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, 2019

More fires near Gaza border could cause irreversible damage, Israel’s Parks Authority warns – Haaretz

Some 8,000 acres went up in flames due to airborne firebombs flown over the border from Gaza in recent months Zafrir Rinat | Dec. 12, 2018 Nature reserves and other open spaces near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip stand to suffer irreversible damage if more fires break out in the area, the Israel Nature […]

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Four years after oil spill, southern Israeli nature reserve remains in peril – Haaretz

Evrona Nature Reserve, the site of an oil leak followed by a waste pool spill, is still closed to public Zafrir Rinat | Dec. 30, 2018 | 7:47 PM | 1 The landscape of the Evrona Nature Reserve in the Negev Desert can be misleading. It appears to be a typical, acacia-studded desertscape through which […]

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Israel Passes Law Allowing Civil Suits for Environmental Damage – Haaretz

Until now, civil suits could only be filed if the environmental hazard caused harm to people Zafrir Rinat | Jan. 2, 2019 | 12:07 AM The Knesset passed a law Tuesday allowing the public and nonprofit groups to file civil suits against any person or entity that damages the environment – a move inspired after […]

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TAU research shows shocking amount of microplastic in maritime organisms – Jerusalem Post

By YAFIT OVADIA 01/03/2019 When beach-goers litter, the waste washes out to sea and may break up into smaller pieces. A study conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University discovered that an alarming amount of microplastics – miniscule pieces of plastic that are ingested by aquatic creatures – have been found in the bodies of […]

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Half of industrial city factories pollute air: Environment Ministry – Egypt Independent

Half of the factories in the industrial cities are “air polluting,” Egypt’s Ministry of Environment said on Sunday, adding that 20 percent of the vehicles whose emissions have been measured are “violators,” as well as 59 percent of the public buses belonging to the Public Transport Authority (PTA). The Ministry of Environment has received about […]

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Environmental NGO purchases land with endangered wildlife – Jerusalem Post

By ALON EINHORN 01/07/2019 This time, 20 acres filled with coral reefs located at a strategic point in the Carribeans. TiME (This is My Earth) managed, for a third year in a row, to raise enough money in order to purchase land containing endangered wildlife and declare it as a nature reserve, and this time […]

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New Report: Climate Change, Water Security, and National Security for Jordan, Palestine, and Israel – Ecopeace

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is considered a climate hotspot due to its natural water scarcity, low levels of socio-ecological resilience, social tensions and political conflicts, and ongoing immigration crisis. Over the course of the century, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel are projected to experience an average temperature rise over the […]

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Prince Hassan attends seminar on water challenges in Jordan – Jordan Times

Jan 10,2019 – AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan, chairman of the Royal Scientific Society’s Board of Trustees, on Wednesday attended a seminar on “The Water Situation in Jordan and the Challenges Facing the Sector”. The seminar was organised by the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies and was attended by numerous experts who shed […]

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Preparatory meetings for environment conference kick off at Dead Sea – Jordan Times

Jan 09,2019 AMMAN — Preparatory meetings for the extraordinary session of the Arab Environment Ministers Council kicked off on Wednesday at the Dead Sea, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The extraordinary session, due to take place on January 9-10 in Jordan, will feature the participation of 18 Arab countries at the ministerial level. The […]

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Saving the Dead Sea (editorial) – Jordan Times

Jan 06,2019 Scientists, environmentalists, ecologists and others are all sounding the alarm, once again, that the Dead Sea is fast shrinking, and that at this rate it will become a tiny pool by the middle of this century. Experts say that the level of the Dead Sea is receding by 1.5 metres per year! One […]

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Solar power converted into electricity will be distributed soon – Jerusalem Post

By YAFIT OVADIA 01/01/2019 The projects are expected to generate revenues of NIS 20 million per year. The Israel Electric Company is set to work with start-up Enlight Renewable Energy to convert solar energy to electricity on a massive scale. Enlight CEO Gilad Yavetz said: “We can see the importance of the company’s continued expansion […]

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Renewable sources contribute ‘8% of 2018 energy mix’ – Jordan Times

Jan 10,2019 AMMAN — The combined total capacity of power generation projects from renewable resources in the Kingdom reached 1,090 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2018, the Energy Ministry said on Thursday. This includes projects to reduce consumption through the net index and energy transit with a total capacity of 330MW, according to a […]

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Overconsumption or climate change? Experts debate cause of drop in Sea of Galilee levels – Haaretz

Water Authority researchers say water supply to Israel’s only fresh water lake will decline by at least 12 percent over the next century, but experts fail to agree why Zafrir Rinat | Jan. 3, 2019 | 7:25 PM The question of why the Sea of Galilee, Israel’s only major fresh water lake, has fallen to […]

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Water sent to Israel’s north in bid to save drying Upper Galilee stream – Haaretz

In an attempt to keep the stream in Nahal Betzet from drying up, a pipe will be attached to several sections which may also reduce the use of groundwater, restoring flow to springs in the area Zafrir Rinat | Jan. 2, 2019 | 12:36 AM The Israel Nature and Parks Authority has begun introducing water […]

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Egypt, EBRD sign agreement to depollute Kitchener Drain – Egpyt Independent

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly witnessed on Wednesday the signing of an agreement for the integrated depollution project of the Kitchener Drain, developing a sustainable system for solid waste management and rehabilitation of the drain’s infrastructure at a cost of 148.3 million euros. The signings occurred in the presence of the Minister of Investment and […]

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Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Friendly words but no change on the ground – Al Ahram

Doaa El-Bey reviews another year of inconclusive meetings to determine the workings of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam More than three years have passed since Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed the Khartoum Declaration — the Declaration of Principles on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) — in March 2015, yet there has been little progress […]

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