By Salma Elshahed | Al Arabiya News Sunday, 24 May 2015 Iran is heading towards a serious water crisis, experts warn, saying that a booming population and water-intensive agricultural programs have led the Islamic Republic’s supply to reach “critical levels” this year. The sixth report of a new series by Al Arabiya News Channel takes […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 05/24/2015 Developed by Israeli researcher Yaron Zinger at Monash University in Australia, successful tests of the Biofilter have been completed already in Kfar Saba in 2010. Aiming to salvage rainwater, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael- Jewish National Fund has completed the installation of a “Biofilter” system in Ramle on Wednesday. This is the second […]

Read the rest of this entry »

AMMAN — A major developer in Aqaba on Tuesday connected a 3.2 megawatt (MW) solar power plant to the national electricity grid, launching one of the largest private renewable energy projects in the region. Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner Hani Mulki acted as patron at a ceremony held by Ayla Oasis to […]

Read the rest of this entry »

by Muath Freij | May 24, 2015 Taxi Moumayaz will replace 300 cars with hybrid vehicles and up to 100 cars with electric vehicles, under an agreement signed with the Greater Amman Municipality (Photo by Osama Aqarbeh) AMMAN — Noor Jordan for Transport — Taxi Moumayaz will start operating hybrid vehicles in the next three […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Mohammed Zaatari| The Daily Star SIDON, Lebanon: Students from a local school in Sidon have built an environmentally friendly boat made of recycled materials, as part of a city-wide initiative to promote a cleaner environment. Students from the Environmental Club at Al-Iman High School Thursday sailed off Sidon’s coast in a small boat of their […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 05/27/2015 In the past, the Samar sands area encompassed about 7 sq. km., of which only about 1.9 sq. km. remains today, the INPA said. To the satisfaction of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA), the Israel Lands Authority (ILA) has agreed to cease mining sands in the Samar region of […]

Read the rest of this entry »

by Mohammad Ghazal | May 22, 2015 AMMAN — Energy-poor Jordan cannot rely solely on renewable resources to resolve its energy crisis and stem its rising power bill, which consumes 18 per cent of the gross domestic product, according to energy experts. The Kingdom, which annually imports 97 per cent of its energy needs, has […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Green concerns already sprouting as Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay takes post. By Zafrir Rinat | May 20, 2015 Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay (Kulanu) assumed his new position at the beginning of the week, but environmental organizations already have cause for concern. At present, Gabbay will not be a member of the housing cabinet, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

by Mohammad Ghazal | May 20, 2015 AMMAN — Jordan and Russia’s Rosatom will sign two agreements within the next two weeks necessary for the completion of the plan to build the country’s first nuclear power plant, according to Jordan Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Khaled Toukan. The first agreement covers the water cooling studies of […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Environmental Protection Ministry looking to help ailing waste disposal industry by charging companies that produce waste, and allowing waste to be exported for recycling. By Zafrir Rinat | May 18, 2015 A comprehensive report on Israel’s treatment of hazardous waste recommends imposing a fee on the companies that produce such waste to cover the costs […]

Read the rest of this entry »

BEIRUT: A large man-made irrigation pond in the Jbeil district village of Aqoura burst Wednesday, with the force of the gushing water washing away two other reservoirs, causing heavy flooding in the area. “It’s a disaster,” Aqoura Mayor Simon Merheb told The Daily Star by telephone. He said the floods swamped vast areas, causing extensive […]

Read the rest of this entry »

BEIRUT: The level of precipitation in Lebanon should be more than enough for the country, Energy Minister Arthur Nazarian said Friday, implying that management issues were to blame for recurring shortages. “Lebanon enjoys four times the levels of precipitation that it needs, and even with this citizens still suffer from problems related to water scarcity,” […]

Read the rest of this entry »

The tough agricultural conditions in Israel forced its people to find innovative ways to farm, which could help deal with ever-increasing global demand for food. The Media Line Published: 05.15.15 Ten billion people. That is the number of mouths that farmers will have to feed in another two decades. In order to do this food […]

Read the rest of this entry »

BEIRUT: A group of Lebanese energy analysts has founded an NGO to promote civil awareness and government transparency about Lebanon’s potential oil and gas industry. The Lebanese Gas & Oil Initiative reached its first crowdsourcing goal of $10,000 within three weeks, and its first project is to bring together a global network of experts, from […]

Read the rest of this entry »

see http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2014/09/pictures-lebanon-dying-fishing-in-2014989111054837.html for visuals Plagued by pollution, over-fishing and rapid development along the coast, Lebanon’s fishermen struggle to make a living. David Shaw | 20 Sep 2014 09:45 GMT | Environment, Middle East, Lebanon Beirut, Lebanon – For thousands of years, Lebanon’s coastline has been a vital source of sustenance for local residents. But privatisation […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Although sharks can be found in the Gulf of Aqaba, they are not an indigenous species and thus are not supposed to be hunted, Aqaba Marine Park (AMP) Director Abdullah Abu Awali said on Wednesday. A local fisherman in Aqaba, 330km south of Amman, reportedly caught an over three-metre-long shark this week and displayed it […]

Read the rest of this entry »

8/5/2015 More than 100 ‘natural disasters’ could strike in the Arab region in the next four years because of climate change, according to a new report. The Arab Sustainable Development Report 2015 predicts that disasters such as earthquakes, floods and storms will affect more than 210 million people in urban centers between 2010 and 2019. […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Amman, 13/05/2015 The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) organized a regional consultation in Amman on the Arab content of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO). Over 800 experts are working on GEO-6, the sixth edition of the periodic report on the state of the world environment, to be released in 2018. Government and stakeholder representatives discussed […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON,SHARON UDASIN 05/11/2015 Daniel Pipes to ‘Post’: Only Israel, with its cutting-edge scientific prowess, can offer assistance to the region. War, chaos and terrorism may be rampant in the Middle East, but the situation could become much worse as a catastrophe looms out of the regional water crisis. “The Middle East suffers […]

Read the rest of this entry »

GAZA CITY (AFP) — With Gaza’s supply of drinking water expected to dry up by 2020, a Palestinian engineer is pioneering a machine to make seawater potable for residents of the coastal territory. Diaa Abu Assi, a 29-year-old father-of-two, has spent much of his spare time in the past 18 months developing the system, which […]

Read the rest of this entry »