Building Sustainable Reuse in Jordan Using Social Marketing Tools

The formal practice of wastewater reuse in Jordan has grown significantly over the last several years through the commitment of the government of Jordan (GOJ) and the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). A national policy has been established to support reuse of treated wastewater and standards have been developed to regulate how reuse is performed in agricultural and industrial applications. A National Water Reuse Coordination Committee (NWRCC) has been established to guide policy implementation and further development. This body is supported by a Water Reuse and Environment Unit (WREU) within the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) whose purpose is to support the reuse of treated wastewater and encourage expansion to additional users. Successful agricultural demonstration activities have been implemented with various GOJ and private partners throughout Jordan. Demonstration activities have more recently extended to include urban landscaping and industrial applications of reuse. Nevertheless, for reuse to remain a safe and permanent practice in Jordan, the practice must be fully integrated into community development thereby requiring at least a basic level of public understanding and acceptance, financial and social encouragement to reuse, and master planning for continued growth of reuse applications. The USAID-supported Reuse for Industry Agriculture and Landscaping (RIAL) Project is addressing these broader sustainability issues in part by utilizing behavior change tools typical of social marketing programs, including developing commitment, developing prompts, creating community norms, communicating, developing incentives, and removing external barriers to reuse.