Jordanian conservationists and environmental activists are up in arms over a government decision to move the boundaries of one of Jordan’s most diverse nature reserves in order to carry out copper mining in a region known to be rich in copper and magnesium ore deposits. The controversy started when the Ministry of Energy announced Aug. 20 that it plans to expropriate about 106 square kilometers (66 square miles) of the Dana Nature Reserve in southern Jordan — one-third of the total area of the reserve — for copper mining. It cited previous studies that concluded that there are roughly 45 million tons of copper deposits within the reserve’s boundaries.
It said in a statement that mining the area would create 3,500 new jobs with an initial investment of 200 million Jordanian dinars ($280 million). It added that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with a local mining company in 2016 but the company had withdrawn because the reserve’s administration had prevented its employees from entering it numerous times.
The reserve, established in 1989 and renamed the Dana Biosphere Reserve in 1993, covers a rugged landscape along the Great Rift Valley that includes a series of mountain ridges, plateaus and desert plains. According to UNESCO, the reserve encompasses four different biogeographic zones: Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian and Saharo Arabian as well as the Sudanian Penetration Zone, and is home to endangered species. It is under consideration by UNESCO for inclusion into the World Network of Biosphere Reserves and experts warn that resetting the boundaries of the reserve and allowing mining would prompt the reevaluation of the application and could lead to rejection.
The reserve is run by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), which was quick to reject the government decision and refuted the Energy Ministry's claims about the feasibility of copper mining in the region. RSCN Chair Khalid Irani told Al-Monitor that the government had not consulted the society about redrawing the reserve’s borders and described the decision as “a black day” for the kingdom. He said society is looking into legal ways to oppose the decision.
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