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 May, 2014

Egypt wants arbitration resolved to allow gas exports from Israel – YNET

Israel’s Tamar natural gas field intends to export up to 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas to Egypt over 15 years. Reuters Published: 05.15.14 Egypt will only agree to an arrangement that would see gas exported from a field in Israel via a liquefied natural gas terminal in Egypt if international arbitration is resolved, an […]

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Official: Saudi Arabia needs to spend $213bn on water, power – Al Arabiya

Saudi Gazette, Dammam Wednesday, 14 May 2014 The blueprint of a project to link Saudi Arabia and Egypt with an electric power grid is in its final stages and the project may be offered for bidding by early next year, an official has said, as the kingdom’s investment in power and water is expected to […]

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Thirsty Energy or Hungry Water? – AFED

NAJIB SAAB Thirsty Energy or Hungry Water? The World Bank chose “Thirsty Energy” as title for its report on the energy-water nexus. If we were to produce such a report for the Arab region, the title could better be “Hungry Water”- as production of water eats the bulk of Arab energy. In no other part […]

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State Comptroller: Vast improvements needed in air pollution prevention – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN LAST UPDATED: 05/14/2014 Shapira says impact of vehicle air pollution particularly severe because pollution emitted at ground level, near people, animals and plants. The national program to prevent air pollution is drastically under-budgeted, and may be failing to protect the public’s health, State Comptroller Joseph Shapira said in a report released on […]

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Power plant under fire as water pollution mars beach hotspot – The Daily Star

May 15, 2014 12:19 AM By Justin Salhani JIYYEH, Lebanon: The sea surrounding a coastal power plant in Lebanon is being polluted, according to a statement issued by the Professional Divers Union. The statement, released by union head Mohammad Sarji Tuesday, said a recent surge in pollution had come from the Jiyyeh power plant, south […]

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EFFICIENT LIGHTING SYSTEMS IN THE ARAB REGION – AFED

IBRAHIM ABDEL GELIL Energy-efficient lighting technologies are economical, commercially viable and technologically available, but due to several barriers, they have not reached their market penetration potential. A growing number of countries in the Arab region have already taken actions to transit to more efficient lighting systems. Replacing incandescent lamps in the residential sector is one […]

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Conflict threatens mutually-beneficial sewage treatment plant – YNET

Authorities advancing plans for treatment plant to serve both Israeli and Palestinian communities in West Bank. Associated Press Published: 05.08.14 Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank rarely mix, but authorities are hoping their sewage will. The Jewish settlement of Ofra and neighboring Palestinian villages currently dump their sewage into valleys, threatening to contaminate […]

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S. Lebanon river cleanup begins after Israeli clearance – Daily Star

May 08, 2014 02:23 PM (Last updated: May 08, 2014 04:16 PM) By Mohammed Zaatari WAZZANI, Lebanon: The long-awaited cleanup at the Hasbani stream near Wazzani in south Lebanon began Thursday after Israel gave Lebanon the go-ahead. A bulldozer belonging to U.N. peacekeepers began removing rocks that were blocking part of the channel after they […]

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Naqoura meeting underway to discuss water problems- The Daily Star

May 07, 2014 01:02 PM The Daily Star BEIRUT: The Lebanese and Israeli armies met under UNIFIL Wednesday to discuss a range of issues, including water-related issues in Blida and Wazzani in south Lebanon. UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Paolo Serra presided over the tripartite meeting that gathered officers from the Lebanese and Israeli armies, in […]

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Germany Provides €8.8 Million to Support Water Loss Reduction Program – WAFA

RAMALLAH, May 7, 2014 – (WAFA) – Jerusalem Water Undertaking and the German Government signed Wednesday a €8.8 agreement to support the water loss reduction Program. The agreement was signed by Minister of Planning Mohammad Abu Ramadan, Head of Water Authority Shaddad Attili, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Jerusalem Water Undertaking Fawzi al-‘Abed, […]

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Israeli gas field may supply Egypt facility – YNET

Noble Energy signs deal to supply liquefied gas to Egyptian gas facility, which would see 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas transferred of 15 years. News agencies Published: 05.06.14, 21:40 / Israel Business The operator of a natural gas field off Israel’s coast says it has signed a letter of intent to provide gas to […]

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Is Egypt on the verge of an environmental disaster? – Al Arabiya

By Sonia Farid | Al Arabiya News Tuesday, 22 April 2014 On April 21, Ali Reda, head of the Touristic Investment Authority in the Red Sea, voiced the objection of the authority’s board of directors, the owners of hotels and tourist facilities, and tourism sector staff to the Egyptian government’s plan to use coal as […]

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Freshwater used illegally to irrigate crops – Jordan Times

by Hana Namrouqa | May 07, 2014 AMMAN — An inspection team on Wednesday discovered two violations on water mains in Jiza in south Amman, according to a Water Ministry official. The two violations entailed installing illegal pipes to divert thousands of cubic metres of freshwater for the irrigation of crops, the official said on […]

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Israel in 20 years: It’s going to get crowded – Haaretz

Israel’s increasingly at risk of overpopulation, but nobody’s taking it seriously. By Zafrir Rinat | May 7, 2014 As it does each year just before Independence Day, the Central Bureau of Statistics released updated numbers regarding Israel’s population, and they show a dizzying growth rate. Last year, Israel’s population increased by 157,000, a 2% increase, […]

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Eco-activists decry planned Oman border fence – Al Jazeera

Designed to block spillover violence from Yemen, proposed fence could also decimate leopard population, critics say. Gaar Adams Last updated: 04 May 2014 Dhofar, Oman – Tucked into the southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula, the nation of Oman sits in a tumultuous space – sharing land borders with Yemen and an expansive southern coast […]

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Palestinian Water Shortages Intensify Due To Drought, Aging Infrastructure, Inaction – Bloomberg

By Jenny David Apr 17, 2014 Bloomberg BNA — The current water shortage in Arab East Jerusalem is only the latest water crisis facing Arab areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, representatives from regional security, environmental and human rights organizations told Bloomberg BNA. Its solution need not wait for progress in the currently […]

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IDF gesture will keep carcinogen out of Israeli, Palestinian water supply – Jerusalem Post

by SHARON UDASIN, TOVAH LAZAROFF 04/28/2014 Friends of the Earth Middle East: This was a ‘seeping time bomb.’ The IDF has taken steps to keep a highly dangerous carcinogen from polluting one of Israel’s key water sources, the western part of the Mountain Aquifer, according to information published Sunday by Friends of the Earth Middle […]

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U.S. sees progress on Lebanon-Israel gas row – Daily Star

April 28, 2014 BEIRUT: A senior U.S. official said Washington’s effort to resolve a dispute between Lebanon and Israel over offshore borders was making progress, denying an Israeli media report that the mediation had reached a dead end. “I have now seen the article; it has absolutely no basis and seems to quote no officials […]

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Potential gas, oil reserve identified in Oz license block – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 04/27/2014 Situated off the coast of Tel Aviv, the Oz license could be a source of over 600 million barrels of oil. A potential source of hydrocarbons may be sitting just 50 km. off the coast of Tel Aviv – with about 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (71 billion cubic […]

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Counting the costs of energy, water and food consumption in the Gulf – AFED

Glada Lahn 30/04/2014 The Gulf region is a test case for one of the most serious questions of our time; how can we turn around damaging models of resource use when they are so ingrained in our economies and societies? The six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council are often painted as a miracle made […]

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