Louise Sarant Around St. Catherine’s Monastery, encircled by the high South Sinai mountains, lie hundreds of Bedouin gardens nested in the nearby wadis, or valleys. These gardens, which were initially built during the Byzantine period by monks, hermits and settlers from around the Mediterranean, have been the responsibility of the Jabaleya Bedouins for more than […]

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A new facility in the West Bank, built with World Bank funding and operated by Palestinian entrepreneurs, will likely serve both Palestinians and Jewish settlers. By Zafrir Rinat | Mar.21, 2013 Local Jewish and Arab leaders in the Nazareth region and Jezreel Valley said this week they intend to work together to protect the environment. […]

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Mar 21, 2013 AMMAN — Egypt has not taken a decision to reduce gas supplies to Jordan, a diplomat said on Thursday. Khaled Thawrat, Egyptian Ambassador to Jordan, was responding to reports claiming that Cairo intends to cut down the amount of gas it exports to Jordan and halt the supply completely in June, describing […]

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March 19, 2013 12:30 AM By Bassam Fattouh The East Mediterranean has in the recent past experienced what could be described as the beginnings of a small gas revolution. The discovery of large gas deposits in the East Mediterranean since 2009 has spurred a flurry of exploration activity, leading the Financial Times to comment that […]

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One of country’s largest holding companies reports sharply wider loss in fourth quarter due to steeper losses at its shipping and electric car divisions, smaller profit at its chemicals subsidiary Reuters Published: 03.22.13 Israel Business Israel Corp, one of Israel’s largest holding companies, reported a sharply wider loss in the fourth quarter due to steeper […]

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While a power-hungry population demands more and more energy, the Israel Electric Corporation, burdened by debts, is cutting investment in its transmission network. By Itai Trilnick | Mar.21, 2013 sraelis are hungrier than ever for electricity and the Israel Electric Corporation would like to supply that demand. But there’s a snag. The Israel Electric Corporation […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Mar 21, 2013 | 21:18 AMMAN — Environmentalists on Thursday urged the public to turn off their lights for one hour on Saturday evening under an international initiative that calls for reducing electricity consumption. A candlelight march down Rainbow Street will set off at 8:30pm from Wild Jordan, as public and […]

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While The Guardian has expanded its environmental reporting through corporate partnerships that might raise ethical issues, The New York Times has simply disbanded its environmental desk. By Zafrir Rinat | Mar.13, 2013 It can be said that global media coverage of environmental topics entered into a decline just at the time that they were really […]

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John Waterbury, 2013. download from http://www.arab-hdr.org/resources/paperseries.aspx Executive Summary The policy process in the Arab world is poorly understood. That observation is even more pertinent with respect to policies aimed at adapting to climate change. Nonetheless, we can draw lessons from the literature on policy-making with respect to economic reform in the Arab world that bear […]

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March 15, 2013 04:49 PM By Emma Farge GENEVA: U.N. agencies want to strengthen national drought policies after warnings that climate change would increase their frequency and severity. Droughts cause more deaths and displacement than floods or earthquakes, making them the world’s most destructive natural hazard, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, one of […]

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Louise Sarant Climate change, a fast growing population, ill-designed infrastructure, high levels of pollution and lack of law enforcement have made Egypt a country thirsty for water — both in terms of quantity and quality. The River Nile, which is considered poor by many experts and hydrologists, lies at lower altitude than the rest of […]

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The Israeli-Palestinian political process has been stalled for too long. It could soon be replaced by a third Intifada or a Palestinian version of the Arab Spring. If the renewed Obama Administration wants to try and avoid this possible turn of events, it has to change the paradigm that has guided all previous efforts to […]

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By SHARON UDASIN, LAHAV HARKOV 03/15/2013 Outgoing Environment minister refuses to accept Energy and Water Ministry without the addition of Environmental Protection. Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan has turned down Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s offer to grant him the Energy and Water Ministry, a senior source in the Environmental Protection Ministry told The Jerusalem Post […]

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Birth defects and cancer rates are rising in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, immediate environmental clean-up is needed. Last Modified: 15 Mar 2013 War zones are heavily polluted with a variety of contaminants, and toxic metal mixtures are routinely found in these areas. Metal contaminants in war zones originate from bombs and bullets as well […]

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Energy and water resources minister reminds companies that their gas field must supply needs of Israeli market Amir Ben-David Published: 03.14.13 Energy and Water Resources Minister Uzi Landau has sent a “letter of reprimand” to the Tamar partners, demanding that they avoid signing agreements to sell gas from the Tamar field. “According to the report […]

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Improved offer will include pledges to maintain staffing levels, aimed at overcoming employee opposition to the deal, and to improve environmental protection. By Yoram Gabison Mar.15, 2013 Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan intends to sweeten its bid for control of Israel Chemicals, Bloomberg News reports. The improved offer will include pledges to maintain staffing levels, aimed […]

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Standards Institution of Israel approves innovative rubber-infused asphalt compound; test-road paved in Beit Shean Tom Ziv Published: 03.08.13 The principles of sustainability are hitting the road – literally: A new highway is being paved in the Beit Shean Valley from an innovative new compound of rubber-infused asphalt. The rubber used is a reincarnation of sorts […]

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12/03/2013 By George Hale WADI ABU HINDI, West Bank (Ma’an) — “They drank from the dark water, and then they died,” a Bedouin shepherd boy says of the putrid black liquid oozing from the ground. Half a mile to the east, insects are devouring the carcasses of two animals – one sheep and a goat […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 03/10/2013 Weizmann Institute of Science signs agreement to commercialize technology that impedes permeation of toxic pesticides. The commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science has signed an agreement with an agrochemicals firm to commercialize a new technology that impedes the permeation of toxic pesticides into groundwater, the companies have announced. As […]

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New findings show that widely used organic phosphorus is even more dangerous than originally thought. By Dan Even | Mar.12, 2013 The Health Ministry is calling for further restrictions on farmers’ use of pesticides containing organic phosphorus, following new studies that revealed Israelis have significantly higher levels of exposure to the harmful substance than those […]

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