By DANIEL K. EISENBUD 01/14/2018 NGOs demand the Transportation Ministry adopt a national emergency plan to alleviate traffic congestion. A consortium of transportation NGOs organized a national “day of rage” Sunday morning to demand the Transportation Ministry adopt an emergency plan to alleviate chronic traffic jams that result in tedious commutes. At 9 a.m., drivers […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Hana Namrouqa – Dec 27,2017 AMMAN — Trans-boundary water cooperation on the Jordan River Basin between Jordan and Israel scored 56.67 under the Water Cooperation Quotient (WCQ) 2017 that quantifies the quality of cooperation within trans-boundary river basins on a global basis. All riparian relations that have WCQ 50 and higher have a relatively […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Yihui Wang 2/1/2018 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), the publication […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Hana Namrouqa – Dec 30,2017 Authorities removed scores of violations on the King Abdullah Canal over the past week (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation) AMMAN — Authorities removed scores of violations on the King Abdullah Canal over the past week, thus ending the “daily theft” of thousands of cubic metres […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Kinneret not in danger of drying up, expert says – YNET Winter has come, but scant precipitation raised concerns over the Kinneret’s water levels; Kinneret expert says no alarm necessary: ‘Harsher droughts have taken place before. Low water levels are not harmful and there will be no shortage of drinking water.’ Alexandra Lukash|Published: 29.12.17 , […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Hana Namrouqa – Dec 31,2017 The Environment Ministry has been in communication with consumer associations, shopping malls and pharmacy chains over the past year to ask them to abandon the use of regular plastic bags and turn to biodegradable plastic bags and paper bags (File photo) AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment has referred […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Hana Namrouqa – Dec 18,2017 AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation will float next month a tender for establishing a mega solar plant in the south of the Kingdom to power its major water projects, a senior government official said on Thursday. The studies and blueprints of the solar plant project are […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Farah Tawfeek January 2, 2018 In an effort to boost renewable energy in Egypt and establish Egypt as a leading player in environmental development, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy initiated a LE 5 billion project to build the largest wind farm in the Middle East, locates in the Suez Bay, funding the project […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Reuters January 2, 2018 Egypt is set to inaugurate a new wharf for natural gas and petroleum product tankers on the Gulf of Suez in the coming days, another step in its plan to become a regional energy hub. The new 2.5 km wharf is being built by SUMED, which for decades has operated two […]

Read the rest of this entry »

full report: http://www.mahmiyat.ps/uploads/171013%20HSF_Bethlehem_Printed%20Version_NC.pdf Forward: This publication bases on the report “Environmental conservation and protected areas in Palestine: Challenges and Opportunities” by Dr. Mazin Qumsieh, Betlehem University and Dr. Zuhair Amr, Jordan University of Science and Technology, which have been contracted by Hanns Seidel Foundation for this task. The report has been written in the framework […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Dec. 19, 2017 SALFIT (Ma’an) — The Union of Agricultural Work Committees held a workshop titled “the water reality of Salfit, challenges and horizons”, in cooperation with the Municipality of Salfit, to maintain water resources and facilitate access to it. Forty representatives of all members in the water sector in Salfit and the Palestinian Water […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Northern region faces ‘worst drought of past 40 years’ YNET Israel’s northern region reports fifth year in a row of minute precipitation; farmers have no choice but to water fields already sown but refrain from sowing further; ‘I remember the amazing taste of the nectarines we grew here, it was heavenly. But now it has […]

Read the rest of this entry »

The impact of wind turbines on birds and bats exceeds tolerable levels recommended by nature authorities, and there is currently no solution to the problem Zafrir Rinat Dec 20, 2017 Wind turbines cause significant damage to bird and bat life in Israel, beyond the level deemed tolerable by nature authorities. The Parks and Nature Authorityy […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Authorities seize ‘sophisticated’ illegal drilling rig in Azraq By Hana Namrouqa – Dec 23,2017 AMMAN — Authorities have arrested four people in Azraq, east of the country for allegedly drilling an illegal well and obstructing enforcement of the law, an official source said on Saturday. In the process, authorities seized and confiscated a “sophisticated” drilling […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Hariri Chairs Committee Meeting on Expansion of Landfills 26 December 2017 Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday chaired the ministerial committee meeting at the Grand Serail tasked with addressing a controversial solution for waste management. The meeting was held in the presence of Deputy PM and Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani, Ministers of: State Talal Arslan, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Al-Masry Al-Youm Dec 13/2017 The Environment Minister Khalid Fahmy instructed the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) and the Red Sea Marine Park Authority (RSMPA) on Wednesday to clean up oil spills which repeatedly occurred and appeared on the Red Sea’s Ras Ghareb beach since February 2016. Committees of the EEAA and RSMPA surveyed the beach […]

Read the rest of this entry »

AFP Tuesday, 26 December 2017 Egypt’s top diplomat is to visit Addis Ababa Tuesday to discuss controversial Ethiopian plans to build a dam on the Nile that Cairo fears will impact its water supplies, his ministry said Monday. Construction of the massive dam on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia has poisoned relations between the two […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Mareike Enghusen December 26, 2017 It was a coincidence and an empty fuel tank that led Mahmoud Abo al-Rokab to his business idea. During a trip in Britain in 2008, where he was working as a soccer commentator, he approached a gas station with the car he had rented. Among the fuels on offer, one […]

Read the rest of this entry »

AFP, Tehran Wednesday, 20 December 2017 Schools were closed for a fourth straight day in Tehran on Wednesday as dangerous air pollution covered the Iranian capital and traffic restrictions failed to clear the thick smog. Average airborne concentration of the finest and most hazardous particles (PM2.5) was “unhealthy” at 160 microgrammes per cubic metre, slightly […]

Read the rest of this entry »

For over 20 years the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura has brought together Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and international students to study cross border environmental cooperation together. There are now 1000 alumni who work throughout Palestine, Jordan, Israel and around the world. This includes 230 Palestinians from the West Bank, Gaza and Israel; […]

Read the rest of this entry »