AMMAN (Petra) – The Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) on Wednesday defended its decision to build a military academy in the forests of Ajloun, stressing that it has altered blueprints to limit the number of uprooted trees. According to a JAF statement released yesterday, blueprints have been “drastically” altered to limit the uprooting of any trees […]

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Forests constitute less than one per cent of Jordan’s total area. This relatively small area is constantly decreasing due to factors like climate change, urbanisation, illegal logging and fires. If authorities and the public cannot do much about climate change, they can do a lot to control the three other elements. Now that the hot […]

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May 11, 2011 02:09 AM (Last updated: May 11, 2011 08:40 AM) By Mohammed Zaatari The Daily Star BEIRUT: Activists in Baabda and residents of eastern Sidon are up in arms about mounting environmental problems and are urging the authorities to step in to provide solutions. Sidon residents, frustrated with mounting piles of trash and […]

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May 10, 2011 01:14 AM (Last updated: May 10, 2011 01:14 AM) By Mohammed Zaatari The Daily Star SIDON: The Interior Ministry will take over supervision of the collection and treatment of Sidon and nearby towns’ waste, after most regions in the Union of Sidon and Zahrani Municipalities agreed to allocate 40 percent of their […]

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May 09, 2011 02:58 AM (Last updated: May 09, 2011 01:31 PM) By Mohammed Zaatari, Antoine Amrieh The Daily Star SIDON / TRIPOLI: Even beach clean-up efforts have sought to capitalize on unrest sweeping the Arab world, with Big Blue Association environmental activists claiming that “the people want a clean beach in Lebanon, echoing calls […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/12/2011 03:27 Program to provide basic tools for careers in clean-tech. Ariel University Center of Samaria will launch an undergraduate degree in Green Chemistry this fall, which aims to provide a strong foundation in the chemistry of renewable energy. “There is a demand out there for people with a bachelor’s degree that […]

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By RON FRIEDMAN 05/05/2011 04:15 Noisy neighbors to pay between NIS 350-1,800 for lighting firecrackers, operating loud gardening tools. The Knesset Law Committee passed on Wednesday an addition to the criminal procedure order designating fines ranging from NIS 350- NIS 1,800 for violations of the Abatement of Nuisances Law, having to do with noise in […]

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By Robert Tashima AMMAN – Jordan’s farmers have been offered the chance to rebuild a long lost export market as Saudi Arabia gets set to resume imports of a range of the kingdom’s produce. However, with the role played by agriculture in the Jordanian economy dwindling over the past 50 years and competition for scarce […]

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New plan calls for NIS 52 billion to develop alternatives to natural water sources. By Zafrir Rinat Investments of NIS 52 billion will be needed in the coming decade to develop water production and supply systems to deal with the shortfall of natural water sources, which considerably exceeds previous estimates, according to a master plan […]

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Cairo, May 4, 2011 The regional roadshow to present AFED 2010 report on water, Sustainable Management of a Scarce Resource, reached Cairo, after stops in Beirut, Damascus, Kuwait and, Riyadh. The event was hosted by the Center for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE) at its headquarters in the Egyptian capital. […]

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Riyadh, May 3, 2011 The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) started yesterday a 5-day water efficiency workshop in Riyadh, organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Water and Electricity in Saudi Arabia. The workshop, held at the Riyadh Marriot Hotel, is sponsored by ACWA Power International, a leading water and power company. The […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – With fresh water resources dwindling across the country, authorities are encouraging Jordan Valley farmers to turn to saltier solutions when it comes time to water their crops. The Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) will soon embark on a pilot project utilising saline water for irrigation purposes to reduce the amount of […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/05/2011 04:49 “This is a process of privatization of the water economy and will cause an additional rise in prices,” Friends of Earth says. The National Planning and Building Council on Tuesday decided to support a plan proposed by the Water Authority to build five new desalination plants in an effort to […]

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By IKRAM AL YACOUB Al Arabiya with Agencies Renewable power from the sun, wind, water and biomass can generate a major portion of the planet’s energy supply by 2050, according to a draft United Nations report obtained by Agence-France Presse. Renewables have the potential to bring power to the world’s poorest regions, boost energy security […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/08/2011 03:21 Korean ambassador: Combine Israeli ideas and technology with our mass production capability. South Korean Ambassador Young-sam Ma on Thursday encouraged Israeli and Korean cooperation on renewable energy resource development, stressing the similarities between the countries in terms of both fossil fuel dependency and a desire to innovate. He spoke to […]

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BEIRUT: Almost all Beirut residents are exposed to high and dangerous levels of air pollution, according to a study released by American University Beirut. The two-year study, released last week, found that 93 percent of Beirut’s population inhaled air pollutants well in excess of World Health Organization standards. It alarmingly concluded that pollution was rising […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/08/2011 13:23 Campaign will push for Dead Sea’s win in the international New 7 Wonders of Nature competition that concludes in November. The cabinet approved a widespread public relations campaign that will push for the Dead Sea’s win in the international New 7 Wonders of Nature competition, which concludes in November, during […]

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On April 12th, under the patronage of HRH Prince Hassan Bin Talal, a ceremony was held for the Sharhabil Bin Hassneh EcoPark in Jordan to feature this EcoPark as a model towards the restoration of the Jordan Valley as a whole. More than six years ago, FoEME began with the development of 100 dunams for […]

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5 Environment’s share of Arab Leaders’ bestowals (editorial by Najib Saab) 16 Nuclear energy programs in Arab countries (cover story) 22 Development path: a national project shared by the people of Egypt 24 Sudan produces ethanol from sugar cane 26 Public concerns about an industrial-waste treatment center in Tunisia 28 Skhour of Rehamna: who will […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/04/2011 02:15 Project, to be built on 600 dunams at Kibbutz Ketura, still faces objections from Finance Ministry. Talkbacks (3) Construction of a 40-megawatt photovoltaic power plant in Kibbutz Ketura – the first large solar field in the country – was approved by the National Planning and Building Council on Wednesday morning. […]

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