By SHARON UDASIN 12/15/2011 03:35 The state is financing up to 60 percent of 25,000 new refrigerators for low income people, to encourage higher-efficiency appliances use. Talkbacks () Around 900 people across the country traded in their energy-guzzling refrigerators for new ones on Tuesday, the first day of a program through which social welfare clients […]

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EU launches water management project in West Bank – Ma’an BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The European Union has launched a 1.5 million euro project to improve the livelihoods of poor and rural families through improving agricultural water management, officials said Wednesday. The project is being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – With 30 per cent of domestic water consumed by flushing toilets, conservationists are urging the public to install double-flush toilets to reduce water consumption and their bills. Each household can save up to 20,000 cubic metres of water per year if dual flushing toilet systems are used in the country, […]

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Expansion follows the completion of recent field trials in northeast Brazil showing that strains of the plant developed by Evogene have greater yield potential than currently available varieties. By Yoram Gabison Israeli genomics pioneer Evogene and Brazil’s SLC Agricola announced Monday the expansion of their collaboration in developing and cultivating castor bean seeds as a […]

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1) Erdan, PA agree: Increase water cooperation / Source: Jerusalem Post by By SHARON UDASIN Environmental protection minister: Negotiations must occur on basis of “need” instead of “rights.” While clashing on most issues fundamental to the Israeli-Palestinian water crisis, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan and Palestinian Water Minister Dr. Shaddad Attili agreed that today’s operations […]

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notes: 1. see contrast with article below “Israel Failing to Protect the Environment” (Haaretz) 2. for more information from the report see http://www.oecd.org/document/53/0,3746,en_2649_34307_48555125_1_1_1_1,00.html OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Israel 2011 This is the first review of Israel’s environmental performance. It analyses Israel’s progress in achieving a range of national objectives and international commitments, and presents 41 […]

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Multi-year program to curb air pollution launches By SHARON UDASIN 12/11/2011 07:16 Environment Ministry unveils comprehensive plan which will save country half a billion shekels each year, according to ministry. Talkbacks (1) The Environmental Protection Ministry is unveiling on Sunday Israel’s first comprehensive, multi-year national plan for preventing and reducing air pollution, which will save […]

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Comptroller’s Report: Watchdog finds ministry letting rivers stay polluted The Environmental Protection Ministry has not set stream rehabilitation as a top priority and leaves it to the drainage authorities, the comptroller says. By Zafrir Rinat * * Published 01:20 13.12.11 * Latest update 01:20 13.12.11 Comptroller’s Report: Watchdog finds ministry letting rivers stay polluted The […]

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Report — European Union Jerusalem PR/27/2011 12/12/2011 The European Union (EU) announced today its latest contribution in two major sectors of support to the Palestinian Authority (PA): the sustainable management of natural resources and the rule of law. Namely, it launched a €10 million water desalination facility project in the Gaza Strip and the establishment […]

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5 Green economy is distribution of wealth not poverty (editorial by Najib Saab) 6 Green economy for the Arab future by Mohamed El-Ashry, vice chairman, AFED BoT, former CEO, Global Environment Facility (GEF) 16 Arab industries towards a low-carbon economy (cover story) 18 Managing our wastes (cover story) 20 Sustainable tourism in Arab countries (cover […]

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Erdan vows to foil Timna valley hotel complex By SHARON UDASIN 12/13/2011 02:29 Committee-approved buildings there will cause ‘enormous, irreversible damage,’ says green group. Talkbacks () After the Southern District Planning Committee approved the construction of a hotel complex in the Timna Valley on Monday, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan said his office will undermine […]

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Metropolitan Parks and Recreation Areas in Israel Iris Haan 2011 Iris Haan 2011 The goal of this research is to advance the planning and implementation of metropolitan parks and recreation areas in Israel. This is done by analyzing several fundamental matters and by implementing the findings and conclusions in plots that were designated for parks […]

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Wild boars play an important ecological role in spreading wild flower seeds, new study finds. By Zafrir Rinat Israel’s wild boars are perhaps Israeli farmers greatest enemies, ransacking fields in search of food. But despite the damage they cause, they play an important ecological role in spreading wild flower seeds, according to a new study […]

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The neoliberal coalition will try to solve urgent problems only and refuse to allocate resources to the environment because “there are more important matters.” It will not allow Israel to address pollution, overcrowding and the depletion of our natural resources. By Zafrir Rinat Published 11.12.11. Source: Haaretz If an international environmental expert had overheard the […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/08/2011 02:23 ‘We want this to become a yearly tradition,’ says Beersheba Mayor Rubik Danilovich of Adam Teva V’Din event. Talkbacks () Achieving true environmental justice in Israel hinges upon the involvement of the country’s public in pushing for the policies they desire, agreed many of Israel’s top green activists, government officials […]

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Revelations from Jewish National Fund minutes: billions of shekels hoarded in its coffers, millions wasted on legal conflicts, trees planted on disputed land. Not to mention the fate of Holocaust victims’ assets. By Uri Blau A Jew purchased an apartment in Carmiel, on Jewish National Fund ‏(JNF‏) land. No problem. Twenty years go by and […]

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Work to begin on sustainable eco-farm for Beduin By SHARON UDASIN 12/08/2011 Sustainable eco-farm for in the works for four years will get under way. A sustainable eco-farm for the Negev Bedouin community that has been in the works for four years will finally get under way next week, after the government recently committed to […]

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Students from Southeast Asia gain hands-on experience with local farming practices in the Arava desert. By David Sheen Trekking through Southeast Asia is a nearly national ritual for many young Israelis, but now an agricultural institute in the Arava desert is drawing aspiring Southeast Asians to Israel for a different kind of travel-abroad experience. aicat […]

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The ‘Jerusalem Park’ will be centered around the Arazim Valley to the north and the Refaim Valley to the south. The approval process for the park has not been completed, and this may delay some of the work on the park. By Zafrir Rinat Officially, it will be called Jerusalem Park, and it has been […]

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