Karak’s Fifa Nature Reserve registers as world’s lowest wetland

AMMAN — Fifa Nature Reserve in Karak Governorate has joined the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, becoming the world’s lowest Ramsar Site.

With the recent declaration of Fifa Nature Reserve as a wetland of international importance, Jordan now hosts two Ramsar sites, including the Azraq Wetland Reserve, which joined the convention in 1977, becoming the first wetland of international importance in the Arab world, according to the Ramsar convention website.

With the Fifa Nature Reserve’s lowest point standing at 420 metres below sea level, the Ramsar convention described its newest addition as the world’s lowest wetland of international importance.

The site lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, south of the Dead Sea, in the southwestern part of the Kingdom. It is fed by water from various sources, including natural permanent springs, artificial irrigation and seasonal water, which drains from four wadis or valleys, according to Ramsar convention website.

The Fifa wetland is a major lifeline for the people living around it, as it provides water for irrigation and drinking water. It supports the hydrological balance of the valley, controlling floods by receiving a large amount of rain water which flows onwards to the Dead Sea. It also supports two globally vulnerable species, the Macqueen’s bustard and the Dabb lizard, the website indicated.

Fifa was declared a reserve in 2011 by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), which is mandated by the government to establish and manage the country’s nature reserves.

It is located 140 kilometres south of Amman, bordered to the west by the West Bank, according to the RSCN.

Covering an area of 23.2 square kilometres, Fifa protects seven endangered plants and animal species, including the Arak plant, the lynx and the hyena. In addition, it is home to 4 per cent of the country’s plant species and 8 per cent of animal species, the RSCN website indicated.

RSCN Director Yehya Khaled highlighted the recent registration as an accomplishment and a milestone in the society’s efforts to protect nature and ensure a sustainable use of its resources.

“But now that it is announced as a wetland of international importance, so much work lies ahead to ensure a wise use of its natural resources and to protect such an international site,” Khaled underscored.

The Ramsar Convention is the intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and their resources. The Convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. Since then, almost 90 per cent of UN member states, from all the world’s geographic regions, have become “Contracting Parties”, according to the convention’s website.

Jordan’s two sites designated as wetlands of international importance cover a surface area of around 134.72 square kilometres, according to the website.