Green groups up in arms, citing expert who says region’s dunes are second most ecologically important area in Israel after Mount Hermon. By Zafrir Rinat The road that runs parallel to the Egyptian border in the western Negev is to be moved eastward by some 750 meters for security reasons. The Ramat Negev Regional Council […]

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By HERB KEINON 01/30/2012 04:43 Netanyahu says the railway would make it possible to travel from TA to Eilat in 2 hours, facilitate transporting goods to Europe. The cabinet held a preliminary discussion Sunday on building a train track from Eilat to Tel Aviv that could, as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, serve as a […]

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Israel said on Sunday it plans to build a railway line linking its Red Sea and Mediterranean ports that could handle potential overflow from the Suez Canal on the freight route between Asia and Europe. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet the idea of ships dropping off goods in one port to be picked […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/25/2012 14:49 An approval would allow for the development of an 8-megawatt solar field on land owned by the Beduin Tarabin family. Solar panels By courtesy of AORA The Public Utility Authority on Tuesday put off a decision on whether to grant a production license for the first medium- sized solar field […]

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The National Research Centre’s solar energy department is carrying out a pilot project based on powering many household appliances — heaters, refrigerators, air conditioners, ice makers and dryers — with solar energy. The Solar House Complex project is about to be launched and will tackle households around Egypt in remote areas deprived of energy and […]

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January 26, 2012 01:00 AM By Olivia Alabaster The Daily Star Flying bats Flying bats BEIRUT: The largest single colony of fruit bats in the Middle East, residing in a cave in the Akkar region of north Lebanon, was last weekend largely destroyed by vandals, with thousands of bats killed. Dr. Mounir Abi-Said, founder of […]

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January 24, 2012 01:28 AM By Olivia Alabaster The Daily Star BEIRUT: Viewed by many as a danger and a pest, the recent rescue of two striped hyenas from captivity by Animals Lebanon has highlighted the threats to this indigenous species, and the need for greater awareness surrounding the animal, experts say. Exact numbers of […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/26/2012 05:12 The Arava International Center for Agricultural Training hosts several hundred agricultural university students from Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar for 10 months each year. ARAVA Int’l Center for Agricultural Training By Arava A West Bank agricultural development team is hoping to form a partnership with Central and Northern Arava Research […]

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Syria is not a major contributor to the emission of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. However, it is especially vulnerable to the impacts of this phenomenon. By Yousef Meslmani Photo Manaf Hassan Global climate change may have a huge impact on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. New studies show it has […]

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Op-ed: Slanderous European accusations put State of Israel’s very existence at risk Giulio Meotti Published: 01.21.12, 12:32 / Israel Opinion The French parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee just published an unprecedented report accusing Israel of implementing “apartheid” in its allocation of water in Judea and Samaria. The report said that water has become “a weapon serving […]

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Work to purify sewage at the Nevatim air force base is at an advanced stage, and the water will eventually irrigate a large park to be created near Be’er Sheva. By Zafrir Rinat The defense establishment has begun purifying sewage at military bases in the Negev so that it can be used as a source […]

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Water use efficiency guide launched by Hana Namrouqa | Jan 27,2012 | 23:01 Hotels in Aqaba consume 35 per cent of water supplied by the Aqaba Water Company, according to officials (File photo) AMMAN — More than 20 per cent of water consumed by the country’s hotels, categorised as large-water consumers, can be saved if […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/24/2012 04:25 Knesset Education, Culture and Sport C’tee rejects Agriculture Ministry proposal for legislation on chicken battery cages. Anonymous for Animal Rights By Courtesy of Alon Sherf/Anonymous for Animal Rights The Knesset Education, Culture and Sport Committee on Monday rejected an Agriculture Ministry proposal for stricter legislation on chicken battery cages. Animal […]

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20-01-2012 A Delegation headed by Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Deputy Secretary General Rafiq Husseini, in charge of Water and Environment portfolio, visited Kuwait and Saudi Arabia last week to present the Gaza water desalination project to financing institutions and funds. A press release said the UfM Delegation held meetings with the President of the […]

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Report—US Agency for International Development “The United States is helping improve water conditions in the West Bank, and is addressing one of our most pressing needs,” says Hebron’s Governor Kamel Hmeid about the USAID-funded Dura Cluster Water Storage and Distribution System. “The project is a step in the right direction to deal with the water […]

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News comes in contrast to recent reports that the JNF is pushing afforestation plans at the expense of Bedouin communities in Southern Israel. By Zafrir Rinat Some Jewish National Fund forests are being reduced to allow development, especially of Arab villages in the north, according to a recent report. The news comes in contrast to […]

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Overall progress reaches 71.7 per cent by Hana Namrouqa | Jan 22,2012 | 22:59 Workers on the Disi Water Conveyance Project lay a pipe along the desert highway on Thursday (Photo by Hana Namrouqa) MUDAWARA/MAAN — Despite several incidents that delayed progress of the Disi Water Conveyance Project, officials on Thursday said the water mega-venture […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/17/2012 06:15 SPNI decries planning and building hazards to country’s land that endanger local wildlife. Talkbacks (6) Threats to open areas are ever increasing as the government’s inclination to protect the public interest simultaneously decreases, according to a report released by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel on Tuesday. […]

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Petra | Jan 22,2012 | 23:01 AMMAN — Jordanian Farmers Union President Odeh Rawashdeh on Saturday said assistance from the environmental compensation programme should be equally distributed among all cattle breeders and not only those from the badia. So far, only cattle breeders from the badia have received this assistance, he said, noting that cattle […]

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Fence removal comes at the request of animal rights groups, who said they were endangering already squeezed wildlife in the area. By Zafrir Rinat Gazelles may once again roam the slopes of the Judean Hills west of Jerusalem freely, now that Barkan Wine Cellars have agreed to remove the fences they put up in the […]

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