| Abstract: | Despite looming water shortages in Jordan, the country lacks a coherent water policy and has no recognized institutional mechan ism to create one. D urin g the last 30 years, this critical problem has largely been addressed by physical infrastructu re developm ent in the public sector and grou ndwater exploitation in the private. These efforts are not meeting the increasing dem ands of all competing sectors. This paper analyses possible future water policies in Jordan using decision support system s. An analytical hierarchy process is used to break policies in to compon ent parts, then synthesize and an alyse them in the context of constraints and scenarios in Jordan for the year 2010. The paper argues that Jordan mu st give priority to the efficient m anagement of water resources at the regional level. This includes institutional restructuring, new water pricing strategies, importation of water, and water desalination. |
