Dam protection in Jordan/ Reducing erosion in northern Jordan through employment intensive measures in northern Jordan -Ziglab Dam (Sharhabeel) in Irbid Governorate.

Ziglab Dam feeds many of the northern Ghor plantations. Its main source is a cold river coming from the village of Marhaba. The river has many pools and waterfalls and slides. The area is an immigrant bird resting station and archaeologists have found many Neolithic and iron age artefacts there. The lake is clean and cold and has an expansion of 3 football fields. Nevertheless, due to our hot summers the lake shrinks and is out of service from the end of September until the first heavy rains of winter.

Dam protection in Jordan/ Reducing erosion in northern Jordan through employment intensive measures in northern Jordan -Ziglab Dam (Sharhabeel) in Irbid Governorate.

The project aims to:

  • To improve the living conditions for Jordanian and Syrian families in need through employment intensive measures.
  • To reduce erosion in dam catchment area while supporting the basic needs of vulnerable Jordanians and Syrians 
  • Prevent flood events in Za’atari Camp while creating short term incoming generating activities for Syrian Refugees

IUCN anticipates technical work to follow three main streams:

  1. Rehabilitation: cleaning the main wadies in the catchment zone and removing big rocks and stones in the wadies to assure efficient movement to the selected sites. The rehabilitation activities will occur prior to the construction works.
  2. Construction and excavation works:  excavating trenches, tunnels and contour bonding; building gabions, tunnel gabions, terraces and dikes.
  3. Forestation and planting: plant around 2,000 trees on the land around the dam, steep land, and close to the erosion activities along the catchment wadies. The forestation and planting will occur following the completion of the construction and excavation works.
  • Funded By: The German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ)
  • Executed By: IUCN ROWA 
  • In collaborations with: Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), Horizons for Green Development, and REACH.