Restoring a lifeline: How Mercy Corps is helping Jordan with its water crisis

The global climate crisis is shrinking water reserves and making access to clean water difficult. One in three people do not have access to safe drinking water, and two out of five lack basic hand-washing facilities. In addition, overarching water insecurity—too little, too much, or too dirty water—is increasing in scale, scope, and impact as a result of climate change. Yet, the path to clean water in climate-insecure contexts is achievable, as Mercy Corps and Xylem Watermark found in Jordan. The two organizations will share the blueprint to their success at next month’s World Water Week in Stockholm.

What better place to try innovative solutions to remedy the water crisis than in Jordan, one of the most water-scarce countries, with one of the lowest per capita water availability levels in the world. The situation there has become even more acute in recent years as the country’s population nearly doubled from 2004 to 2015. Aquifers in Jordan are drained faster than they can be replenished, and this is only exacerbated by climate change. The result is increased tension and disruption in the country, when water demand outpaces water availability.

In 2021, in this challenging context, Xylem, a water technology company, funded Mercy Corps’ pilot project called Livelihoods and Environmental Actions for Development (LEAD), through Watermark, Xylem’s corporate social responsibility program. LEAD is a dynamic, multi-phase initiative tailored for Zubaireya Village, Jordan.

Its mission is to encourage the autonomy of local community-based organizations, smallholder farmers, food producers, and youth, fostering sustainable resource management and reinforcing rural livelihoods. Targeting three pivotal sectors—water security, food security, and economic development—LEAD conducted social and technical research to identify community needs. The overall goal was to improve water infrastructure, water and agriculture practices, and facilitate increased access to more profitable and reliable markets for targeted smallholder farmers, food producers, women and youth so the community would be better equipped to manage their water sources and sustain their livelihoods, thus improving their resilience in response to climate change.

Ahmad is one of the farmers who saw a way forward with help from Mercy Corps’ LEAD project. He has been caring for a crop of olive trees on his property for years; some are 100 years old. Because of the chronic water shortages in recent years in Jordan, the crops have suffered.

“Over the years, we have witnessed an increasing demand for water due to a rise in agricultural activities, which has led to a scarcity of water during the summer months,” Ahmad said. “This situation compelled me to explore innovative solutions for water conservation.”

The LEAD team conducted four workshops covering water security, agricultural management, marketing, and livelihood generation. Ahmad was offered a subgrant to purchase essential equipment and a full grant to carry out the project. Although his initial motivation was to reduce his water bill, he shared that grey water has countless benefits.

“The grey water system not only helps with water conservation but also allows us to repurpose food leftovers as compost for the trees,” he said. “It’s essential to take care of our environment and resources for future generations.”

Through LEAD, Mercy Corps supported 100 smallholder farmers, food producers, and 140 youth to enhance their livelihoods and access digital business opportunities. The program replaced 200 flow meters, rehabilitated one pump station, revitalized one water tank, established a new chlorination system, and installed a new PV system. In all, the water pipeline system was completely rejuvenated.

The project has now been developed into a fully-fledged and funded project that can be replicated across the country, thanks largely to Xylem Watermark’s original investment.

“Without the essential support from Xylem and other private sector partners like them, Mercy Corps wouldn’t have the seed funding needed to test and scale new ideas, expand proven solutions, and unlock barriers to further philanthropic support toward bold climate action,” said Kate Edelen, Mercy Corps Director of Water Security.

Xylem Watermark is one of Mercy Corps’ Climate: Possible anchor donors. Climate: Possible is a campaign that builds on the organization’s decades of experience partnering with communities to solve urgent challenges while creating transformative opportunities that help communities cope, adapt, and build lasting climate resilience solutions.

"We feel privileged to work with partners like Mercy Corps, who are not only supporting communities facing climate-related disasters with immediate support but helping communities build long-term resilience through new and transformative approaches." said Austin Alexander, Xylem Vice President of Sustainability and Social Impact.

At Mercy Corps, we hope to collaborate with Xylem and other private sector partners as we continue working toward a world where everyone has access to clean water.

This story was originally published by Global WA.