note: The report mentioned below: 2019 Report: Climate Change, Water Security and National Security for Jordan, Palestine and Israel is available at
ecopeaceme.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/climate-change-web.pdf
EcoPeace’s Workshop on Water Security and Environmental Peacebuilding
From the 10th to the 15th of December, EcoPeace Middle East hosted a first of its kind workshop on ‘Middle East Water Security and Environmental Peacebuilding’. Participants from all over the world flew to Jordan to partake in a practioners exchange of experiences on the topic of water security and environmental peacebuilding.
The EcoPeace Program on Water Security is supported by the Bosch Foundation and in partnership with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Regional Program Energy Security And Climate Change Middle East And North Africa (Remena)
2019 Report: Climate Change, Water Security and National Security for Jordan, Palestine and Israel
Hot off the press is our new Climate Security Report. The report follows national roundtables held in Amman, Ramallah, and Tel Aviv, and a regional roundtable, which took place in November 2018 at the Dead Sea, Jordan, as part of the 2018 EcoPeace Annual Conference. At each event, participants from a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including government, academia, think tanks, private sector, and civil society actively engaged in discussions on climate change and its implications for national and regional security.
In addition, EcoPeace’s Israel Director Gidon Bromberg was interviewed by PBS News Hour on the topic of climate change and the need for regional cooperation. See here for the full program.
The “Advancing Climate Security, Peace and Regional Security through Water Diplomacy in Israel, Jordan and Palestine” project is supported by the German Embassy in Jordan, Palestine and Israel.
This month EcoPeace Middle East staff from the Palestine and Jordan Offices participated in the “Sustainable Finance and Green Economy” workshop organized by KAS REMENA. The expert meeting aimed at tackling climate change and resource shortage issues in the MENA region. EcoPeace had a key role in the Best-practices from the MENA Region Roundtable, at which EcoPeace’s vision for regional cooperation was presented, specifically the Water Energy Nexus in partnership with KAS. Following the workshop EcoPeace staff participated in the experts meeting “Opportunities and Risks of Digitalization for Climate Change Mitigation/Adaptation and Resource Security in the MENA Region”. EcoPeace moderated the Roundtable “International experiences – possible transferability”.
On December 4th, EcoPeace Middle East Ramallah Office organized a town hall meeting at Althariyah Municipality focusing on water and sanitation issues in Althahriyah and AlSamo. The town hall meeting promoted EcoPeace ME advocacy efforts to advance the construction of the planned wastewater treatment plan at Wadi Al Samen and “Khalet Wafi” landfill for slurry from stone cutting industry which are expected to reduce negative impacts on local public health and the burden on the national economy due to the transboundary wastewater impacts. The Palestinian Water Authority presented their future plans in 2019 to improve the water and sanitation situation in the Hebron Governorate, encouraging civil society engagement and leadership.
Activities conducted in the Hebron/Negev/Basin are supported by the Government of Canada.
Water Diplomacy Students on Neighbors Path Tours
In December EcoPeace Israel staff organized 9 Neighbors Path tours for 267 students and 17 teachers participating in our Water Diplomacy program. The tours included visits to The Lower Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea and the Alexander Stream. The students learned about the various environmental issues affecting each watershed and the need for cross border cooperation in order to solve the water challenges faced. The students will choose a relevant project later in the year to address the water diplomacy issues they are learning about.
First of a series of meetings on changes in the Jordan Valley
This month EcoPeace’s Israeli Water Officer kicked off a series of meetings with senior residents of the Jordan Valley in Israel. At these meetings we are collecting testimony from the residents on how the Jordan River used to be and the drastic changes that have taken place here. The aim is to collect the footage and memories of the once ‘Mighty Jordan River’ and work towards its rehabilitation.
EcoPeace was also quoted this month on the dire situation of the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee and how this is also affecting the Dead Sea. In an article about pollution and lack of flow in the Jordan River EcoPeace’s Israeli Water Officer was quoted as saying, “It’s [The Dead Sea] disappearing slowly and this is an ecological disaster that we are responsible [for], and the Jordan River is part of the solution of rehabilitating the Dead Sea as well, because that’s the main source of water to the Dead Sea,” For the full article click here
The above activities are part of the Good Water Neighbors (GWN) project which is supported by the Swedish International Development Agency.