The Environmental Protection Ministry has not set stream rehabilitation as a top priority and leaves it to the drainage authorities, the comptroller says. By Zafrir Rinat Almost 20 years after the state launched a project to rehabilitate the country’s rivers and streams, the State Comptroller recently found that not a single watercourse has been fully […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – With gardens and toilets accounting for 45 per cent of domestic water consumption, conservationists on Saturday urged the public to cultivate native plants to reduce water use. Water supply is very limited in Jordan, which is categorised as one of the water-poorest nations in the world; therefore, saving every drop […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/14/2011 07:02 site will include organic farms, soil-enhancing strategies, modernized herding techniques and an education center. Talkbacks (3) The mayor of Hura expressed his hopes that the Wadi Attir eco-village will become a “classroom for all Negev students” following the official cornerstone-laying ceremony for the Beduin sustainable desert community on Tuesday. Project […]

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There is one way to prove that the new national park in East Jerusalem is not a bluff: Lace up your walking shoes and hit the road. By Yuval Ben Ami “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to […]

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European geese make huge splash in rare Israel visit Bean Goose, which originates from northern Europe, Siberia, normally migrates to damp European regions; this is only the second sighting in Israel. By Eli Ashkenazi Mere days after the Hula Valley reservation was graced with a rare visit by a flock of singing swans, another aviary […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Preliminary results of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Programme showed that a large-scale conveyance of seawater from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea is technically possible, but might entail risks as well as environmental and social impacts, according to the World Bank. The conveyance of seawater from […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/14/2011 18:45 Talkbacks (1) The Knesset approved in a preliminary reading two bills proposed by MK Moshe Matalon (Israel Beiteinu) that would authorize a full salt harvest of the southern Dead Sea and charge 90 percent of the cost of the harvest to Dead Sea Works. These extra royalties on the company […]

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Under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the Eye on Earth Summit will enable global leaders, innovators and decision-makers to focus on an issue critical to the wise decision-making upon which our planet’s future depends: how to ensure effective access to the world’s expanding pool of […]

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Eye on Earth, Abu Dhabi – 14 December 2011 Water Security: Knowing What We Need to Know Eye on Earth, Abu Dhabi – 14 December 2011 AFED Secretary General Najib Saab moderated a main session during the Eye on Earth Summit in Abu Dhabi. Participating in the session, titled “Water Security: Knowing What We Need […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/15/2011 03:30 Police confiscate fishermen’s equipment after reportedly catching them using illegally small-holed nets on Lake Kinneret. Talkbacks () Police officers and Agriculture Ministry inspectors took a group of fishermen in for questioning and confiscated their equipment on Tuesday night, after reportedly catching them using illegally small-holed nets on Lake Kinneret. The […]

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INPA’s Acting Director General Modi Oron: This conduct constitutes a harsh violation of all rules of behavior in a nature reserve and the army’s orders. By Zafrir Rinat Israeli tanks severely damaged one of the Negev’s most important nature reserves last week when they crossed it in violation of agreements between the army and nature […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/15/2011 03:35 The state is financing up to 60 percent of 25,000 new refrigerators for low income people, to encourage higher-efficiency appliances use. Talkbacks () Around 900 people across the country traded in their energy-guzzling refrigerators for new ones on Tuesday, the first day of a program through which social welfare clients […]

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EU launches water management project in West Bank – Ma’an BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The European Union has launched a 1.5 million euro project to improve the livelihoods of poor and rural families through improving agricultural water management, officials said Wednesday. The project is being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – With 30 per cent of domestic water consumed by flushing toilets, conservationists are urging the public to install double-flush toilets to reduce water consumption and their bills. Each household can save up to 20,000 cubic metres of water per year if dual flushing toilet systems are used in the country, […]

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Expansion follows the completion of recent field trials in northeast Brazil showing that strains of the plant developed by Evogene have greater yield potential than currently available varieties. By Yoram Gabison Israeli genomics pioneer Evogene and Brazil’s SLC Agricola announced Monday the expansion of their collaboration in developing and cultivating castor bean seeds as a […]

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1) Erdan, PA agree: Increase water cooperation / Source: Jerusalem Post by By SHARON UDASIN Environmental protection minister: Negotiations must occur on basis of “need” instead of “rights.” While clashing on most issues fundamental to the Israeli-Palestinian water crisis, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan and Palestinian Water Minister Dr. Shaddad Attili agreed that today’s operations […]

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notes: 1. see contrast with article below “Israel Failing to Protect the Environment” (Haaretz) 2. for more information from the report see http://www.oecd.org/document/53/0,3746,en_2649_34307_48555125_1_1_1_1,00.html OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Israel 2011 This is the first review of Israel’s environmental performance. It analyses Israel’s progress in achieving a range of national objectives and international commitments, and presents 41 […]

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Multi-year program to curb air pollution launches By SHARON UDASIN 12/11/2011 07:16 Environment Ministry unveils comprehensive plan which will save country half a billion shekels each year, according to ministry. Talkbacks (1) The Environmental Protection Ministry is unveiling on Sunday Israel’s first comprehensive, multi-year national plan for preventing and reducing air pollution, which will save […]

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Comptroller’s Report: Watchdog finds ministry letting rivers stay polluted The Environmental Protection Ministry has not set stream rehabilitation as a top priority and leaves it to the drainage authorities, the comptroller says. By Zafrir Rinat * * Published 01:20 13.12.11 * Latest update 01:20 13.12.11 Comptroller’s Report: Watchdog finds ministry letting rivers stay polluted The […]

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Report — European Union Jerusalem PR/27/2011 12/12/2011 The European Union (EU) announced today its latest contribution in two major sectors of support to the Palestinian Authority (PA): the sustainable management of natural resources and the rule of law. Namely, it launched a €10 million water desalination facility project in the Gaza Strip and the establishment […]

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