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 April, 2019

Israel turns hundreds of dunams into nature reserve near Nablus – Maan

pril 17, 2019 NABLUS (Ma’an) — The Israeli authorities turned hundreds of dunams of Palestinian-owned agricultural lands into a nature reserve in the eastern area of Khirbet Yanoun south of the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus, on Tuesday. Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an […]

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This is the last climate change story you will ever read — if you take Christiana Figueres’ advice – Haaretz

It takes a world, not a village, to fix the problem we created, but the technology (mostly) already exists, says the architect of the Paris Agreement and co-winner of this year’s Dan David Prize Ruth Schuster | Apr. 22, 2019 Yes, we can fix the planet, insists Christiana Figueres, the doyenne of climate change and […]

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Pesticides Ban Reduces Toxins in Pregnant Women – Haaretz

The Israeli government’s ban on several varieties of pesticides led to a 40 percent drop in concentrations of toxins in pregnant women, research shows Zafrir Rinat | Apr. 17, 2019 The government’s decision to ban the use of a few types of pesticides seven years ago has led to a significant decline in concentrations of […]

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‘Investment in renewable energy to exceed $4b mark’ – Jordan Times

By JT – Apr 22,2019 Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati on Sunday poses with representatives, experts and officials of Arab countries during a workshop on sustainably integrating renewable energy into regional power grids (Petra photo) AMMAN — Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati on Sunday launched a pan-Arab workshop on […]

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Electric company produces record amount of green energy – Jerusalem Post

By TZVI JOFFRE 04/24/2019 The production capacity was 1,326 megawatts, accounting for 19.3% of the total energy production. At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the Israeli Electric Company announced that they had broken their all-time record for energy produced from renewable resources, Ynet reported. The production capacity, meaning the maximum electric output under the specific conditions […]

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Tadweer opens region’s first battery solar system at landfill – Environment and Development

Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre (Tadweer) opened the first battery solar system in the region at its Al Dhafra Landfill on Wednesday. A solar-plus-storage plant is an energy storage system charged by a connected solar power plant. The facility at Al Dhafra Landfill has minimal operation and maintenance costs compared to conventional plants, and utilises […]

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Egypt establishes waste management factory for alternative fuel in Ain Sokhna – Egypt Independent

Al-Masry Al-Youm April 18, 2019 Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmeen Fouad opened on Thursday a factory of waste management solutions by provider Geocycle Egypt Company in Suez’s Ain Sokhna city. Fouad clarified that the factory is equipped with modern technological devices summing LE200 million in investments and will be the largest factory in the Middle […]

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There’s a way to save Jordan. But it might kill the Dead Sea – Haaretz

Water crisis in the Hashemite kingdom can be eased by desalinating water from the Red Sea, with brine waste used to replenish the vanishing Dead Sea — but experts don’t agree if it will succeed Ruth Schuster, Avner Tavori | Apr. 18, 2019 The Dead Sea is slowly dying. For tens of thousands of years, […]

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‘MENA region has only 1 per cent of world’s freshwater’ – Jordan Times

By JT – Apr 22,2019 AMMAN — An exhibition on “Water in the Middle East and North Africa [MENA]” was opened at The Roman Theatre in Amman on Monday, sponsored by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Greater Amman Municipality and the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. Water and Irrigation Minister Raed Abul Saud […]

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National clean-up campaign draws in thousands as gov’t seeks to ‘combat littering’ – Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN — Several thousands of people from all walks of life joined a cross-country clean-up campaign to curb littering and spread the word on the need to protect forests and parks on Saturday. Twelve locations, including forests, parks, beaches and tourist and archaeological sites, welcomed up to 40,000 people from schools, youth […]

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Israeli Startup Finds Holy Grail of Garbage Disposal – Haaretz

UBQ invented a patented new composite material based on trash that actually decarbonizes the atmosphere in net terms, and uses no water in the process Ruth Schuster | Apr. 16, 2019 Garbage is a blight. It gets collected by the city — or in some cases even by the mafia —, which pile it up, […]

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Passover one of the ‘most wasteful’ times of the year – Jerusalem Post

By EYTAN HALON 04/18/2019 “Part of the answer is that children are at home and not at school, where some of them have a lunch program. At home, they have to find some kind of sustenance, so the family needs more food.” The festival of Passover, a celebration of the timeless tale of Jewish freedom […]

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Aoun Tells Pavlopoulos Lebanon Won’t Join Gas Forum Comprising Israel – Naharnet

President Michel Aoun on Thursday said he told visiting Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos that Lebanon will not accept to join any Mediterranean gas consortium comprising Israel. “I thanked the president for his country’s stance on Jerusalem and its stance on the Syrian Golan. I also stressed that the U.S. president’s decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty […]

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Bassil Says Lebanon to Strengthen Oil and Gas Cooperation with Cyprus – Naharnet

The top diplomats of Lebanon and neighboring island nation Cyprus said Thursday they were working together towards a deal over adjacent oil and gas exploration zones in the Mediterranean. Both countries hope to exploit resources on either side of their shared maritime border, and Lebanon this month opened tenders for three of its four blocks […]

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Parliament Approves Amendments to Implement Electricity Plan – Naharnet

The Parliament passed on Wednesday amendments necessary to implement an ambitious plan to restructure the country’s crumbling electricity sector. Restructuring the power sector, dysfunctional since Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war, has been among key demands for reforms by the World Bank and international donors. Lawmakers have turned down a proposal submitted by Lebanese Forces MP George […]

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Ministry of Environment prepares for nationwide cleaning campaign on Saturday – Jordan Times

Clean-up efforts to target parks, tourist attractions and sites along Jordan Trail By JT – Apr 17,2019 AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment is preparing to launch a nationwide cleaning campaign on Saturday, to mark the 25th anniversary of His Majesty King Abdullah’s Ascension to the Throne. The campaign, aside from the clean-up effort, will […]

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Iran leader approves tapping sovereign fund for flood relief – Environment and Development

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved drawing up to $2 billion from the country’s sovereign wealth fund for relief and reconstruction after devastating floods, state media reported on Monday. On Sunday, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said the weeks of heavy rain across the country had caused an estimated $2.5 billion in damage […]

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Historic Water Levels at Iraq Reservoirs and Dams – Naharnet

Water levels in Iraq’s reservoirs and dams have reached historic heights, officials have told AFP, with thousands of families facing possible displacement by more flooding. Weeks of rain compounded by melting snowcaps in neighboring Turkey and Iran have almost filled Iraq’s four main reservoirs and swelled the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In Samarra, north of […]

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Butterflies swarm Lebanon’s meadows in numbers unseen for 100 years – Jerusalem Post

By REUTERS 04/18/2019 “The last time this migration happened in this way was back in 1917,” said Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat, a professor in plant genetics in Lebanon. ZAAROUR, Lebanon (Reuters) – A vast number of migrating butterflies have swarmed across Lebanon this year after heavy winter rain in the Middle East led to an […]

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Volunteers take to southern Jordan to plant trees – Jordan Times

JT – Apr 15,2019 AMMAN — The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) on Friday sent a convoy to the south of Jordan to plant trees and support farmers through various agricultural activities. The initiative brought together 150 volunteers of all ages, an APN statement said. The convoy operated under the banner of […]

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