too subjective by focusing on the social benefits the proposed project would reap for the citizens of Dibbeen’s surrounding area.

According to an official source, the original TOR did not take into account the damage the project would inflict on the forest’s biodiversity.

Acknowledging that Dibbeen’s citizens could benefit from investment, APN Director Razan Zuayter believes that a site nearby the Dibbeen forest should be considered as an alternative location by investors.

“What we see as development differs from what [investors] see as development. A five-star hotel and property for sale is not development,” Zuayter told The Jordan Times.

“If we work together [with Petra National Trust] and continue our campaigning, I hope the project will stop,” she said, adding that last year’s campaign was successful in stopping a proposed amendment to the Agricultural Law No. 44, which would have allowed the sale, lease and/or commission of state forest lands to private investors.

In January 2006, the RSCN launched the “Save Jordan’s Trees” petition, which was signed by 1,800 concerned citizens. In February 2006, the Senate Legal Affair’s Agriculture and Water Committee rejected the amendment.

It is illegal for investors to build in any of the Kingdom’s natural reserves, although the Ministry of Agriculture has the final say on whether construction on any plot of land goes through.

A revised terms of reference for the Dibbeen project was to be submitted in January, but according to an official from APN, a new draft was given to the ministry last week.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, contacted by The Jordan Times, declined comment, but noted that the ministry will make its official stance clear on the future of the proposed complex in the coming week. 

Less than one per cent of Jordan’s total area is forested. The proposed project lying adjacent to the Dibbeen reserve would see 160 trees cut down out of a total 9,000, calculated after a topographic study was carried out by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature last year.