A recent study based on analyzed satellite data shows that the Iranian capital is sinking at a rate of 10 inches per year Asaf Ronel | Dec. 6, 2018 Tehran is sinking. This is not a metaphor connected to American sanctions or the drop in oil prices, but the conclusions of a recent study that […]

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The postings today update academic references to environmental peacebuilding, with particular attention to cooperation over water. A blog post by By Adrien Detges & Tobias Ide from the Environmental Change and Security project of the Wilson Center presents a brief review of current approaches. Six postings, which represent different and sometimes contrasting approaches, contain references […]

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the blog of the Environmental change and Security Program, Wilson Center November 27, 2018 By Adrien Detges & Tobias Ide Although water is an essential input for agriculture and industrial production, it is also scarce in many regions. When it crosses international borders via shared rivers, lakes and aquifers, it can become a source of […]

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Kyra Reynolds In the last few decades, a growing number of theorists have suggested that the natural environment can be a platform for promoting cooperation between former adversaries and can perhaps contribute to peacebuilding. However, environmental cooperation has not lived up to these claims. In many cases, such cooperation has largely been ineffective and/or inequitable. […]

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Tobias Ide The concept of environmental peacebuilding is becoming increasingly prominent among peacebuilding scholars and practitioners. This study provides a brief overview about the various discussions contributing to our understanding of environmental peacebuilding and concludes that questions of space have hardly been explicitly considered in these debates. Drawing on discourse-analytic spatial theory, I discuss how […]

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Karin Aggestam, Anna Sundell This article analyses the nexus of technocracy-peacebuilding and its implications on water conflicts and hydropolitics. It is a conceptual exploration, which advances an interdisciplinary approach by combining theories from two distinct research fields: peacebuilding and transboundary water management. It probes the argument that synergies between water management, development and peacebuilding frequently […]

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Jan Selby Do there exist instances of international (water) policy coordination which are so unequal that they should not even be considered ‘cooperation’? This article argues, on both theoretical and empirical grounds, that this is indeed so. Theoretically, it posits that ‘cooperation’ should be distinguished from ‘policy coordination’, and that situations of policy coordination without […]

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Munther J. Haddadin Abstract: This paper reveals the role of the good offices of the United States to facilitate understanding between two enemies, Jordan and Israel, prior to the conclusion of a peace treaty between them in October 1994. It further addresses the basis of agreement on water-related matters between the two states, and the […]

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Ferragina, Eugenia The article analyses the interaction between security and environment in the Mediterranean, focusing on the paradigmatic example of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over water resources in the Jordan River basin. Control of water can hardly be considered the main cause of conflict between Israel and Palestine, but it certainly has increased the potential for […]

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Tobias Ide, Adrien Detges. 2018. International Water Cooperation and Environmental Peacemaking. Global Environmental Politics. October 2018 DOI: 10.1162/glep_a_00478 Proponents of the environmental peacemaking approach argue that environmental cooperation has the potential to improve relations between states. This is because such cooperation facilitates common problem solving, cultivates interdependence, and helps to build trust and understanding. But […]

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By David M. Halbfinger Nov. 15, 2018 JERUSALEM — Last year, when the Trump administration was still trying to entice the Palestinians into peace talks with Israel through cooperation rather than coercion, it encouraged the two sides to team up on small-scale infrastructure projects as a way to rebuild trust while improving conditions in the […]

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Living on Earth November 13, 2018 Reporter Sandy Tolan In the Middle East’s Gaza Strip, a narrow piece of contested land where three out of four people are refugees, unsafe drinking water has led to a worsening health crisis. Gazan children suffer from diarrhea, kidney disease, stunted growth and impaired IQ. Twenty years ago, 85 […]

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9/11/2018 The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) concluded its 11th annual conference, held in Beirut on 8-9 November 2018 in Beirut, to discuss financing sustainable development in Arab Countries. The conference brought together 420 delegates and 50 speakers from 36 countries, representing government bodies, the private sector, regional and international organizations, research centers, […]

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NAJIB SAAB 7/11/2018 Over the past 10 years, the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) reports have identified the state of Arab environment in all its aspects and proposed solutions that have contributed to endorsing numerous environmental policies in the region. The adoption of sustainable development goals and the ratification of the Paris Climate […]

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full report available http://www.afedonline.org/webreport2018/AFEDReport-financingSDinArabCountries2018-.pdf 5 PREFACE 7 INTRODUCTION 17 CHAPTER 1 Overview of Financing Sustainable Development in the Arab Region Niranjan Sarangi, Hisham Taha, Souraya Zein, Angelic Salha 63 CHAPTER 2 The Role of Arab Development Institutions in Financing Sustainable Development Abdul-Karim Sadik 85 CHAPTER 3 Innovative Financing Ibrahim Abdel Gelil 109 CHAPTER 4 Enabling […]

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The plan looks to replace coal with natural gas and solar energy as well as forbidding the importation of cars that run on gasoline or diesel fuel Zafrir Rinat According to a new plan by the Energy Ministry, Israel will stop using coal at its power stations in Hadera and Ashkelon, reserving it only for […]

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By Hana Namrouqa – Oct 29,2018 Strong winds tore through greenhouses in the northern and central parts of the Jordan Valley during last weekend’s depression. The Ministry of Agriculture said that a committee started on Sunday to evaluate the extent of damage (File photo) AMMAN — Farmers in the Jordan Valley have reported losses worth […]

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Amelia Rosenberg Weinreb abstract: This article explores the trope of desert desolation in the Zionist state-building project. It traces the strategic uses of desolate imagery in the pioneer narrative (1880s–1920s), by the New Hebrew culture (1923–1948), during the ‘golden age’ of urban and regional planning (1948–1956), and through marketing the Negev desert town of Mitzpe […]

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Competition aims at helping destinations improve themselves By Hana Namrouqa – Oct 17,2018 AMMAN — An international competition organised by 10 leading sustainable tourism organisations and networks has named Ajloun Forest Reserve as one of the world’s top 100 sustainable destinations for 2018, in recognition of its responsible and sustainable tourism initiatives. The Sustainable Destinations […]

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The Heschel Center Sustainability Updates from Israel By Ran Raviv The most recent bicycle accident in Tel Aviv succeeded in finally attracting public attention to the issue. Among the many articles that were written, the question of the infrastructure needed for safe, easy, convenient and comfortable bicycle riding was raised repeatedly. That is, riding without […]

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