Strengthening the Social Stability and Resilience of Vulnerable Jordanian Communities and Syrian Refugees in Amman Against Flash Floods

Strengthening the Social Stability and Resilience of Vulnerable Jordanian Communities and Syrian Refugees in Amman Against Flash Floods is a flood mitigation project in the capital city of Jordan. This project tackles flooding that arises from rapid, unplanned urbanization^{1 2}. This situation is intensifying vulnerabilities for the most economically disadvantaged sectors of both Jordanians and Syrian refugees, leading to a decline in their access to essential quality services. To tackle this issue, UN-Habitat Jordan established this project and implemented it in collaboration with the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM). The expected outcomes of the project included improved protection of selected sites, reduced vulnerabilities of refugees and local communities, and enhanced capacities within government and communities in managing flash floods in the city³.

The project aims to enhance the resilience and capabilities of both the government and the community in effectively managing flash floods. It will accomplish this by implementing a holistic and integrated response through the following key strategies and interventions that will meet the objectives and establish sustainable and expandable results⁴:

• Flood Risk Assessment and Flood Hazard Mapping of Downtown Amman Study conducted for Amman pinpointed areas prone to flooding, enabling the implementation of short, medium, and long-term solutions to address the issue.
• City Resilience Action Planning Tool (CityRAP) which is a participatory resilience planning methodology that empowers communities to comprehend and strategize actions for risk reduction and resilience enhancement. This is achieved by crafting a Resilience Framework for Action in a systematic step-by-step approach.
• Green Infrastructure Pilot Projects: two pilot projects were implemented, the Water harvesting systems installation and green pockets initiative, and Al Zohour Green Triangle.
• Capacity Building of Local Communities and Officials through training workshops and trainings.
• Awareness Raising Campaigns aimed to enhance community understanding and awareness of flood risks and to empower them to participate in the execution of the suggested solutions⁵.

The implementation of the participatory City Resilience Action Planning tool (CityRAP), specifically modified to address the issue of flash floods, took place in 2021⁶. The tool helped identify a number of concerns within the community, including the dangers faced by school-going children during flash floods⁷. The same year, a flood risk assessment and hazard mapping of the city, assisted in the prioritization and selection of a pilot project⁸. In 2022, the pilot project Al Zohour green triangle, based on the Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS), was inaugurated⁹. As a result, the project aims to indirectly benefit around 35,000 people living in Downtown Amman¹⁰.

The project was implemented by UN-Habitat Jordan in collaboration with Greater Amman Municipality¹¹. The total cost of the project was $978,000, funded by the government of Japan through the Japan Supplementary Budget¹².