By Hana Namrouqa – Jan 24,2018 AMMAN — Lab tests showed that water of the Lahtha spring in Tafileh does not contain “worrying pollutants”, dismissing local residents’ claims that “the poisonous water killed their sheep.” Results of lab tests conducted by the Royal Scientific Society and the Ministry of Health on samples from the spring […]

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Under the supervision of the High Relief Committee and at PM Saad Hariri’s orders, trucks have started Tuesday removing the trash that accumulated on the Keserewan shore after rough waves broke down a faulty retaining wall around a coastal dump just east of Beirut, spilling the trash into the sea. Maj. Gen Mohammed Kheir, the […]

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By PHILIP ISSA Associated Press Jan 23, 2018 ZOUQ MOSBEH, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanon’s festering trash crisis came crashing ashore this week, after residents woke up to find a powerful winter storm had laid a mantle of waste at a beach just a few minutes’ drive north of the capital, Beirut. The scenes were a […]

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Storm carries massive rubbish pile to shores of Lebanon – Al Jazeera 23 Jan 2018 Large amounts of rubbish have washed ashore on beaches north of the Lebanese capital as a result of a heavy storm, reigniting debate about the rubbish crisis that has for years plagued the country. According to local media, the rubbish […]

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To bird lovers, the scenes are upsetting. Dozens of dead buzzards lie on a carpet of feathers on a rocky hill in northern Lebanon. Hunters pose with their catch — scores of calandra larks, known for their melodious birdsong, arranged neatly on the hoods of their Land Rovers. Great white pelicans, protected both in Europe […]

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Abu Dhabi has completed the construction of the world’s largest reserve of high-quality desalinated water, officials announced on Monday during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The reservoir, costing Dh 1.6 billion and located in Liwa in Al Dhadra region of Abu Dhabi, has 5.6 billion gallons of water stored in it, which is sufficient to […]

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Gazans are forced to buy water at six times the standard rate from private enterprises Zafrir Rinat Jan 21, 2018 Almost all of the drinking water in the Gaza Strip is impotable because of sewage pollution or high salinity levels, according to data presented last week by a hydrologist who advises the Palestinian Water Authority. […]

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Reuven Rivlin says many residents in Gaza Strip will be left without sanitary conditions and clean drinking water, rejects accusations that Israel is responsible for situation Almog Ben Zikri Jan 21, 2018 Israeli president Reuven Rivlin warned Sunday that the Gaza Strip is on the verge of collapse and blamed Hamas for the dire situation […]

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By JTA 12/19/2017 With Israel apparently approaching a fifth-consecutive dry year, the Kinneret has dropped to dangerously low levels. JERUSALEM — Israel is preparing to pump desalinated water into the Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). The state’s Water Authority recently started work on the $300 million project, which will take about two years to complete, […]

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Yihui Wang January 2, 2018 The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) has published a report titled, ‘Arab Environment in 10 Years,’ which synthesizes a decade worth of AFED annual reports on the state of the Arab environment. Highlighting developments across six priority areas (water, energy, air, food, green economy, and environmental scientific research), […]

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January 22, 2018 Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel on Monday blasted the government anew over the waste management crisis, announcing that he will take it to “international courts” for polluting the sea with garbage. “Words cannot describe this scene. Today we are present at Keserwan’s shore but the entire shore of Mount Lebanon is […]

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By Hana Namrouqa – Jan 17,2018 AMMAN — With rain forecast for this weekend, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Wednesday urged the public to collect rainwater off rooftops for future use during the hot season. By simply cleaning up the roofs of the buildings ahead of winter to clear dirt and pollutants, people […]

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By Ana V. Ibáñez Prieto – Jan 22,2018 AMMAN — The rooftops of Karak are being turned into new agricultural spaces with “Be a Friend to the Environment”, an initiative founded by 30-year-old entrepreneur Faten Al Rahaife, which aims at creating new spaces for composting within rural communities. “We create new spaces for cultivation on […]

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Saudi Arabia expects to begin eight renewable energy projects this year that could total more than 4.1 gigawatts of capacity. Solar will lead the pack with 3.3 GW, and wind projects could account for 800 megawatts, said Turki al-Shehri, head of the kingdom’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office. Winning bidders will cover the financing — […]

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The share of renewables in the Middle East energy mix is forecast to triple over the next 17 years — but natural gas will remain the dominant power source in the region. That’s one of the key findings of a new report published this week by Siemens. It predicts that by 2035 the Middle East […]

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Oded Eran, INSS, Gidon Bromberg and Giulia Giordano, EcoPeace Middle East January 2018 full report: http://ecopeaceme.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Water_Diplomacy.pdf Introduction: This paper reflects on the concepts of water security and water diplomacy, describes the state of water security in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories, and presents a set of recommendations to decision makers designed to advance Israeli […]

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Message of Peace We put a year behind us shaped by political challenges that led many to the conclusion that peace cannot be achieved under the current conditions. Recent political developments such as the US announcement to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move its embassy there, have served to support this view. […]

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By CLIVE LIPCHIN 01/06/2018 The Dead Sea is slowly fading away. Each year the water level recedes another meter or so and more and more sinkholes appear along the shoreline, swallowing up gas stations, restaurants, agricultural fields and beaches. This unique, one-of-kind ecosystem is disappearing, yet the government seems not to care. The reasons for […]

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Without the support of the Defense Ministry, which can’t find the budget to implement the necessary solutions, the plan will very likely not be approved Zafrir Rinat Jan 14, 2018 The Defense Ministry is threatening to withdraw its support for a plan to generate electricity on the Golan Heights using wind turbines. This is because […]

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‘It’s not just declarations but rather capabilities, mainly missiles, aimed at attacking the platforms,’ Israeli defense official says ■ Israel doesn’t believe Hezbollah would strike just to create a provocation Yaniv Kubovich Jan 04, 2018 Hezbollah has the capability to attack Israel’s offshore natural gas platforms, having acquired the armaments such as rockets to do […]

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