BEIRUT: Environment Minister Nazem Khoury promised Tuesday to energize his ministry’s role with a view to protecting Lebanon’s natural wealth. During a meeting at the invitation of the Rotary Cosmopolitan Club held at the Vendome Hotel in Beirut, Khoury explained his ministry’s work program and the slogan he raised under the title: “Political Environment in […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – With the onset of winter, authorities are intensifying monitoring of the country’s limited forests to prevent illegal logging, a practice that increases during the cold season, according to officials. The number of patrols from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Rangers will be doubled during winter to prevent loggers from […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Enora Castagne The Daily Star Cedars in the Chouf region of Mount Lebanon. (Photo: Mahmoud Kheir/The Daily Star) Cedars in the Chouf region of Mount Lebanon. (Photo: Mahmoud Kheir/The Daily Star) BEIRUT: The first National Forest Program was launched Thursday, by the agriculture minister in cooperation with the German Development Cooperation agency (GIZ) in […]

Read the rest of this entry »

IMNEIZIL, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Clouds of uncertainty hung over this tiny Palestinian village on Wednesday, as locals waited to see if the Israeli army would call off its demolition of the community’s solar panels. It was two years ago that Spanish NGO SEBA joined forces with Nablus’ Al Najah University and installed two solar […]

Read the rest of this entry »

SALFIT, November 20, 2011 (WAFA) – Waste water from Revava settlement, which is established on the land of Deir Estia, near Salfit in the northern West Bank, completely destroyed 20 olive trees and flooded another 100 trees in Palestinian land around the settlement, Sunday said a local official. Nazmi Salman, mayor of Deir Estia, said […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Some eighty kilogrammes of waste have been dredged up from the Gulf of Aqaba as part of an ongoing campaign to clean up after visitors, conservationists said on Tuesday. The campaign was organised by the Aqaba Marine Park, an affiliate of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority that is in […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Members of Friends of the Earth hold ‘funeral’ for lowest place on earth after government rejects bill aimed at protecting lake Yair Hasson Published: 11.22.11, 07:53 / Israel Activism The symbolic corpse of the Dead Sea was “laid to rest” outside the Knesset building in Jerusalem on Monday, about a week and a half after […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Versatility will be a deciding factor as Jordan considers firms to build its first nuclear reactor, an energy official said. According to Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Vice President Kamal Araj, Jordan’s selection of a reactor vendor will hinge on the ability of firms to adapt their technology to the […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Muath Freij AMMAN – The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) has rehabilitated four of its public parks under an initiative launched last month that ultimately aims to renovate every park in the capital. The initiative was launched following several complaints from Jordanians about the lack of facilities in some public parks and the need for […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Israel would also have to divert less water from the Kinneret to the National Water Carrier, according to study by Friends of the Earth Middle East. By Zafrir Rinat The southern stretch of the Jordan River will remain in poor condition unless less water is diverted for agriculture, a study sponsored by Friends of the […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 11/18/2011 03:58 Green group suggests reduction in agricultural water consumption, farmers say impossible. Talkbacks (6) Environmentalists and farmers clashed in a heated debate about whether agricultural water consumption should be significantly reduced, at a conference on Wednesday at Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee. The conference, hosted by green group Friends […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Jordan’s energy sector received a boost on Friday after Egypt began preliminary pumping of natural gas to the Kingdom. In a statement issued on Saturday, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Qutaiba Abu Qura announced that Egypt has resumed gas supplies to Jordan, which has been without its main energy […]

Read the rest of this entry »

CAIRO (Ma’an) — Egypt resumed supplies of natural gas to Israel on Saturday, more than a week after a northern Sinai pipeline was bombed, Egyptian media reports said. An official from Ampal-American Israel Corp, part of the consortium that exports gas to Israel, said: “It was advised by East Mediterranean Gas Co, in which Ampal […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By BEN HARTMAN 11/16/2011 20:20 Municipality says heavy work has been carried out to renovate city drainage system, prepared for winter. Talkbacks (6) Anyone who has been in Israel during a downpour knows the drill. The clouds open up and within minutes the city streets are covered in ankle-deep water that remains long after the […]

Read the rest of this entry »

11/18/2011 06:50 Although ongoing heavy rains have help slightly, Lake Kinneret still needs “major help.” Talkbacks (8) Despite the ongoing rains that have soaked pedestrians for the past couple days, and that are expected to continue through Saturday, Lake Kinneret water levels have seen little improvement. While the water level did not budge from Wednesday […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Olivia Alabaster The Daily Star The CANA-CNRS is named after Qana in southern Lebanon. The CANA-CNRS is named after Qana in southern Lebanon. BEIRUT: A former Italian fishing vessel began its new life as a marine research boat at the Beirut naval base Friday, under the auspices of the Italian ambassador to Lebanon. A […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Study finds ‘lutra’ otters disappearing from areas in northern Israel; population remains stable in region stretching from the Jordan River tributaries to the Harod and Beit She’an valleys. By Zafrir Rinat The lutra, a local type of otter, has disappeared from areas such as the Jezreel and Zevulun valleys in the north, plagued by hunting, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Rare find is akin to the Dead Sea Scrolls of nature conservation. By Zafrir Rinat Nature and Parks Authority warden Yoram Malka set out Tuesday for a routine patrol to monitor the birds in the Hula Nature Reserve, but he was also keeping his sharp eyes peeled for a specific type of frog. frog – […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By NADAV SHEMER 11/17/2011 05:47 Cooperation with both countries to increase after WATEC 2011 conference on water, renewable energy and environmental control. Talkbacks () Israel signed agreements with Taiwan and Kenya on the sidelines of the WATEC 2011 conference this week, which will see it increase water-technology cooperation with both countries. The three-day international exhibition […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Arava Power is working with Southern Israel’s Bedouin community to capture a share of the burgeoning solar power market. By Karin Kloosterman November 14, 2011. Source: Israel 21c “Sixty percent of the country happens to be desert, and 30 percent of the [desert] inhabitants happen to be Bedouin,” says Yosef Abramowitz, president of Arava Power […]

Read the rest of this entry »