Egypt’s Environment Minister Laila Eskandar underlined the importance of updating Arab sustainable development initiative to cope with its current priorities and capabilities. At the opening speech of extraordinary session of the Arab environment ministers meeting, Eskander stated that water security, countering desertification, climate change, protection of the natural resources should be top priorities for any […]

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Al Jazeera investigates the state of Egypt’s ability to power growth after years of mismanagement and corruption. Egypt’s energy sector is in crisis following years of nepotism and mismanagement, with endemic corruption estimated to have cost the country $20bn. Years of corrupt dealings and a decision to stop exports to Israel have brought a string […]

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Environmental organizations were glad to see their return to representation, but failure to reinstate all their delegates. The National Council for Planning and Building on Tuesday restored two of four recently removed public delegates to a key subcommittee – including an environmental NGO representative. The council, which operates under the Interior Ministry, elected to axe […]

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By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZI 06/17/2014 “The security of citizens includes our responsibility for the welfare of our children in their educational institutions.” Nearly every other school in Israel is exposed to excess levels of cancerous electric radiation, it was revealed during a discussion of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Tuesday. The discussion […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/12/2014 Airport-city based firm Solargreen has won a tender to install system, as part of the parliament’s overall plan to become a “Green Knesset.” Airport City-based firm Solargreen has won a tender to install a 4,650- sq. m. photovoltaic solar system on the Israeli legislature’s roof, as part of the parliament’s overall […]

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Environmentalists and ministry vehemently oppose plan, want expansion of existing cities such as Arad and Be’er Sheva. By Zafrir Rinat | Jun. 16, 2014 The government is continuing its drive to establish new Jewish communities in the Negev, despite strong objections from the Environmental Protection Ministry and environmental organizations. A plan to build seven new […]

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Housing problem remains one of the biggest crises faced in Cairo, one of the world’s most rapidly growing capitals. Cairo is one of the world’s most rapidly growing cities, with nearly two percent annual population growth. This has prompted the Egyptian capital’s inhabitants to seek solutions for an intensifying housing shortage. Entire families have taken […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/16/2014 If passed, bill would require all yet-to-be built construction plans approved more than eight years ago undergo an additional review. The Interministerial Committee for Legislation ordered the establishment of a new interministerial committee on Monday to advise the government on what to do with obsolete beach construction plans. The ministers decided […]

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RAMALLAH, June 12, 2014 (WAFA) – Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah received, in his office on Thursday, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Monique Barbut, where he urged to increase the UN support to the Palestinian people, especially in water desalination and wastewater reclamation projects aimed at developing the field of […]

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June 15, 2014 08:13 PM BEIRUT: A forest fire threatened a local gas company in Akkar Sunday, after erupting in the local village of Machha. Officials expressed concern that the fire would spread from the fields to the Chabaan Gas Company. The Internal Security Forces dispatched three fire trucks and two bulldozers to the scene, […]

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June 12, 2014 04:48 PM The Daily Star BEIRUT: Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb said Thursday that he would allocate some $330,000 to clean forests most vulnerable to fires after the country saw one of its worst fires earlier this year. “I will assign LL500 million ($330,000) from the ministry’s budget to clean forests most susceptible […]

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By SHARON UDASIN, DANIEL K. EISENBUD 06/11/2014 Authorities have yet to clarify who will be responsible for restoring resource in the neighborhoods of Ras Hamis, Ras Shahada, Dahyat a-Salam and the Shuafat refugee camp. Despite months of unstable water supplies in several east Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the security barrier, authorities have yet to clarify who […]

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June 13, 2014 12:11 AM By Rakan al-Fakih BAALBEK, Lebanon: “One of Lebanon’s most significant tourist sites is now a source of repulsive odors,” Mohammad sighs. Lost in thought as he looks down at the Ras al-Ain River, which flows through downtown Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley, he forgets to take the order of a […]

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Ministry says no despite approval of committee to extend use of gray water for gardening, toilets, other uses. By Zafrir Rinat | Jun. 10, 2014 The Health Ministry has demanded that the Standards Institute of Israel not approve a new standard that would broaden the use of gray water. Although the standard was already approved […]

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Israelis use an estimated 2.2 billion bags each year, costing retailers $23.1 million. Many bags end up in urban areas, nature reserves and at beaches. By Avi Bar-Eli | Jun. 8, 2014 The Environmental Protection Ministry is pushing to curb the use of disposable plastic bags in Israel with legislation that would make consumers pay […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/12/2014 Small, medium local authorities out-perform large cities in waste separation. More Israeli municipalities are launching waste separation-at-source programs, encouraging residents to separate their trash into wet and dry streams at home. There has been a 63 percent rise in number of households participating in the effort between 2013 and 2014, according […]

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But plastic still clogs landfills due to liberal laws. By Zafrir Rinat | Jun. 12, 2014 Over 300,000 Israeli households currently separate dry and wet waste, representing a 400 percent increase in two years. This encouraging statistic was presented today at the Tel Hai Academic College, as part of a conference on recycling and waste […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/17/2014 Interested birding amateurs and other volunteers can log in to a portal on SPNI’s Israeli Ornithological Center’s website. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel is calling upon the country’s bird enthusiasts to take part in a national effort to build an avian database. The new project, named Citizen […]

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y SHARON UDASIN 06/08/2014 The government approved on Sunday an additional budget of NIS 42 million for environmental improvements in Beduin communities, to supplement the existing NIS 40m. budget already allocated for this purpose in July. Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz requested the funds in order to advanced waste treatment systems for the Beduin sector, […]

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Social media has again proved to be a powerful tool in Tunisia, where a group of people started a Facebook page that turns the ubiquitous ‘selfie’ into an opportunity to express disgust with the country’s stinking trash problem. SelfiPoubella, which joined Facebook on May 16, 2014, aims to keep people from ignoring the problem. The […]

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