By Mohammad Ghazal – Dec 03,2016 AMMAN — Jordan on Saturday granted licences for solar and wind power plants, increasing the overall number of licences awarded to such projects to 20, Farouq Hiyari, the chief commissioner of the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission, said Saturday. Jordan extended a licence to Green Watts Renewable Energy LLC […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/27/2016 Gigawatt Global Wind partners Yosef Abramowitz and Ilan Goldstein eye project in Africa. Though still eager to light up the globe with solar energy, Israel’s own “Captain Sunshine” has a new portfolio of renewable energy projects blowing in the wind. American-Israeli solar pioneer Yosef Abramowitz, together with investor Ilan Goldstein, plans […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/15/2016 “A year and a half ago when I entered my position, the gas was stuck, the sea was closed and the sector was strangled,” Steinitz said, at a Jerusalem press conference. “We are changing this picture.” After a four-year freeze in offshore natural gas exploration, National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Minister […]

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US, UK and Japan main contributors of grants, cash and in-kind assistance By Hana Namrouqa – Dec 03,2016 AMMAN — The government has raised approximately $400 million from donor countries and agencies to finance the first phase of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project (Red-Dead), a government official said on Saturday. The funds were […]

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Agriculture Ministry says weekend rain good for natural pastures, field crops By Hana Namrouqa – Dec 03,2016 AMMAN — Four million cubic metres (mcm) of water entered the Kingdom’s dams between Thursday and Saturday morning, according to the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA). The 10 major dams now store less than one-third of their total capacity, […]

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by Sawsan Tabazah – Dec 05,2016 AMMAN — A university student has launched an initiative to encourage the use of bicycles as sustainable, reliable and low-cost transport means. Khaled Abd Al Nasser, a sixth year engineering student at Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT), said that ever since he started studying at the university, he […]

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The last public beach on Beirut’s heavily developed seaside could soon be squeezed out by yet another luxury resort, raising fears that residents could find themselves living in a coastal city without much of a coast. The fight for Ramlet al-Baida beach has emerged as a new flashpoint between civil society activists and the entrenched […]

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Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. ecological activists are providing alternative, cost-saving systems for vital water and waste treatment. Zafrir Rinat Nov 21, 2016 Despite its relatively centralized location, adjacent to a main thoroughfare near Jericho, the Palestinian village of Auja is largely cut off from utilities such as water and electricity. To remedy this situation, an […]

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After years of complaints from central Israel and serious health repercussions for the Palestinians, a group of charcoal plants in Yabed are shut down by COGAT, which deems them harmful to ‘both Israelis and Palestinians alike.’ Associated Press|Published: 02.12.16 , 11:17 For years, residents of central Israel have been complaining about air pollution from Palestinian […]

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Can Water Bring the Political Process to A Safe Shore? December 8th, INSS, Tel Aviv ISRAELI and INTERNATIONAL ROUNDTABLE Event: Water Issues, from Source of Conflict to Vehicle for Regional Cooperation and Stability In cooperation with the global German political foundation, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung – Israel, and the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Tel […]

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(editorial) Nov 23,2016 The UN climate change conference, held recently in Morocco as a crucial step for governments looking to build on the Paris Climate Change Agreement adopted last year, was proof that the implementation of the Paris Agreement is under way and that the spirit of multilateral cooperation on climate change continues. Yet, while […]

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Najib Saad 14/11/2016 Even if all conflicts and wars were to stop immediately, the Arab region cannot meet the target of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 using traditional methods. Many Arab countries have experienced collapse at gigantic scale over the past years, which has largely reduced their hopes to no more than re-establishing […]

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Najib Saab, Submitted to the Board of Trustees Meeting on 10 November 2016 (Download the PPT Presentation) Excerpts of the report: Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) is closing its most challenging year, in a region overwhelmed by security and economic turmoil. Although we continue to believe that, after all sorts of conflicts and […]

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By AMOTZ ASA-EL 11/19/2016 The power-generating canal Theodore Herzl envisioned has become imperative to avert environmental calamity. The Dead Sea, one of the world’s most un-swimmable lakes, joined this week gloried swimming venues from the English Channel to the Cook Straits when a battalion of gutsy adventurers entered its oily waters in Jordan, and emerged […]

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Since April, northern Israel’s farmers forced to contend with the ‘longest summer in the country’s history’ amid total absence of rainfall; as reservoirs and streams remain empty, farmers are forced to activate irrigation systems; ‘we assume there is a drought every year unless proven otherwise.’ Ahiya Raved, Eli Segal and Tamar Avraham|Published: 29.11.16 , 11:01 […]

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With the Palestinian population approaching two million, a new World Bank report says that if no measures are taken by 2020, Gaza will no longer have usable water; While Israel provides technical support and advice, new wastewater plants are needed. The Media Line|Published: 03.12.16 As the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip approaches two million […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/01/2016 A statement from the ministry stressed that the office “stands by the goal of reducing public exposure to pollutants and preventing danger to residents in all of its activities.” A number of Beit Meir residents were evacuated on Wednesday – again – this time due to concerns over the presence of […]

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The first group to offer help to Israel in fighting the fires is Palestinian Authority; some 20 firefighters are sent to help; MK Odeh lauds the country’s coming together, criticizes those seeking to incite against Arabs. Ynet reporters|Published: 25.11.16 , 15:55 Eight firefighting brigades form the Palestinian Authority came to Israel overnight Thursday to help […]

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Nov 27,2016 AMMAN — The Civil Defence Department (CDD) on Sunday announced that its cadres had helped put out the fires that erupted in several areas in Israel and the West Bank, responding to an official request the government had received, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The support is part of the “humanitarian and […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/29/2016 Rehabilitation efforts already underway in KKL-JNF forests After a series of fires blazed through the country’s forests over the past week, environmentalists are urging the government to let the earth heal itself naturally, rather than rushing to replant trees. On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to both rebuild the homes […]

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