By Simona Sikimic BEIRUT: The recent UN climate meeting in Cancun may have raised hopes by promising to inject billions of dollars to help developing countries face global warming challenges but whether or not Lebanon will see an influx of cash remains to be seen, Environment Ministry representatives said Monday. “The mechanism [for receiving funding] […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By George Soros The official communiqué from the Cancún climate-change conference cannot disguise the fact that there will be no successor to the Kyoto Protocol when it expires at the end of 2012. Japan, among others, has withdrawn its support for efforts simply to extend the Kyoto treaty. This sounds like bad news, because it […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Pilot underway, but full solution to cost 400 million euros. By Amiram Cohen A new joint Italian-Israeli-Palestinian initiative to solve the sewage problem in the Palestinian Authority was launched this week. The two million residents of the PA produce about 150 million cubic meters of raw sewage a year, but only 22.5 million cubic meters, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Breakthrough in Palestinian waste-water treatment By TOVAH LAZAROFF 12/17/2010 05:34 Multi-national team of water experts lay cornerstone for plant near Jericho; project to be pilot for larger program. A group of water experts from Israel, Italy and the Palestinian territories laid a cornerstone for a waste-water treatment plant Wednesday in a Palestinian village near Jericho […]

Read the rest of this entry »

The story of how Palestinians and Israelis in one West Bank village are working together to preserve water supplies. Filmmaker: Joshka Wessels The battle over access to clean water sources is ongoing across the West Bank, with illegal Israeli settlements frequently blocking access and polluting Palestinian farmers’ irrigation. JOIN THE DEBATE Send us your views […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 12/20/2010 04:08 Price of water for agriculture, industry, hospitals and any other non-residential sector will rise in January. The Water Authority Council decided late last week not to raise water prices again for households, as it had planned to do next month. Given the lack of rain and the uncertainty of […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Two hundred kilometres of pipes for the Disi Water Conveyance Project have been delivered to the Kingdom, with the project set to be completed by its 2013 deadline, a government source said on Thursday. With the most recent shipment of pipes from Turkey, which arrived earlier this month, an additional […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH 12/16/2010 03:28 Envoy aiming to save water while creating ‘scientific cooperation between our countries;’ J’lem students win top prize in Stockholm. Sweden’s new ambassador to Israel, Elinor Hammarskjöld, said on Wednesday that although her country has an abundance of clean water, it is still concerned about the world’s lack of it and […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Mohammad Ghazal AMMAN – The Ministry of Water and Irrigation will soon meet with farmers and well owners across the country to highlight the importance of rationing the use of depleting underground water resources, an official said on Sunday. In light of this year’s disappointing rainy season, the ministry will meet with farmers and […]

Read the rest of this entry »

AMMAN (JT) – HRH Princess Sumaya on Wednesday underscored that “the built environment is our greatest challenge in dealing with a threatening resource crisis”. “Globally, construction of the built environment is estimated to consume over 50 per cent of natural material resources,” noted the Princess, who is president of the Royal Scientific Society and founder […]

Read the rest of this entry »

BEIRUT: Civil and environmental groups launched activities nationwide Sunday to protest against Cabinet plans to install waste incinerators and to call for adherence to the zero waste concept in Lebanon. The protest features over 100 activities including concerts, cleaning campaigns, demonstrations and the distribution of brochures throughout Lebanon. The campaign, which came on the occasion […]

Read the rest of this entry »

In the wake of the disastrous Carmel fire, Israel must deal with the fact that there is but a single professional in forestry science working in the country By Zafrir Rinat Forests and wooded areas, from the Galilee via the Carmel and down to the northern Negev, are perhaps the most obvious change wrought by […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Forestry experts caution that best road to recovery after worst wildfire in Israel’s history may be to do nothing and let nature take its course; idea running into resistance Associated Press Published: 12.16.10, 07:45 For more than a century, planting trees in this mostly desert land has been an act of almost spiritual importance, starting […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH 12/19/2010 03:40 First world “census” of marine life to take place in Jerusalem, with 3,000 scientists from 80 countries participating. Some 1,200 new species and varieties have been discovered during the just-concluded first world “census” of marine life. The director of the census, Jesse Ausubel, will participate in a conference on Monday […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 12/15/2010 01:39 Hoteliers, green groups say public will stay away if solution to salt buildup means massive reconstruction. Ahead of an expected decision by Tourism Minister Stas Mezesnikov regarding the fate of hotels at the southern end of the Dead Sea – where the water level is rising due to a […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Environmental protection organizations and the Dead Sea hotels have found common ground: They hate the idea of razing the hotels and rebuilding them elsewhere. By Zafrir Rinat and Meirav Arlosoroff Environmental protection organizations and the Dead Sea hotels have found common ground: They hate the idea of razing the hotels and rebuilding them elsewhere. Both […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Source: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Date: 01 Dec 2010 Bani Na’im – On Wednesday, December 1, 2010, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and representatives of the Palestinian Authority (PA) together with other dignitaries celebrated the completion of the newly constructed Bani Na’im Water Reservoir. The inauguration was attended by […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH 12/15/2010 06:13 The prize-winning computerized device invented by two 19-year-olds measures household water consumption to avoid waste. Talkbacks (6) A user-friendly computerized device that detects water leaks in apartments, buildings, factories and neighborhoods in real time and can even halt the water flow is among the top winners of this year’s Stockholm […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Authorities are working to clean up Caeserea National Park, which was hit hard during last weekend’s strong winter storm. srael Antiquities Authority head Shuka Dorfman toured the Caesarea National Park on Wednesday, and called the damage caused to the park during last weekend’s strong winter storm a “national disaster.” “The damage is tremendous and dramatic, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Authorities have seized scores of globally threatened animals and birds on Jordan’s borders with neighbouring countries since the start of the year, environmentalists said on Wednesday. Last week, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the Jordan Customs Department seized one dozen falcons on the Kingdom’s borders […]

Read the rest of this entry »