Historical Outline of Water Resources Development in the Lower Jordan River Basin

Abstract

"The Jordan River is a multinational river flowing southwards through Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Jordan and Palestine. It is totally developed except for the flow of its largest tributary., the Yarmouk River, which forms the boundary between Syria and Jordan before joining the Jordan River, downstream of Lake Tiberias, and forms the border between Israel, Palestine and Jordan. "In this paper, the historical development of the Jordan River basin in Jordan, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (HKJ), is addressed, highlighting the most significant factors that have played a role in the process to date. Water for irrigation was and still consitutes the largest share of water use. Thus the focus of this paper is mainly on the exploitation of the water resources of the Jordan River basin in Jordan for irrigation purposes. The scope to cover other uses would be complementary."