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 June, 2012

PA says in talks with Israel over water shortages – Ma’an

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The head of the Palestinian water authority said Wednesday that discussions with the Israeli side were ongoing to increase quantities of drinking water without raising prices. Israel seeks to increase the price of one cubic liter of water from 2.60 shekels to 3.70 shekels, which will cost the Palestinian treasury around 700 […]

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Uprooting olive trees: Nature or politics? – Haaretz

Palestinian farmers say discrimination, not a concern for the land, are at the root of an order to uproot olive trees in a northern nature reserve. By Zafrir Rinat | Jun.28, 2012 One of the most complex challenges facing the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is finding the balance between protecting the nature in its […]

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Israel to invest NIS 355m to improve sewers in Arab towns – Haaretz

Energy and Water Resources Minister Uzi Landau announced the allocation, but not before an environmental group warns that without regular budgets the systems will collapse again. By Zafrir Rinat | Jun.28, 2012 After years of neglect that has frequently led to the collapse of the sewerage infrastructure in Arab towns and the pollution of local […]

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regional energy forum in Cyprus – Daily Star

Cyprus seeks amicable solution for maritime border zone 2012/Jun-27 BEIRUT: Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said Tuesday that he would continue to seek an equitable solution for the maritime border zone dispute between the regional states once he becomes president of the European Union in four days. During a regional conference on energy in Nicosia, Christofias […]

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A visit to Egypt’s largest wind farm shows an industry getting on its feet – Egypt Independent

Steven Viney Sun, 24/06/2012 In the words of Faisal Eissa, the managing director of Elsewedy for Wind Energy Generation, Global Wind Day is “a perfect opportunity for hundreds of organizations around the world to share hands-on knowledge about wind energy between experts and a curious public,” in an attempt to realize the power of wind […]

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Senate endorses gas exploration deal with BP – Jordan Times

by Raed Omari | Jun 24, 2012 AMMAN — The Senate on Sunday endorsed the 2010 draft gas exploration agreement signed between the government, the National Petroleum Company and BP Exploration Operating Company Limited as referred from the Lower House. The agreement, as stated in its mandating reasons, aims at improving the Risheh gas field […]

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TA, Haifa power stations switch from clean fuels for summer – Haaretz

By Zafrir Rinat | Jun.24, 2012 In light of the expected shortage of natural gas in coming months, the Environmental Protection Ministry has given the Israel Electric Corporation the green light to use fuels that emit greater pollution, even at power stations in the densely populated areas of Tel Aviv and Haifa. One stipulation is […]

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Landau launches plan to restore Israel’s streams – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 06/27/2012 07:16 “If the Kinneret is the heart of the water sector, the rivers are its arteries,” Landau says. “We want to see them flowing.” Energy and Water Minister Uzi Landau unveiled an extensive project by his ministry to rehabilitate Israel’s rivers and streams at a Green Growth conference in Ramat Gan […]

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Online agricultural network to link Israel, India – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 06/26/2012 04:31 New initiative marks further step in program overseen by MASHAV. Israeli and Indian government institutions will jointly launch an online communications network on Tuesday to provide instant contact between Indian farmers and Israeli agricultural technology experts. The launch will occur simultaneously at the Agriculture Ministry, the Foreign Ministry’s MASHAV program, […]

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Social media campaign to raise children’s environmental awareness – Jordan Times

by Hana Namrouqa | Jun 24, 2012 | 23:13 AMMAN — After a study showed that fewer than one in five of the Kingdom’s 400,000 school-age Facebook users showed interest in environmental issues, conservationists have launched a campaign to educate young people using social media. The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) recently […]

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Forest fire season getting longer, fiercer – Daily Star

June 23, 2012 01:17 AM By Olivia Alabaster BEIRUT: Experts are warning that 2012 could be a dangerous year in terms of forest fires, with an increasing number of fires starting earlier in the year, a growing buildup of combustible firewood on forest floors, and a lack of cohesive policy to manage the annual disaster […]

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Theft, vandalism depriving citizens of water — Najjar – Jordan Times

Ministry ‘certain’ Disi project will finish on schedule by Hana Namrouqa | Jun 23, 2012 AMMAN — Water theft and vandalism of water sources are rising alarmingly and becoming the main obstacles to supplying the public with sufficient water, Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammad Najjar said on Saturday. “Violators now not only steal pumping […]

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Israeli Forces Shut Down Agriculturally Used Water Spring – WAFA

NABLUS, June 24, 2012 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Sunday destroyed a water spring, which residents of Ein Shalabi, a village in central Jordan Valley, depend on to irrigate their crops and land, according to a local activist. Ghassan Douglas, in charge of settlements file at the Palestinian Authority in the northern part of the West […]

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UN cites Israeli wastewater treatment plant as global model – Haaretz

Dan Region Wastewater Treatment Plant, or Shafdan, praised by UN for its unique method of using sand to naturally filter treated sewage. By Zafrir Rinat | Jun.25, 2012 The Dan Region Wastewater Treatment Plant is among 30 projects from around the world chosen by the United Nations, to demonstrate the ability of local authorities to […]

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Gov’t publishes int’l bid for Kishon River mud cleanup – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 06/25/2012 03:50 Tender involves excavating contaminated bottom layer of riverbed and then purifying the contents. Cleaning the murky mud of what was once the nation’s most polluted riverbed is now up for international auction, the Environmental Protection Ministry announced on Sunday. As part of a three-year Kishon River cleaning project being overseen […]

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Russia looks to Israel for water technology – YNET

Israeli water-tech firms note great success in Ecwatech Russia, Eastern Europe’s largest industry expo Ynetnews Published: 06.19.12 Israeli water technology innovations garnered great interest in Ecwatech Russia, Eastern Europe’s largest water-tech event, which took place in Moscow in early June. According to Israel NewTech, over 700 exhibitors from around the world were featured in the […]

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Water and Energy in the Mediterranean – Revolve (Magazine)

Writer: François Guerber Increasing the efficiency of water and energy use is of key importance in the Mediterranean region, as demand for both grows and the impact of climate change becomes more visible. Water and energy have always been inextricably linked, whether in domestic use, agriculture and irrigation, or in urban centers where energy consumption […]

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Ministry to give grants in earth sciences studies – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 06/24/2012 21:55 Energy and Water Ministry will provide grants of up to NIS 60,000 per year in effort to incentivize fields. The Energy and Water Ministry will provide grants of up to NIS 60,000 per year for students pursuing master’s or doctorate degrees in geology, geophysics of fossil fuels and seismology, in […]

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Amal, Hezbollah to form subcommittees to follow up water, electricity crises in south – Daily Star

June 25, 2012 12:36 PM The Daily Star BEIRUT: Officials from Hezbollah and Amal agreed Monday to form subcommittees to follow up on the deteriorating electricity and water situations in various areas of south Lebanon. At a meeting in the southern city of Tyre, which included State Minister Mohammad Fneish, MPs Ali Khreis, Ali Bazzi, […]

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Gov’t launches environmental ad campaign on CNN – Jerusalem Post / YNET

By SHARON UDASIN 06/24/2012 New 10-second ads on CNN International aim to help Israel brand itself as a “green country. With the aim of branding itself as a “green country,” the government has bought hundreds of 10-second broadcasting spots on CNN International to advertise its expertise in environmental innovation. The commercials, which will be shown […]

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