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 January, 2012

Report: JNF ceding forest land in north for development of Arab towns – Haaretz

News comes in contrast to recent reports that the JNF is pushing afforestation plans at the expense of Bedouin communities in Southern Israel. By Zafrir Rinat Some Jewish National Fund forests are being reduced to allow development, especially of Arab villages in the north, according to a recent report. The news comes in contrast to […]

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‘Despite setbacks, Disi project to be completed on schedule’ – Jordan Times

Overall progress reaches 71.7 per cent by Hana Namrouqa | Jan 22,2012 | 22:59 Workers on the Disi Water Conveyance Project lay a pipe along the desert highway on Thursday (Photo by Hana Namrouqa) MUDAWARA/MAAN — Despite several incidents that delayed progress of the Disi Water Conveyance Project, officials on Thursday said the water mega-venture […]

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‘Threats to open space ever-increasing’ – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 01/17/2012 06:15 SPNI decries planning and building hazards to country’s land that endanger local wildlife. Talkbacks (6) Threats to open areas are ever increasing as the government’s inclination to protect the public interest simultaneously decreases, according to a report released by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel on Tuesday. […]

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‘Environmental compensation should include all cattle breeders’ – Jordan Times

Petra | Jan 22,2012 | 23:01 AMMAN — Jordanian Farmers Union President Odeh Rawashdeh on Saturday said assistance from the environmental compensation programme should be equally distributed among all cattle breeders and not only those from the badia. So far, only cattle breeders from the badia have received this assistance, he said, noting that cattle […]

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Judean Hills vineyard takes down fencing, freeing gazelles to roam – Haaretz

Fence removal comes at the request of animal rights groups, who said they were endangering already squeezed wildlife in the area. By Zafrir Rinat Gazelles may once again roam the slopes of the Judean Hills west of Jerusalem freely, now that Barkan Wine Cellars have agreed to remove the fences they put up in the […]

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Study finds most Tel Aviv area wells too polluted to draw drinking water – Haaretz

Of 166 wells operating in 1980, only 96 were still in operation as of 2011; contaminants are industrial in origin. By Zafrir Rinat Almost two thirds of drinking-water wells in the greater Tel Aviv area have been declared too contaminated for use, according to a recent study. The data, collected by the Health Ministry and […]

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‘Dead Sea almost dried up 125,000 years ago’ – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 01/19/2012 03:43 Newly found sediments reveal information about ancient climactic conditions both in Dead Sea region, Sahara. Talkbacks (7) An international drilling research project that occurred in the Dead Sea last year has revealed that about 125,000 years ago, the waters had dried up almost entirely as a result of climate change. […]

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The CFL choice – Jerusalem Post

By JPOST EDITORIAL 01/14/2012 21:55 Forcing us to use CFLs is an interventionist precedent, guided by apparently good intentions. Talkbacks () Big Brother has again invaded our private domain and last week drastically limited the availability of traditional incandescent light bulbs. There was no squawk – not even a murmur of dissent. Indeed hardly anyone […]

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new publication: Environmentalism Deferred Nationalisms and Israeli- Palestinian Imaginaries

Shaul Cohen Pp. 246-264 in Environmental Imaginaries of the Middle East and North Africa. edited by Diana K. Davis, Edmund Burke. Ohio University Press; 2011

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new publication: HydroImaginaries and the Construction of the Political Geography of the Jordan River The Johnston Mission 1953-56

Samer Alatout Pp 218 – 245 in Environmental Imaginaries of the Middle East and North Africa. edited by Diana K. Davis, Edmund Burke. Ohio University Press; 2011

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New publication: Global Implications of the Middle Eastern Environment

Alan Mikhail History Compass Volume 9, Issue 12, pages 952–970, December 2011 Through a discussion of the burgeoning literature related to environmental topics in the Middle East, this article explains what both environmental historians and historians of the Middle East stand to gain from a consideration of Middle East environmental history. After an examination of […]

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Sheikh Mohammed Announces New UAE Initiative: Green Economy for Sustainable Development – AFED

Dubai, 18/1/2012 The Arab Green Economy Initiative launched by AFED started to resonate at the highest policy levels in the region. The United Arab Emirates has announced on January 15, 2012, its national green initiative to transform the country’s economy. Dubbed “A green economy for sustainable development”, the initiative seeks to make the UAE “a […]

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Permaculture & Sustainability Project Takes Off In Jordan [Green Prophet]

by Arwa Aburawa | January 17th, 2012. Source: Green Prophet A permaculture garden and a mud-brick house, the Dead Sea Harmony Centre in Jordan spreads the word on sustainability William Alajalian, who was born and raised in the Dead Sea area of Ghor Mazraa, may be new to environmentalism but he is more passionate and […]

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French parliament report accuses Israel of water ‘apartheid’ in West Bank [various sources]

The report itself [in French pdf format], on website: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/rap-info/i4070.asp French parliament report accuses Israel of water ‘apartheid’ in West Bank. Coverage in Haaretz HERE Israeli response: Government slams French water ‘apartheid’ report. Coverage in JPost HERE Palestinian Authority response: Head of Water Authority Welcomes French Report on Israel’s “Water Apartheid”. Coverage HERE FoEME response: […]

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UAE to be global hub of green economy – Khaleej Times

15 January 2012 DUBAI – A long-term national initiative to build green economy in the UAE under the slogan “A green economy for sustainable development” was launched on Sunday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Through this initiative, the UAE aims […]

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Our big little country – Haaretz

Those who are fighting to save the Yarkon Park in the southern Sharon, Timna, the Samar dunes and what is left of the Dead Sea are the buds of a late bloom – perhaps too late. By Yitzhak Laor Little will remain of the Dead Sea. The ancient landscape will turn into ugly hotels. “Since […]

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‘Higher temperatures, extreme weather coming’ – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 01/10/2012 05:01 Environmental Protection Ministry climate change report predicts country will see decrease in rainfall, increases in temperature. Talkbacks (35) An Environmental Protection Ministry climate change report predicts that over the next decade, the country will see an annual decrease in rainfall, and increases in temperature, southern desertification, heat waves, periods of […]

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New housing for Arab villages stonewalled – Haaretz

Residents are forced to build illegally while the authorities demand an upgraded sewerage system that the Galilee communities cannot afford. By Raz Smolsky Development projects throughout Israel often get off to a slow start due to poor planning or various delays. In some localities, however, they seem to get nowhere at all – like in […]

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Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia – Volume 17, No.166-167

Volume 17, No.166-167, January – February 2012 CONTENTS 6 Imminent water crisis? (editorial by Najib Saab) 10 Eradicating energy poverty by Suleiman Al-Herbish, OFID director General 18 Walls and streets that depollute the air (cover story) 24 Eye on Earth environmental summit in Abu Dhabi 26 Green economy forum in Ajman 30 ILO meeting in […]

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Despite rain, water crisis persists – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 01/13/2012 03:59 Lake Kinneret’s water level is 55 centimeters under the 213 meter red line, and a full 4.75 meters away from full capacity. Talkbacks (19) Although Lake Kinneret’s water level rose by 1.50 centimeters following Wednesday’s rain, measuring in at 213.55 meters below sea level on Thursday morning, there is still […]

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