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 April, 2011

Multiple challenges – Jordan Times

There is talk about amending the current legislation on the protection of environment, and that is indeed good news. The circle of those calling for tougher legislation on the protection of environment is getting larger, and that is encouraging, but the focus seems to centre on toughening up penalties for violations of the existing guidelines […]

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Work to Commence to Install Sewage Pipelines, Cremisan Area in Beit Jala – Relief Web

Report — American Near East Refugee Aid Cremisan, Beit Jala – Today, ANERA signed a contract to install sewage collection pipelines for Beit Jala’s Cremisan area. The project is being implemented by ANERA under the Emergency Water and Sanitation and Other Infrastructure (EWAS II) Program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). […]

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Water, sewage networks to be revamped by 2015 – Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa ZARQA – Dilapidated water and sewage networks in Zarqa Governorate will be revamped by 2015 to achieve a regular water supply and end flooding of wastewater, officials said on Monday. “Tenders for sanitation projects worth JD130 million will be floated later this year, in addition to the allocation of JD60-JD65 million for […]

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Construction begins on Israel’s biggest private power plant – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 04/21/2011 23:21 Plant should be completed by 2013; the natural gas to power the plant will be supplied by Egypt’s East Mediterranean Gas company. Construction of Israel’s largest privately-owned power plant has gotten under way this week, piloted by Scottish-based construction firm Wood Group GTS at an Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Co. site […]

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Eco-tourism attracts over one million visitors in 2010 – Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Eco-tourism in Jordan is expanding and attracting more visitors, with more than one million tourists visiting the Kingdom’s diverse nature reserves and protected areas last year, officials said on Tuesday. Around 975,000 tourists visited the Petra National Park in 2010, while 500,000 visited the country’s nature reserves last year, according […]

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NGO plans to sue refinery over poisonous effects of ‘low-quality’ diesel – Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – An environment society is planning to sue the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) for “poisoning the Jordanian people by producing low-quality diesel”. The Energy Conservation and Sustainable Environment Society, a not-for-profit NGO that seeks to limit harmful gases emitted from fuel combustion, is in the process of filing a lawsuit […]

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Group rallies at Canadian Embassy to fight seal hunt – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 04/28/2011 04:12 Israel’s International Anti-Fur Coalition calls the trade a “moral atrocity,” but the government maintains that the harvest is “sustainable” and “humane.” Talkbacks (1) On the pavement outside Tel Aviv’s Canadian Embassy on Wednesday afternoon, a stuffed seal pillow with painted blood running down its face sat amid a circle of […]

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Stork hunter outrages environmentalists – Daily Star

April 28, 2011 01:53 AM (Last updated: April 28, 2011 09:28 AM) By Maher Zeineddine CHOUF: Environmental professionals and activists are outraged over photos showing dozens of dead storks, which were put on Facebook by an amateur hunter who killed the birds in north Lebanon. Environmental organizations and institutions condemned the killing as a crime […]

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Sapling production drops by 30% – Jordan Times

AMMAN (JT) – Sapling production in nurseries dropped by around 30 per cent in 2010 compared to 2009, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Department of Statistics (DoS). The results neither provided the reasons for the decline nor the expected effects. The number of fruit-bearing saplings went down from 2.9 million […]

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Horizon 2020: pollution reduction investment projects in the pipeline

28-04-2011 access the news item here and the press release. Two feasibility studies are currently being prepared in Lebanon and Tunisia, while another three potential investment projects are finalising the pre-feasibility study stage in Egypt, under the Horizon 2020 initiative for de-pollution of the Mediterranean by 2020. At the same time, there is ongoing dialogue in […]

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Are chicken carcasses polluting Israeli water sources? – Haaretz

About 1.5 million chicken carcasses were buried in the country’s north following an epidemic, including a large portion found in locations that risk contaminating ground water. By Zafrir Rinat Hundreds of thousands of chicken carcasses were concealed for months alongside chicken coops in northern Israel, creating an environmental hazard and endangering the water supply, according […]

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Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve sand quarry defies closure order – Daily Star

BEIRUT: Despite the government’s recent closure of a sand quarry in the Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve, the site remains under pressure from individiuals who were profiting from the quarry activities, according to an association involved in protecting the site. The Jabal Moussa site was declared a protected forest by the Agriculture Ministry in 2008 and […]

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Illegal theft of olive trees must be stopped – Haaretz

For around a decade now, illegal trade in ancient olive trees – including uprooting, stealing and smuggling them from the West Bank into Israel – has reportedly been flourishing. Haaretz Editorial The immoral wealthy have a new and tasteless toy: ancient olive trees adorning the gardens of their villas. According to an investigative report by […]

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Plastic bags, again – Jordan Times

A few months ago, Italy took the laudable decision of getting rid of plastic bags. This southern European country used to consume about one-fifth of the plastic bags on the continent, so the move must have been more than welcome. It aimed mainly at protecting the fragile environment, knowing that scientists warn that polyethylene bags […]

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Dana Village to be transformed into eco-tourism destination – Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa DANA BIOSPHERE RESERVE – Reconstruction work on Dana Village, a gateway to the Dana Biosphere Reserve, is currently under way to transform the abandoned village into an eco-tourism destination, according to conservationists. Crumbling houses built decades ago in the village, which sits on a cliff overlooking one of the Kingdom’s most scenic […]

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Solar energy replaces kerosene, gas lanterns at Rummana campsite – Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa DANA BIOSPHERE RESERVE – Visitors to Dana Biosphere Reserve can now enjoy a cup of Dana’s famous herbal tea and watch cultural entrainment under the Kingdom’s first bedouin tent lit by solar energy. The clean and environment-friendly energy source has replaced traditional kerosene and gas lanterns at the reserve’s Rummana campsite after […]

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Reversing minds about Beirut’s garbage – Daily Star

By Olivia Alabaster BEIRUT: In a country with a lack of discernible environmental policy, only a handful of recycling points across the capital, and landfills overflowing onto public beaches, Reversed Garbage has found an innovative way to turn trash into something useful, and beautiful. Chafic Abi Abdallah had been working in hospitality management for eight […]

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Bucking the bike trend – Haaretz

Plans to eliminate parking spots on Bloch Street in Tel Aviv in order to make room for new bicycle lanes have local residents up in arms. It’s all about turning this into a city for the rich, they argue. By Ilan Lior Tel Aviv residents are accustomed to wasting time every night searching for parking […]

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The cycling equation – Haaretz

A group of engineering students and professors have developed an algorithm that can predict the pace and timing of bike borrowing and returns in Tel Aviv. By Lital Levin While visiting Paris a few years ago, Iris Forma rented a bicycle from the Parisian municipality, run under the same system that will soon launch in […]

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Horizon 2020: hands on training targets wastewater treatment and reuse in Lebanon and Jordan

Horizon 2020: hands on training targets wastewater treatment and reuse in Lebanon and Jordan ENPI info center [18-04-2011] Two training courses on wastewater treatment and reuse have been held in Lebanon and Jordan, within the framework of the Horizon 2020 Capacity Building/MEP project, by the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education and the Arab Countries Water […]

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