By Laila Azzeh – Jan 10,2017 PETRA — In what has been called a “benchmark” decision, the rose-red city of Petra on Tuesday joined the National Protected Areas Network, a step which could eventually transform the area into a nature reserve. With its rich flora and fauna — studies estimate that Petra, 235km south of […]

Read the rest of this entry »

New solar tower project in the Negev is set to supply 5 percent of Israelis with power; while Israel has abundant sunshine, government bureaucracy has hampered solar energy progress. Associated Press|Published: 05.01.17 In sunny Israel, solar energy supplies only a small percentage of the nation’s power needs, leaving it far behind countries with cloudier and […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Sharon Udasin 05 January 2017 “They don’t have the same language, so they can’t communicate,” urban farming consultant Lavi Kushelevich told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. “But they can communicate through food.” Kushelevich, 29, is the entrepreneur behind the Rooftop Gardens project, a venture that is bringing together an unlikely set of neighbors to […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Jan. 10, 2017 TUBAS (Ma’an) — Israeli forces destroyed a pipeline supplying water to four Bedouin communities in the northern Jordan Valley, a Palestinian official said on Tuesday morning. Muataz Bisharat, who monitors settlement-related activities in the Jordan Valley, told Ma’an that bulldozers under Israeli military protection destroyed part of an 11-kilometer water pipeline supplying […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Sharon Udasin 10 January 2017 01:11 ‘Atid’ to launch a home-based service to compete with the only other operator in the country. Rather than relying on foreign firms to extract precious resources from the region’s underground, an Israeli company called Atid – “future” in Hebrew – will soon be providing drilling services for water, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

The Cabinet approved Wednesday the long-awaited oil and gas decrees and appointed two successors to Abdul Menhem Youssef — the controversial director general of the OGERO telecom authority who was also serving as director general of investment and maintenance at the telecom ministry. Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, who had served as energy minister in the […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Hana Namrouqa – Jan 09,2017 Conservationists say allowing hunters to target endangered animals in Jordan violates local laws and harms the Kingdom’s reputation internationally (Photo courtesy of Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature) AMMAN — Gulf nationals are hunting endangered animals and birds in Jordan in locations off limits to nature inspectors and […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday, 8 January 2017 Pollution in Tehran has hit a dangerous level on the Air Quality Index, with airborne particles considered “unhealthy” for the general public. Kindergartens and primary schools in the Iranian capital were ordered to stay closed Sunday, according the state run television. Every year, Tehran suffers some of the worst pollution in […]

Read the rest of this entry »

More than 1,500 organisations are expected to take part in this year’s Dubai Municipality Car Free Day on February 5, a 40 per cent increase from last year. Dubai Municipality Director General Hussain Lootah said 580 organisations have signed up for the initiative so far, which aims to raise awareness on the environmental impact of […]

Read the rest of this entry »

EcoPeace, KAS and INSS – Water Conference In cooperation with the German foundation ‘Konrad Adenauer Stiftung – Israel’ (KAS), and the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), EcoPeace Tel Aviv held a roundtable event entitled “Can Water Bring the Political Process to A Safe Shore? Water Issues; from Source of Conflict to Vehicle for Regional […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 01/02/2017 On December 25, a fire overtook a 12,000-cubic meter benzene storage container at an Israel Oil Refineries – Bazan (ORL) facility. The blaze that engulfed a Haifa Bay factory nearly all of last Sunday may have been the result of foul play, a special investigative team has concluded. On December 25, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Ministry summons Israel Railways for hearing after unusual levels of respirable particles and nitrogen dioxide measured at Tel Aviv HaShalom and Bat Yam Yoseftal train stations; rail company: ‘Ministry trying to shut down train movement to and from Tel Aviv.’ Ilana Curiel, Itay Blumenthal|Published: 03.01.17 The Environmental Protection Ministry warned on Tuesday of a growing […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 01/03/2017 Tel Aviv Hashalom, Bat Yam Yoseftal station platforms plagued by air pollution. After the Environmental Protection Ministry called upon Israel Railways to curb air pollution at its Gush Dan area stations on Tuesday, the company has threatened to stop train movement altogether in the region. “Because the railway does not intend […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 12/25/2016 “This is a significant breakthrough in the field that caused severe environmental pollution that influenced both Israeli residents and Palestinian residents.” In order to minimize the enormous amount of air pollution generated by unregulated West Bank charcoal kilns, Israeli and Palestinian authorities are establishing a modern production factory in the northern […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By STEWART WEISS 01/05/2017 Work began in 2007 to change garbage into a ‘green lung.’ As prime minister Menachem Begin greeted Egyptian president Anwar Sadat on his historic visit to Jerusalem in 1977, he warmly took his hand and proclaimed, “In Jewish tradition, there is no greater achievement than turning an enemy into a friend.” […]

Read the rest of this entry »

According to experts, half of the per-capita water consumption in the UAE could be a result of residents’ insistence on having lawned gardens. To keep grass healthy in desert environments requires 1,600 litres of water each year for every square metre, which equates to enough water used on one square metre of grass to give […]

Read the rest of this entry »

The Water Ministry/Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) and the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding to provide the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project (Red-Dead) with power for water desalination and pumping. JVA Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour and NEPCO Director General Abdel Fattah Daradkeh signed the memo, the Jordan […]

Read the rest of this entry »

The higher steering committee for the green economy, headed by Environment Minister Yaseen Khayyat, on Wednesday endorsed the national plan for green growth. Khayyat said the plan, designed by the Global Green Growth Institute in cooperation with stakeholders from public and private sectors, will help Jordan face economic and environmental challenges, as well as institutionalise […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Hana Namrouqa – Jan 03,2017 Forestry land amount to 1.5 million dunums, of which 250,000 dunums are bare, 400,000 dunums are natural forests, 500,000 dunums are planted forests and 350,000 dunums are nature reserves, according to official figures AMMAN — Violations on the Kingdom’s forests during the last third of 2016 dropped by more than […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Hana Namrouqa – Dec 26,2016 AMMAN — Implementation of the Wadi Al Arab Water Conveyance Project has commenced, with the goal of supplying the northern region with 45 million cubic metres of water annually by the year 2018, according to officials. The project seeks to address an acute shortage of water in Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash […]

Read the rest of this entry »