Thousands of residents will benefit from a UK-funded project designed to assist municipalities in meeting community needs, part of UNDP and the Ministry of Social Affairs’ project: The Lebanon Host Communities Support Project, a press release said on Friday. In his first official visit to Sidon, where he met with Mayor Mohammed el-Saudi and members […]

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Six hundred “green mosques” are to be created in Morocco by March 2019 in a national consciousness-raising initiative that aims to speed the country’s journey to clean energy. If all goes to plan, the green revamp will see LED lighting, solar thermal water heaters and photovoltaic systems installed in 100 mosques by the end of […]

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By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH 09/20/2016 Some 300 million people around the world get their potable water from 17,000 desalination plants in 150 countries, including Israel. Researchers have already shown that depending on desalinated water for drinking that lacks magnesium can raise the risk of heart disease. Now, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem maintain that […]

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Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia commissioned studies into the environmental and economic impact of a $4 billion dam on the Nile that Addis Ababa aims to make the centerpiece of its bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter. The 6,000-megawatt Grand Renaissance Dam, situated close to Ethiopia’s border with Sudan and being built by Italy’s largest […]

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Kingdom’s shrinking forest lands threatened by fires, illegal logging By Hana Namrouqa – Sep 18,2016 – A total of 1,982 violations on forest lands have been registered since 2002 AMMAN — Plans are under way to employ modern technology in combating violations against the Kingdom’s forests, government officials said on Sunday. The Ministry of Agriculture […]

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FAO working to enhance food security in Jordan By Khetam Malkawi – Sep 11,2016 Participants in a project implemented by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in northern Jordan use a ‘soilless mechanism’ to grow plants for food production recently (Photo courtesy of FAO) AMMAN — Although it was implemented on a limited scale, a […]

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Israel has encouraged Israelis to buy new cars, while shelving alternative public transportation projects. By 2030, its economy will lose $10 billion due to decreased mobility, loss of work hours, traffic accidents and pollution. Haaretz Editorial Sep 15, 2016 It’s hard to shake off the feeling that traffic has grown heavier in recent months. The […]

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Ram Eisenberg has been tasked by the city with finding ways to improve the walking experience for pedestrians. He has his work cut out for him. Avraham Balaban Sep 17, 2016 I meet landscape architect Ram Eisenberg next to Gan Ha’ir Mall in Tel Aviv. Eisenberg is conducting a study for the municipality’s strategic planning […]

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Works to set up a seaside garbage landfill in Bourj Hammoud will be completed on October 7 and the Sukleen firm will start removing accumulated trash from 45 towns in Northern Metn and Keserwan as of Tuesday night, Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb said. “The problem was not in the roadway towards decentralization but rather in […]

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The Kataeb Party and a number of environmental groups announced Sunday a “temporary suspension” of a sit-in that started a month ago outside the Bourj Hammoud garbage landfill, noting that their protest has obliged authorities to revise a controversial waste management plan and to endorse steps based on waste sorting, composting and decentralization. “The approach […]

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New plan proposes building 3,900 housing units in area between two rivers slated for Lod park. Zafrir Rinat Sep 17, 2016 10: Cabinet ministers are to discuss Sunday whether to fast track a plan to build thousands of homes in an area that had been mooted as a potential national park in Lod. The Israel […]

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After three years of lack of rain, the Sea of Galilee is at its lowest point since Fall 2012; if this year’s rains fail again, both the lake and the aquifers surrounding it will be at dangerously low levels. Ahiya Raved|Published: 12.09.16 The Sea of Galilee’s Kinneret Authority recently announced that the waterline currently stands […]

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Algae can be engineered to hyper-produce hydrogen, a clean source of energy for cars and industry, too, say Tel Aviv scientists Ruth Schuster Sep 12, 2016 You could be growing your own car fuel in some scummy green tank in your living room one day, with or without engineered fluorescent fish inside. No, you wouldn’t […]

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Prime minister commits to more hours of electricity, gas pipeline into strip. The Dutch government will assist Israel in improving water and gas supplies to the energy-strapped Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday during a visit to the Netherlands. Netanyahu said that while his government is in a conflict with what he […]

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Desalination has eased the water shortage, but continued drought, over-pumping and the needs of a growing population are playing havoc with the country’s ecology. By Nir Hasson, Noa Shpigel, Ido Efrati and Zafrir Rinat Sep 06, 2016 Most of the public believes that desalination has helped Israel overcome its chronic water crisis, but water experts […]

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Technology has proven beneficial in remote areas, spokesperson says By Hana Namrouqa – Sep 06,2016 AMMAN — The Ministry of Water on Tuesday launched Jordan’s first well powered solely by renewable energy, in an experiment that could be replicated across the badia, a ministry official said. The well is located in Salhiyet Al Naim in […]

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Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb announced Monday that a “solution” has been reached for the country’s renewed waste management and collection crisis, following a meeting with two Free Patriotic Movement officials. “We have managed to reach a solution through negotiations,” said Shehayyeb at a joint press conference with Education Minister Elias Bou Saab of the FPM […]

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By Hana Namrouqa – Sep 05,2016 AMMAN — The Ministry of Agriculture has banned hunting of chukar and sand partridges, two bird species that are highly prized by hunters, an official said on Monday. The ban is in place to protect the dwindling populations of the game birds, and is effective for three years across […]

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The International Conference on Water and Climate, “Water Security for Climate Justice”, organised under the umbrella of COP22 in Rabat, 11-12 July 2016 was a large success with 650 participants from 40 countries. The conference stressed the urgent need to take into account the adaptation of water resource to climate change in this new intergovernmental […]

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The Southern shores of the Mediterranean are among the world’s most water-scarce areas, with more than 150 million people facing water stress. According to the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), this figure is set to rise by a further 80-100 million by 2025. The effects of climate change, including more extreme phenomena like droughts […]

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