By Hana Namrouqa

AMMAN – Shrinking green cover and decreasing surface water flow due to climate change are threatening Jordan’s unique biodiversity, according to reports to be launched today.

Implemented by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), the reports predict a regular increase in temperatures in Jordan by the end of the 21st century.

The reports’ authors expect a 3.5ºC rise in temperatures in winter and a 4.5ºC rise in temperatures in summer by the end of the century.

The three reports, which will be launched today at Wild Jordan in Jabal Amman, investigate the impact of climate change on Jordan’s biological diversity.

Hussein Kiswani, a climate change researcher from the RSCN’s project on integrated management of ecosystems in the Jordan Rift Valley, said the reports analyse change in the primary productivity of plants and impacting factors, such as wild fires and surface water flow.

The RSCN conservationist underscored that biodiversity degradation is one of the major outcomes of climate change, necessitating studies that analyse its effect on the country’s ecosystems.

He said such studies will help enhance RSCN’s protection efforts and programmes carried out in its nature reserves and special conservation areas across the country.

The Middle East, one of the driest regions in the world, is expected to witness shifting rainfall patterns due to climate change, which will result in less freshwater for the region’s growing population, according to international reports.

In “The Blue Peace: Rethinking Middle East Water” report, launched in February, experts predict that effects of climate change will start affecting the region within 50-100 years.

The report indicated that Jordan, among other countries in the region, including the Palestinian territories and Israel, are already experiencing climatic changes.

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