By SHARON UDASIN 05/13/2014 The Horizon 2020 Mediterranean Report presented in Athens is part of initiative aiming to de-pollute the Mediterranean by 2020. Population growth and urbanization in Israel, particularly along the coastal plain, will necessitate continued measures to protect remaining open spaces as the country’s economy continues to grow, an EU report stressed on […]

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JPOST EDITORIAL 05/17/2014 There is much that is praiseworthy about these lobbies, but also much that is disruptive in a country that still operates in development mode. hydro-electric power station Israel’s environmentalists are up in arms. The Interior Ministry has decided to terminate their long-established representation in the country’s foremost planning commission forums. Petitions to […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/13/2014 “Move will hurt quality of life for all of us: in housing, in transportation, in energy, in agriculture, in forests, in open spaces and in nature reserves,” SPNI says. Green groups slammed a National Council for Planning and Building decision on Tuesday to remove a permanent environmental NGO representative from a […]

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Committee says its recommended 42% tax rate would reverse an injustice, add 500 million shekels a year to state coffers. By Ora Coren | May 18, 2014 Saying the public was not deriving sufficient benefit from Israel’s natural resources, the Sheshinski committee recommended in an interim report submitted on Sunday that companies exploiting everything from […]

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The IDF plans to cut its ‘green’ female soldier-teachers. Who will help expose future generations of youngsters to Israel’s landscape? By Roy (Chicky) Arad | May 18, 2014 Without the move drawing much attention, one of the social-environmental groups in the Israel Defense Forces, which for years was its pride, is about to be closed. […]

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End to fish farming has helped recovery, but oil spills continue to take a toll. By Zafrir Rinat | May 20, 2014 The general condition of the coral reef in the Gulf of Eilat has been improving steadily for the past 10 years, according to the 2013 annual report of Environmental Protection Ministry’s Marine Monitoring […]

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More than 80 percent of the globally unique collection of crop genetic resources residing with the Genebank of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) at Aleppo in Syria is now safely duplicated at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. With the seventh shipment of seeds arriving in the Arctic […]

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Israel’s Tamar natural gas field intends to export up to 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas to Egypt over 15 years. Reuters Published: 05.15.14 Egypt will only agree to an arrangement that would see gas exported from a field in Israel via a liquefied natural gas terminal in Egypt if international arbitration is resolved, an […]

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Saudi Gazette, Dammam Wednesday, 14 May 2014 The blueprint of a project to link Saudi Arabia and Egypt with an electric power grid is in its final stages and the project may be offered for bidding by early next year, an official has said, as the kingdom’s investment in power and water is expected to […]

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NAJIB SAAB Thirsty Energy or Hungry Water? The World Bank chose “Thirsty Energy” as title for its report on the energy-water nexus. If we were to produce such a report for the Arab region, the title could better be “Hungry Water”- as production of water eats the bulk of Arab energy. In no other part […]

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By SHARON UDASIN LAST UPDATED: 05/14/2014 Shapira says impact of vehicle air pollution particularly severe because pollution emitted at ground level, near people, animals and plants. The national program to prevent air pollution is drastically under-budgeted, and may be failing to protect the public’s health, State Comptroller Joseph Shapira said in a report released on […]

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May 15, 2014 12:19 AM By Justin Salhani JIYYEH, Lebanon: The sea surrounding a coastal power plant in Lebanon is being polluted, according to a statement issued by the Professional Divers Union. The statement, released by union head Mohammad Sarji Tuesday, said a recent surge in pollution had come from the Jiyyeh power plant, south […]

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IBRAHIM ABDEL GELIL Energy-efficient lighting technologies are economical, commercially viable and technologically available, but due to several barriers, they have not reached their market penetration potential. A growing number of countries in the Arab region have already taken actions to transit to more efficient lighting systems. Replacing incandescent lamps in the residential sector is one […]

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Authorities advancing plans for treatment plant to serve both Israeli and Palestinian communities in West Bank. Associated Press Published: 05.08.14 Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank rarely mix, but authorities are hoping their sewage will. The Jewish settlement of Ofra and neighboring Palestinian villages currently dump their sewage into valleys, threatening to contaminate […]

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May 08, 2014 02:23 PM (Last updated: May 08, 2014 04:16 PM) By Mohammed Zaatari WAZZANI, Lebanon: The long-awaited cleanup at the Hasbani stream near Wazzani in south Lebanon began Thursday after Israel gave Lebanon the go-ahead. A bulldozer belonging to U.N. peacekeepers began removing rocks that were blocking part of the channel after they […]

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May 07, 2014 01:02 PM The Daily Star BEIRUT: The Lebanese and Israeli armies met under UNIFIL Wednesday to discuss a range of issues, including water-related issues in Blida and Wazzani in south Lebanon. UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Paolo Serra presided over the tripartite meeting that gathered officers from the Lebanese and Israeli armies, in […]

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RAMALLAH, May 7, 2014 – (WAFA) – Jerusalem Water Undertaking and the German Government signed Wednesday a €8.8 agreement to support the water loss reduction Program. The agreement was signed by Minister of Planning Mohammad Abu Ramadan, Head of Water Authority Shaddad Attili, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Jerusalem Water Undertaking Fawzi al-‘Abed, […]

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Noble Energy signs deal to supply liquefied gas to Egyptian gas facility, which would see 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas transferred of 15 years. News agencies Published: 05.06.14, 21:40 / Israel Business The operator of a natural gas field off Israel’s coast says it has signed a letter of intent to provide gas to […]

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By Sonia Farid | Al Arabiya News Tuesday, 22 April 2014 On April 21, Ali Reda, head of the Touristic Investment Authority in the Red Sea, voiced the objection of the authority’s board of directors, the owners of hotels and tourist facilities, and tourism sector staff to the Egyptian government’s plan to use coal as […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | May 07, 2014 AMMAN — An inspection team on Wednesday discovered two violations on water mains in Jiza in south Amman, according to a Water Ministry official. The two violations entailed installing illegal pipes to divert thousands of cubic metres of freshwater for the irrigation of crops, the official said on […]

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