By Hana Namrouqa – Jun 10,2015 AMMAN — The iftaa department, the state body responsible for issuing religious edicts, has deemed abuse of the Kingdom’s forests as violations against public property, and thus punishable in Islam. The department said trees are one of the reasons behind mankind’s survival on earth and those who cut them […]

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Ghinwa Obeid| The Daily Star BEIRUT: Leila Zahid and her colleague have created what they call a “plastic fall,” using numerous plastic bottles to create a sculpture resembling a massive waterfall. The piece was displayed in Downtown Beirut Friday at the Green Festival, held to mark World Environment Day. The sculpture aims to bring people […]

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By Reuters | Baghdad Wednesday, 3 June 2015 ISIS militants have closed the gates of a dam on the Euphrates River in western Iraq, reducing the water and giving them greater freedom of movement to attack government forces downstream on the southern bank, local officials said. The militants have redirected the flow of water to […]

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AMMAN — Jordan is now implementing water projects that were meant for a decade from now despite a lack of financial and water resources due to the extraordinary population growth, a senior government official said on Sunday. Water Minister Hazem Nasser said hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees coupled with water scarcity “is putting […]

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By Hana Namrouqa – May 30,2015 Consumers’ negligence in carrying out regular maintenance on their water tanks is a major source of household water loss, according to a study by the Water Authority of Jordan (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation) AMMAN — Only 5 per cent of domestic water is used […]

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BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt Thursday warned that political paralysis imposed by certain officials threatens a vital water supply development project aimed at addressing severe shortages in Lebanon. “Leading politicians decided to enter a partial paralysis phase due to [their] narrow views,” Jumblatt wrote in a tweet. “Fire surrounds us from every side […]

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Meager rainfall prevents local kibbutz from transferring water as agreed. By Zafrir Rinat | Jun. 1, 2015 A decline in the amount of water reaching the Ein Gedi nature reserve near the Dead Sea is endangering the implementation of an agreement between the nature reserve and adjacent Kibbutz Ein Gedi over distribution of water between […]

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Tech companies move forward with tender bidding in California’s water districts, promoting stronger policital ties with the US. Yitzhak Benhorin Published: 05.31.15 As California continues into another summer of drought, Israeli aide to the world’s seventh largest economy is finally becoming reality after years of negotiations and agreements with local water authorities, according to David […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/31/2015 Over a 10-year period, about 780 of the 4,860 cancer cases found in the region likely resulted from air pollution. After meeting over the weekend with Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav, Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay (Kulanu) decided on Sunday to launch a special task force focused on mitigating Haifa Bay’s air […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/03/2015 The ministry drew its conclusions after examining the 2014 emissions of the heavy vehicle companies across the nation. The Dan and Egged bus fleets cause the most air pollution in the country’s heavy-vehicle sector, a study by the Environmental Protection Ministry, which examined the 2014 emissions of heavy-vehicle companies across the […]

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Worm snails used to restore damaged reefs with a chalky substance. By Zafrir Rinat | May 31, 2015 It’s one of nature’s nonstop species of construction workers. Its scientific name is Dendropoma petraeum, and it’s a kind of small sea snail – known as the worm snail – that excretes a chalky substance through which […]

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AMMAN — Amid rising temperatures, the Aqaba Bird Observatory (ABO) called on the public to help birds this summer by putting bowls of water on rooftops, or in their gardens and balconies. Under the “provide water, have mercy” campaign, the ABO, which is responsible for the monitoring and protection of birds, highlighted that high temperatures […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/25/2015 Cross-border study finds presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals minimal in Israeli, Palestinian treated wastewater. Although the presence of chemicals that disrupt the endocrine glands that produce some hormones is minimal in both Israeli and Palestinian treated wastewater, facilities that perform such treatment in the West Bank are problematically scarce, experts agreed […]

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HEBRON, May 26, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli forces handed Tuesday two local residents of al-Kom locality and Idhna town to the southwest and west of Hebron respectively orders to demolish their properties, said local municipal sources. Sources from Al-Yasiriya Municipality said that an Israeli army force and ‘Civil Administration’ officers broke into al-Kom locality and […]

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GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Gaza’s electricity distributor has accused Israel of refusing to repair a 12 megawatt grid supplying power to Gaza City that became disconnected in Israeli-controlled territory on Thursday. The Gaza Electricity Distribution Corporation said in a statement on Tuesday that the loss of the al-Qubba electricity grid was having a serious effect […]

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The Nile Delta is the world’s second place threatened to sink Author: Al-Masry Al-Youm Mahmoud Samy, Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, said the Nile Delta is the world’s second place most threatened to sink, adding that Egypt is keen to face climate change with technology. He told the Middle East […]

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By Salma Elshahed | Al Arabiya News Sunday, 24 May 2015 Iran is heading towards a serious water crisis, experts warn, saying that a booming population and water-intensive agricultural programs have led the Islamic Republic’s supply to reach “critical levels” this year. The sixth report of a new series by Al Arabiya News Channel takes […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/24/2015 Developed by Israeli researcher Yaron Zinger at Monash University in Australia, successful tests of the Biofilter have been completed already in Kfar Saba in 2010. Aiming to salvage rainwater, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael- Jewish National Fund has completed the installation of a “Biofilter” system in Ramle on Wednesday. This is the second […]

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AMMAN — A major developer in Aqaba on Tuesday connected a 3.2 megawatt (MW) solar power plant to the national electricity grid, launching one of the largest private renewable energy projects in the region. Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner Hani Mulki acted as patron at a ceremony held by Ayla Oasis to […]

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by Muath Freij | May 24, 2015 Taxi Moumayaz will replace 300 cars with hybrid vehicles and up to 100 cars with electric vehicles, under an agreement signed with the Greater Amman Municipality (Photo by Osama Aqarbeh) AMMAN — Noor Jordan for Transport — Taxi Moumayaz will start operating hybrid vehicles in the next three […]

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