Study warns of long-term environmental ramifications of small communities in the Negev desert. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb.07, 2013 Are single-family ranches harming biological diversity in the Negev? According to a new study, they may well be doing so in the long run. In recent years, having been approved by a special zoning plan, single-family […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 02/07/2013 In Tel Aviv’s Tel Baruch neighborhood, local activists say they hope to save the rare landscape from commercial projects. By staging an amateur photography competition in northwest Tel Aviv’s Tel Baruch neighborhood, local activists say they hope to save the rare flora and fauna there from commercial building projects. Residents have […]

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Ministry joins chorus of critics who back an alternate proposal by Israel Nature and Parks Authority to declare the area a nature reserve. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb.07, 2013 The Defense Ministry has come out against a controversial resort planned at Palmahim Beach, joining the chorus of critics who back an alternate proposal by the […]

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Internal dispute between Environmental Protection Ministry, Industry Ministry over NIS 30 million project hinders selection of contractor for long-awaited move Amir Ben-David Published: 02.07.13 The much awaited construction project of an alternative location for the ammonia depository currently held in the Haifa Bay industrial zone in tangled in government bureaucracy, Yedioth Ahronot has learned. The […]

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RAMALLAH, February 4, 2013 (WAFA) – The Japanese development agency, JICA, and the Ministry of Local Government signed Monday a $10 million agreement on developing solid waste treatment plants in the West Bank, according to a Local Government statement. The three-part agreement calls for purchasing special tools to operate solid waste plants, expanding the Jericho […]

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7 Changing the facts will change the figures (editorial by Najib Saab) 16 Population, consumption and sustainability options in the Arab region astonishing figures in the Gulf countries (cover story) 24 Doha climate gate: could it clear the road to a binding agreement in Poland? 30 The role of Arab business in the transition to […]

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Farmers from the Palestinian village of Wadi Foquin asked the staff of the field school in the West Bank settlement of Kfar Etzion for their help in stopping the sewage flow from Betar Ilit. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb.05, 2013 The Environmental Protection Ministry has instructed the Betar Ilit municipality in the West Bank to […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 02/01/2013 Medical farming, sheep and goats on the way. In the arid plains of the northeast Negev Desert, the Beduin village of Hura is one step closer to becoming home to a blossoming eco-village rife with flora and fauna, as well as renewable energy. All those involved with the Wadi Attir Project […]

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After seven years, Water Authority lifts Israel’s ‘severe drought’ advisory; says growing desalination industry has brought water market back from the brink Amir Ben David Published: 02.04.13 After seven dry years that sent Israel into somewhat of a water austerity regiment the Water Authority announced last week that it was lifting the “severe drought” advisory […]

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The study ranked Israel sixth worldwide in buying land in poor countries – but the database on which the study was based may have been imprecise. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb.05, 2013 The authors of a study examining the phenomenon of “land grabbing” – land purchases in poor countries by wealthy ones – will reexamine […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 02/01/2013 While forging ahead on the path to popularizing renewable energy, the United States continues to find a true partner in Israel, which is capable of exporting its innovation to countries small and large, American Ambassador Daniel Shapiro said on Thursday. “We in the US government are extremely interested in opportunities in […]

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Lethal hydrogen sulfide accident at Paz Refineries showcases how despite technological advances, regulatory efforts, Israeli workers are still exposed to life-threatening chemicals on a daily basis Sigalit Shahar Published: 02.03.13 A tragic work-related accident claimed the lives of Michael Beliakov and Moshe Tal last week, at the Paz Refineries facility in Ashdod. Both men died […]

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February 05, 2013 BEIRUT: Fraud and unregulated imports are wreaking havoc on the olive oil sector, farmers warned Monday, calling on the government to clamp down on violators and pay for Lebanese Army purchases due since 2011. “The olive oil sector is being subjected to a dangerous scheme, whereby traders make huge profits re-exporting imported […]

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February 04, 2013 01:36 AM By Mohammad Zaatari SIDON, Lebanon: A new solid waste management plant in the southern city of Sidon will be fully functioning in less than two months, allowing the municipality to purge the heaps of waste that remain in the city’s notorious landfill. The plant is expected to be operating in […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 02/05/2013 About two dozen bird experts from all over the world enjoy a field day among Israel’s bird oasis ahead of avian conference. Eager to chomp on the pieces of white bread flying through the air, a flock of black-headed gulls engulfed the small wooden skiff carrying a pack of international birding […]

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Transportation Ministry says plan meant to take old, polluting cars off the road will kick start after new government is formed Shahar Haselkorn Published: 02.05.13 The Transportation Ministry announced that it was suspending its scrapping program – again – saying it will “most probably” be resumed after the news government is in place. The program […]

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By MATTHEW KALMAN Kibbutz Ketura, Israel Deep in a desert in southern Israel, more than a hundred miles from the nearest city, a tiny academic flower is growing. The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies is a small place with big ambitions: to help end the conflict between Israelis and Arabs by training a new generation […]

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By AFP Darkush / Syria Beset by a freezing winter and stifling fuel and electricity shortages, Syrian civilians desperate to stay warm in a northern forest have no choice but to cut down trees for firewood. Once a tourist destination for Syrians and other Arabs across the Middle East, the formerly pristine national park to […]

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Study, conducted by Italian and American researchers, warns land grabbing could cause environmental, economic damage. By Zafrir Rinat | Jan.29, 2013 Wealthy countries, and private companies from those countries, have been increasingly buying up land in poor areas for their own economic purposes, a new study says. And Israel turns out to be one of […]

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Jewish National Fund said over 600,000 new trees planted over holiday weekend; expects week-long events to see a million more new saplings Ynetnews Published: 01.27.13 The Jewish National Fund reported that a new record has been set this Tu Bishvat, as over 600,000 new trees were planted over the holiday weekend. According to JNF World […]

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