Hebrew University Student’s Tour Emek Heffer and Baqa al-Gharbiyye

On 11th June Water Officer and Jordan Valley Field Coordinator, Nadav Tal, and Project and Education Officer for Young Professionals, Yaara Kassner, both from the Israel office, led a group of Hebrew University students on a tour of Emek Heffer and Baqa al-Gharbiyye.

Applications are now open for young professionals and students, aged 20-35, who are passionate about the environment, to apply for ‘Water Diplomacy Training’. Over several sessions across the region, the training will explore:

Water reality and regional issues
Communication and negotiation skills
Conflict management and resolution
Track II diplomacy
Water security
Water-energy Nexus

Training commences on the 16 September in Tel Aviv. For more information please visit: https://www.waterdiplomacy.net/young-professionals

Palestinian Teachers’ Training – Second Round

On the 20th and 21st of June, as part of a SIDA Good Water Neighbors Phase IV, educating youth for regional cooperation, 20 new Palestinian teachers from public and private schools, teaching science, English, IT and social science for the 10th and 11th grades, were trained by two academic and water experts for two days on the 12 lesson plans that where developed by the experts and the seed teachers through the 4 meetings that were previously held since November 2018.

Israel Director, Gidon Bromberg, Talks Climate Change

EcoPeace Israel Director, Gidon Bromberg, highlighted the challenge climate change is placing on water and national security in the region and the possibilities presented by the EcoPeace Water Renewable Energy Exchange program in two conferences, Law Policy and the Climate Crisis held at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem on June 16th and in London at the Anglo Israel Association conference held on June 18th.

Diplomatic Tour of the Jordan Valley

On June 2nd diplomats from embassies in Israel and representatives from various international organisations enjoyed the Water & Energy Bridges Jordan Valley Study Tour. The tour included: meeting with the Southern Jordan River Drainage Authority, Naharaym (the convergence point between the Yarmouk and the lower Jordan River), meeting with Mayor Idan Greenbaum (Jordan Valley Regional Council) and Yardenit Baptism site.

Supported by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
UfM Water Expert Group Meeting

Mojahed Elsagheer, EcoPeace’s Regional Investment Officer, attended a meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean’s (UfM) Water Expert Group in Brussels from the 13th to 14th of June. The meeting was about how to build a financial strategy related to the UfM’s water agenda. Mojahed presented EcoPeace’s report about Climate change, water security, national and regional security at this meeting.

German Ambassador Tour

On 4th June, EcoPeace Israel Director, Gidon Bromberg, was honoured to lead the German Ambassador to Israel, Dr Susanne Wasum-Rainer, and Barbara Seimetz, Head of Department Science and Environment, from the German Embassy, on a Water Security tour of the Jordan Valley.
EcoPeace Presents Public Health Report at the Annual Israel Medical Association Conference

On June 3rd Israel Director, Gidon Bromberg, presented EcoPeace’s public health report on the impact of continuing hostilities and the water and sanitation crisis of Gaza impacting Israeli communities around Gaza at the annual Israel Medical Association conference, alongside its author Professor Nadav Davidovitch, who is also head of the public health association. The health report highlights that not only environment knows no borders but also public health issues, See the full report here.

EcoPeace Featured in Touring Exhibition

EcoPeace was recently approached to be part of “Environment, Conflict and Cooperation Exhibition”, a touring exhibition developed by Adelphi (an independent think tank and leading consultancy for climate, environment and development) and supported by the German Federal Foreign Office. The exhibition is shown by German embassies, international organisations and universities around the world.

See here how the EcoPeace story is being used to demonstrate local action to counteract both environmental degradation and conflict. The touring version was shown at the Berlin Security and Climate Conference on Tuesday 4th June in Berlin that Jordanian Projects Manager, Abdelrahman Sultan, attended.

US Chargé d’affaires to Jordan and Jordanian Ministry of Water Representatives EcoPark Tour

On June 23rd EcoPeace hosted the US Chargé d’affaires to Jordan, Karen Sasahara, representatives from US agencies, the Secretary General of the Jordan Valley H.E. Ali Al Kouz and other representatives from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. They were given a tour of the SHE EcoPark and shown all the measures the park has taken to be environmentally sustainable as well as the history of the area and how the park grew over the years thanks to tree planting initiatives through the Good Water Neighbors program.

Berlin Climate and Security Conference

Copyright © adelphi | Jan Rottler

On June 4th EcoPeace’s Jordanian Projects Manager, Abdelrahman Sultan, attended the Berlin Climate and Security Conference. The conference brought together leading figures from governments, international organizations, the private sector, civil society, and the scientific community, to discuss the growing risks that climate change presents for peace and security, and the need for decisive action to prevent climate-related conflicts.
Mr. Sultan presented the WEN project on a panel as one of the proposed projects that can address water and energy. Our experience in our region affirms that climate change is affecting us heavily, and has a direct impact on national security and regional stability.

Presentation to American students at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

On Wednesday 19th June, Bashar Al Shawa, the External and Governmental Affairs Officer from the EcoPeace Palestine office, and Uri Uri Ginott, Government Relations Manager from the Israel office, met with a group of American students for a seminar on Middle East peace, environmental peacebuilding and the efforts of EcoPeace in the region. The meeting took place at the Truman Institute, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

EcoPeace meets students from the Korbel School of International Studies and from University of Denver

On June 22nd 2019, Bashar Al Shawa, the External and Governmental Affairs Officer in the EcoPeace Palestine office, met a group of students from the Korbel School of International Studies and from University of Denver majority of them study international studies, in which EcoPeace vision and mission was explained, the success and the challenges in the field of environmental peace building and the opportunities in the region.

Validation Workshop for the Analysis of the Renewable Energy Sector and Opportunities for Women’s Economic Empowerment

On Wednesday 26th June, under the patronage of the Ministry of National Economy and The Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority (PENRA), in Partnership with GROW project, EcoPeace was invited to participate in the Validation Workshop for the Analysis of the Renewable Energy Sector and Opportunities for Women’s Economic Empowerment within the Sector. The objective of the GROW the Analysis of the Renewable Energy sector and opportunities for women’s economic empowerment within the sector Validation Workshop is to confirm GROW’s understanding of the sector, and to get stakeholders’ feedback on GROW’s proposed strategy and interventions to empower young women.

The above activities are part of the Good Water Neighbors (GWN) project, which is supported by the Swedish International Development Agency.

EcoPeace Attends Euromesco Conference in Barcelona

On June 18-19 Giulia Giordano, international affairs manager, participated in the annual euromesco conference, which gathered over 140 experts from the EuroMed region to discuss politics and security in the Mediterranean.

Abrahamic Traditions & Environmental Change

EcoPeace was well represented by directors, staff and board members at the Abrahamic Traditions & Environmental Change conference held in Rhodes, Greece from June 23-26. The faith-based work of EcoPeace that focused on the rehabilitation of the River Jordan was a practical example of how cooperation between faith-based communities, academia and environmental activities could bring positive change on the ground. Towards the end of the event all participants signed a Covenant for the Jordan River.

Check out EcoPeace’s faith based programs here.

The Palestinian Peace Coalition Workshop

On June 27th and 28th, EcoPeace participated in a two-day workshop looking at prosperity to peace, the American economic plan for peace. The Manama workshop included: politicians, academics and youth.