Environment and Climate in the Middle East

news, conferences, policy discussions and academic publications on environmental issues and climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean

Environment and Climate in the Middle East

Yarmouk reserve to expand eco-tourism activities – Jordan Times

by Hana Namrouqa | Apr 14,2012 AMMAN — Hiking trails and biking trips will be among eco-tourism activities offered to visitors at the Yarmouk Nature Reserve starting this year. A visitors centre with a café and a nature shop will also be established to promote products made by area residents from locally grown ingredients, Yarmouk […]

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The Other Arab Spring – New York Times

Article by Thomas Friedman followed by extended blog commentary by Joe Romm By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Published: April 7, 2012 New York Times ISN’T it interesting that the Arab awakening began in Tunisia with a fruit vendor who was harassed by police for not having a permit to sell food — just at the moment […]

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Environmentalists slam energy ministry’s changes to water law – Haaretz

The proposed changes include new conditions for water drilling, a severe increase in fines for lawbreakers and, for the first time, the requirement to prepare a long-term plan for water usage in Israel. By Zafrir Rinat The Energy and Water Resources Ministry has recently begun to promote changes in the Water Law based on two-year-old […]

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New blast hits Egypt gas pipeline serving Jordan and Israel – Al Arabiya / Maan

By Reuters CAIRO An explosion hit the Egyptian pipeline carrying gas to Israel and Jordan on Monday for 14th time since the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak began last year, security sources said. The blast took place in the northern Sinai at the entrance of the Mediterranean coastal town of al-Arish. Residents in the city […]

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U.N. sends four electrical transformers to power starved Gaza – Al Arabiya

By AFP GAZA CITY Palestinian Territories The United Nations Development Program on Monday transferred four electrical transformers to Gaza in a bid to upgrade the territory’s struggling sole power plant. The UNDP, in a statement from its Gaza office, said it brought four transformers and other electrical equipment into the territory as part of a […]

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Gaza power plant to be refitted by May – Maan

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The rehabilitation of the sole power plant in the Gaza Strip will be complete next month, the head of the PA power authority said on Friday. The $3 million project funded by the Islamic Development Bank will help alleviate the power crisis in the Gaza Strip, Omar Kittaneh said in a statement. […]

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Newest gas find smaller than first thought – Haaretz

In February, the Tanin gas reserve had been estimated at 1.2 TCF by Noble, which is doing the drilling. By Lior Zeno Israel’s newest offshore natural gas find contains 1.1 trillion cubic feet of gas, announced Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration on Friday – offering a slightly lower estimate than their partner Noble Energy. […]

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Jerusalem’s green spaces spark debate – Al Jazeera

video report: http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/04/201247142331543939.html Some argue protected lands should be used for parks, while others say they should be located outside city. Politicians and environmentalists in Jerusalem are debating the future of the city’s green spaces. Some people say they believe protected lands should be built on, while others argue construction should take place outside the […]

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More than 14,000 New Births in Gaza since Start of Year – WAFA

GAZA, April 5, 2012 (WAFA) – More than 14,000 new born babies were registered in the Gaza Strip in the first three months of this year, or an average of 150 babies a day, a little bit more than half of them were males, according to figures provided Thursday by a Hamas-run department. Gaza City […]

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Rare flower rediscovered in Israel’s north, for first time in 60 years – Haaretz

Thought to have disappeared from Israel, the Galilee fumitory was last seen in the 1940s. By Zafrir Rinat An extremely rare flower was found for the first time in over 60 years in the Hanita Forest, near the Lebanese border. The Galilee fumitory (Fumaria thuretii Boiss ) was seen only once before in Israel, in […]

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As hot weather hits Israel, half a million visitors flock to parks, forests and nature reserves – Haaretz

Jewish National Fund reported over 220,000 visits on Sunday to its forests, and thousands of Christians gathered in Jerusalem for Easter celebrations. By Zohar Blumenkrantz, Zafrir Rinat and Revital Hovel An estimated 450,000 visitors filled Israel’s forests, nature reserves and national parks on Sunday, even as the country was struck by exceptionally warm weather. Temperatures […]

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State to allow export of 50% of gas reserves – Haaretz

A committee chaired by the director general of the Energy and Water Resources Ministry Shaul Tzemach, decided that Israel needs to have some 400 billion cubic meters of gas as a strategic reserve at any one time; the rest may be exported to foreign countries. By Itai Trilnick The Tzemach Committee on Energy Policy has […]

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Panel: Save 400bcm of natural gas for domestic use – Jerusalem Post / Jordan Times

Panel: Save 400bcm of natural gas for domestic use – Jerusalem Post By NADAV SHEMER, SHARON UDASIN 04/05/2012 18:43 Environment Ministry says domestic needs are much higher than the gov’t appointed committee suggests. Israel must retain at least 400 billion cubic meters (bcm) of its offshore natural gas reserves for domestic use between now and […]

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Springwater flows in the West Bank, but who controls it? – Haaretz

Palestinians say settlers are taking over their springs and using them to develop tourist sites;settlers say they are merely preserving nature after decades of neglect. By Zafrir Rinat The settlers have been investing special efforts of late to persuade the Israeli public to make its way to numerous tourism sites on the other side of […]

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Wastewater that now goes to waste will soon irrigate Negev farms – Haaretz

By Amiram Cohen The Mekorot water company will invest half a billion shekels to bring large quantities of treated wastewater to Negev farmers. In order to do that, Mekorot will put back into service a pipeline to the eastern Negev that has not been used since the 1970s. The old pipeline was used to carry […]

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Israeli scientists question need to clean up contaminated river – Haaretz

Environmental protection ministry plan calls for dredging sledge pools along several kilometers of the Kishon river contaminated by run-off from nearby oil refineries, chemical plants and factories. By Zafrir Rinat Israeli scientists question need to clean up contaminated river Environmental protection ministry plan calls for dredging sledge pools along several kilometers of the Kishon river […]

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Rashpetco and its contractor accused of waste dumping in Idku – Egypt Independent

Lawyers and activists from the Idku Workers Union accuse a company contracted by the Rashid Petroleum Company (Rashpetco), a joint venture between a state-owned petroleum firm and multinationals, of dumping waste in their waters and fields. Their claims against the company in question, Green Valley Oil Service, are supported by the Idku-based representative of the […]

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Restaurant accused of dumping in Kinneret – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 04/04/2012 02:54 The Environment Ministry accused a Kfar Nahum restaurant of leaking large amounts of raw sewage into the lake. The Environmental Protection Ministry has accused the Capernaum restaurant in Kfar Nahum of leaking copious amounts of raw sewage through a concealed pipe system into the northern part of Lake Kinneret, a […]

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SunGlacier could produce water from air in the Egyptian desert – Egypt Independent

Solar deep freeze may grace Egypt’s sands A Dutch artist intends to create a glacier in the Egyptian desert to inspire solar powered solutions to climate change. Working from a climate controlled cube in The Hague in the Netherlands, Ap Verheggen and the company Cofely Refrigeration say they have completed tests that show it is […]

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Work on Africa’s biggest wind farm in Kenya to begin – Egypt Independent

The construction of what is to become Africa’s biggest wind farm will start by June in an arid region of northern Kenya, the project’s officials said on Saturday. A total of 365 wind turbines will be erected near Lake Turkana, where winds blow predictably and regularly, averaging speeds of 11 metres per second. After seven […]

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