Environment and Climate in the Middle East

news, conferences, policy discussions and academic publications on environmental issues and climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean

Environment and Climate in the Middle East

Archives for December, 2010

Valleys of Hope and Despair – Al Jazeera video

The story of how Palestinians and Israelis in one West Bank village are working together to preserve water supplies. Filmmaker: Joshka Wessels The battle over access to clean water sources is ongoing across the West Bank, with illegal Israeli settlements frequently blocking access and polluting Palestinian farmers’ irrigation. JOIN THE DEBATE Send us your views […]

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Water prices to remain the same for households – Jerusalem Post

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 12/20/2010 04:08 Price of water for agriculture, industry, hospitals and any other non-residential sector will rise in January. The Water Authority Council decided late last week not to raise water prices again for households, as it had planned to do next month. Given the lack of rain and the uncertainty of […]

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‘Disi project back on track’ – Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Two hundred kilometres of pipes for the Disi Water Conveyance Project have been delivered to the Kingdom, with the project set to be completed by its 2013 deadline, a government source said on Thursday. With the most recent shipment of pipes from Turkey, which arrived earlier this month, an additional […]

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Sweden promoting joint water R&D with Israel – Jerusalem Post

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH 12/16/2010 03:28 Envoy aiming to save water while creating ‘scientific cooperation between our countries;’ J’lem students win top prize in Stockholm. Sweden’s new ambassador to Israel, Elinor Hammarskjöld, said on Wednesday that although her country has an abundance of clean water, it is still concerned about the world’s lack of it and […]

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Ministry to urge farmers to ration groundwater – Jordan Times

By Mohammad Ghazal AMMAN – The Ministry of Water and Irrigation will soon meet with farmers and well owners across the country to highlight the importance of rationing the use of depleting underground water resources, an official said on Sunday. In light of this year’s disappointing rainy season, the ministry will meet with farmers and […]

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‘Built environment our greatest challenge’ – Jordan Times

AMMAN (JT) – HRH Princess Sumaya on Wednesday underscored that “the built environment is our greatest challenge in dealing with a threatening resource crisis”. “Globally, construction of the built environment is estimated to consume over 50 per cent of natural material resources,” noted the Princess, who is president of the Royal Scientific Society and founder […]

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Activists stage protests against plans to incinerate waste – Daily Star

BEIRUT: Civil and environmental groups launched activities nationwide Sunday to protest against Cabinet plans to install waste incinerators and to call for adherence to the zero waste concept in Lebanon. The protest features over 100 activities including concerts, cleaning campaigns, demonstrations and the distribution of brochures throughout Lebanon. The campaign, which came on the occasion […]

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Last one standing – Haaretz

In the wake of the disastrous Carmel fire, Israel must deal with the fact that there is but a single professional in forestry science working in the country By Zafrir Rinat Forests and wooded areas, from the Galilee via the Carmel and down to the northern Negev, are perhaps the most obvious change wrought by […]

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Carmel forest – plant or wait? – YNET

Forestry experts caution that best road to recovery after worst wildfire in Israel’s history may be to do nothing and let nature take its course; idea running into resistance Associated Press Published: 12.16.10, 07:45 For more than a century, planting trees in this mostly desert land has been an act of almost spiritual importance, starting […]

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Scientists to view 1,200 newly discovered sea creatures – Jerusalem Post

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH 12/19/2010 03:40 First world “census” of marine life to take place in Jerusalem, with 3,000 scientists from 80 countries participating. Some 1,200 new species and varieties have been discovered during the just-concluded first world “census” of marine life. The director of the census, Jesse Ausubel, will participate in a conference on Monday […]

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Israel’s Clean-Tech Boom Draws A New Green Line [NPR]

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro November 28, 2010 link to article Israelis often explain the policy choices they make by saying they live in a difficult neighborhood, and this is no exception. Israel wants to be at the forefront of innovation in alternative energy, and it’s investing hundreds of millions of dollars to do it. That money […]

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Decision regarding future of Dead Sea hotels expected soon – Jerusalem Post

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 12/15/2010 01:39 Hoteliers, green groups say public will stay away if solution to salt buildup means massive reconstruction. Ahead of an expected decision by Tourism Minister Stas Mezesnikov regarding the fate of hotels at the southern end of the Dead Sea – where the water level is rising due to a […]

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Don’t raze Dead Sea hotels, dredge the salt, say greens – Haaretz

Environmental protection organizations and the Dead Sea hotels have found common ground: They hate the idea of razing the hotels and rebuilding them elsewhere. By Zafrir Rinat and Meirav Arlosoroff Environmental protection organizations and the Dead Sea hotels have found common ground: They hate the idea of razing the hotels and rebuilding them elsewhere. Both […]

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USAID and the PWA Inaugurate a Newly Built Water Reservoir in Bani Nai’m – Reliefweb

Source: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Date: 01 Dec 2010 Bani Na’im – On Wednesday, December 1, 2010, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and representatives of the Palestinian Authority (PA) together with other dignitaries celebrated the completion of the newly constructed Bani Na’im Water Reservoir. The inauguration was attended by […]

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J’lem teens develop system to detect, stop water leaks – Jerusalem Post

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH 12/15/2010 06:13 The prize-winning computerized device invented by two 19-year-olds measures household water consumption to avoid waste. Talkbacks (6) A user-friendly computerized device that detects water leaks in apartments, buildings, factories and neighborhoods in real time and can even halt the water flow is among the top winners of this year’s Stockholm […]

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Israel antiquities chief: Caeserea storm damage a ‘national disaster’ – Haaretz

Authorities are working to clean up Caeserea National Park, which was hit hard during last weekend’s strong winter storm. srael Antiquities Authority head Shuka Dorfman toured the Caesarea National Park on Wednesday, and called the damage caused to the park during last weekend’s strong winter storm a “national disaster.” “The damage is tremendous and dramatic, […]

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Falcons add to growing menagerie of animals smuggled into Jordan – Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Authorities have seized scores of globally threatened animals and birds on Jordan’s borders with neighbouring countries since the start of the year, environmentalists said on Wednesday. Last week, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the Jordan Customs Department seized one dozen falcons on the Kingdom’s borders […]

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Dana Village facelift to start this month – Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – The renovation of Dana Village, which sits at the edge of the Wadi Dana canyon, is set to start this month, conservationists said on Thursday. The Dana Village, which serves as a gateway to the Dana Biosphere Reserve, was built on the ruins of a Byzantine castle and overlooks one […]

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Species at Yemen island face threat – Al Jazeera

Socotra’s indigenous species are now in danger of being wiped out as conservation is not top priority. Climate change talks in Mexico seem to be heading nowhere, with a legally binding deal on reducing carbon emissions looking highly unlikely. It’s disappointing news for scientists trying to save some of the world’s rarest flora and fauna. […]

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Leaders idle as Lebanon burns – Daily Star

Monday, December 06, 2010 Clergymen in Lebanon Friday were leading prayers for rain. Perhaps the country’s politicians and officials took notice, and perhaps not. Even if they found the exercise quaint, they could have at least noticed that down in Israel, a deadly forest fire was wreaking havoc, whether in human, material, economic or political […]

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