Jordan’s Ajloun Governorate is located approximately 76 kilometres north of the capital, Amman. It sits atop green hills ranging from 600 to 1,250 meters above sea level, forming a natural gateway to the country’s north. Its unique topography and climate make Ajloun one of Jordan’s richest areas in terms of vegetation and natural forests.
However, the governorate is facing a crisis: unregulated and haphazard urban expansion and encroachment on the edges of natural forests is shrinking green spaces and threatening the future of biodiversity in one of northern Jordan’s richest ecological areas. The situation calls for an urgent, smart, and practical solution that seeks not only to mitigate the current impacts but also to improve the future of urban planning and prevent further environmental degradation.
Urban expansion versus green spaces
Field visits to areas such as Ishtafina and Ras Munif reveal a troubling reality: a major transformation of forest lands, the steady loss of green spaces, and their conversion into residential areas. Ishtafina, located in the northwest of Ajloun and sitting at an altitude of 800 to 900 meters, and Ras Munif, perched on a mountain peak about 1,190 meters in the northeast, are two of the governorate’s most important green areas. Yet both are experiencing continuous decline as urban expansion encroaches on their forest.
In addition to this, with fuel prices continuing to rise, some families have turned to cutting down trees for firewood, accelerating the depletion of vast forested areas. Perennial species such as juniper, olive, and evergreen oak are increasingly targeted by illegal logging and acts of arson, further weakening the already fragile vegetation cover in the governorate.
According to a report by the Jordanian Ministry of Agriculture, issued as part of the Agricultural Resources Development Project in Ajloun Governorate, forested land covers approximately 139,000 dunums (one dunum is equal to 1,000 square meters), while fruit tree cultivation spans around 157,000 dunums, nearly 48% of which is dedicated to olive trees. Yet, these vital green spaces face growing threats from continued encroachment, raising serious concerns among environmental experts and the local community.
Densely populated cities experience higher levels of heat stress, water scarcity, air pollution, and poor energy security compared to rural and suburban areas, a 2021 study in Nature Climate Change found. These disparities are largely attributed to patterns of urban planning and building density. The study also noted that materials like concrete and asphalt, used to cover large areas of cities, absorb and retain heat. This does not happen with green areas, which instead help mitigate the effects of extreme heat. “The landscape has changed a lot in recent years. The trees we used to play under as children have gradually disappeared, replaced by cement buildings and narrow, lifeless streets. There are now more houses than trees,” said Mohammad, a ocal resident living near the Ashtafina forest said.
The loopholes of legal protection
Despite existing legal protections, a gap persists between environmental legislation and the practices carried out by municipal authorities in the governorate. The Jordanian Agriculture Law of 2015 recognises forests as a national resource and prohibits construction or the establishment of facilities on forest land. Articles 36 and 37 of the law impose financial penalties and prison sentences for cutting down forest trees or encroaching on forest land.
However, in practice, the governorate has witnessed regulatory amendments that reclassify certain forested areas as residential or tourist zones. This reclassification enables their sale for the development of housing or resorts without a proper environmental impact assessment.
Field interviews with residents from areas such as Al-Junaid (Sakhrat Abin and Ablin) confirm the increasing pressure on residential land and raise concerns about municipalities accelerating land regulation without proper environmental assessments. This unchecked expansion poses an increasing threat to the remaining forested areas.
Omar, an elderly resident of the Abin area shared that there is significant population pressure in the area, and demand for residential land is increasing day by day. “This is pushing some municipalities to rush through planning without conducting adequate environmental studies or even an impact assessment of new projects, as if the forest doesn’t exist in this calculation,” he highlighted.
Proposed initiatives and solutions
As population pressure continues to mount and demand for residential development grows, Ajloun’s forests are caught between two competing needs: development and preservation. The situation cannot improve without the adoption of effective, forward-looking solutions. Some attempts to preserve forests and ecosystems despite urban expansion are emerging.
In 2024, the Clima-Med Project, funded by the European Union, organised a series of three consecutive workshops in Jordan to strengthen municipal capacities in climate planning and implementing adaptation and mitigation projects. The initiative supports cities in charting sustainable pathways to address the impacts of climate change, providing guidance to decision-makers in developing local climate action plans tailored to each municipality’s specific environmental challenges and needs.
As part of Jordan’s economic modernisation plan, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation has developed a 2023 strategy to enhance the country’s performance on quality-of-life and prosperity indicators. This strategy includes the management of urban expansion in a way that safeguards remaining green spaces.
In relation to climate justice and urban development, Jordan has also framed its National Urban Policy in Jordan (2024), a strategic model for sustainable urban development, based on the principles of inclusiveness, community participation, and improved management of water and environmental resources. The policy seeks to reduce uncontrolled urban sprawl and foster a more balanced integration between urban and rural areas, contributing to a fairer distribution of opportunities and services.
In line with these efforts, authorities are exploring the launch of “community forestry” programs, which would empower local communities to sustainably manage forests and benefit from them for tourism, in exchange for a commitment to protect them.
In an era where the global community increasingly embraces nature-based solutions, Ajloun stands out as a living case study on the urgent need to balance urban expansion with environmental protection, before the forest vanishes and its preservation becomes merely a memory.
