Monday, February 21, 2011 BEIRUT: Lebanon must brace for more heavy rains and storms, coupled with long periods of drought and water shortages as the affects of global warming continue to take their toll, a Canadian climate expert has warned. Professor John Pomeroy, the Canada research chair in water resources and climate change at Saskatchewan […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Jordan must take its climate change adaptation measures to the national level in order to enact needed programmes estimated to cost the Kingdom billions of dollars over the next decade, experts and officials say. The fact that the Kingdom doesn’t contribute to greenhouse emissions but is already falling victim to […]

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Itay Fischhendler, Shlomi Dinar, and David Katz Global Environmental Politics 11:1, February 2011 excerpt: Cooperative adaptation has become a fashionable concept that has been prescribed for many transboundary environmental problems. In water/land interactions this option has a distinct spatial form of action that includes establishing joint managerial jurisdictions that span borders. Yet, this study shows […]

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Political Geography 30 (2011) 13-24 David Katz & Itay Fischhendler abstract: Water issues are inherently multi-faceted and therefore water policy often involves linkages to other issues. By providing opportunities for bargaining, use of policy linkages in transboundary water negotiations can increase the possibilities of reaching agreements; however, they also involve potential political costs. While there […]

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By SUSAN H. ROLEF 02/16/2011 22:00 We’ve come a far since water costs were fixed by Knesset subcommittee of agricultural lobby representatives, but it’s not enough. Talkbacks (1) On Wednesday, a private members’ bill introduced by MKs Alex Miller and Faina Kirschenbaum of Israel Beiteinu on the cancellation of VAT on water has just come […]

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By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 02/17/2011 04:47 Knesset Economic Affairs Committee tackles issue of water corporations, and if they just raise the cost of water. The Knesset Economic Affairs Committee on Wednesday tackled the issue of water corporations, and the debate centered around whether they are necessary to improve infrastructure, or whether they just raise the […]

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By Franco Frattini The Mediterranean poses dramatic new challenges for European security. Events in Libya may add a fresh wave of refugees to the 5,000 Tunisian migrants who have landed on the coast of Sicily last week alone. Human traffickers, criminals and terrorists stand ready to exploit chaos stemming from the collapse of the old […]

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By Marie Dhumières Monday, February 21, 2011 Students help plant trees despite bad weather MAAD, Jbeil: Students from several universities braved the bad weather Sunday to participate in a reforestation event in Maad, Jbeil, where they learned about reforestation techniques and planted trees in the pouring rain. “We came today, we planted some trees, and […]

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By GIL HOFFMAN AND HERB KEINON 02/16/2011 02:41 Speculation points to Issacharoff, Sofer for possible UK envoy. Israel Beiteinu officials decided Tuesday night to delay a vote on a controversial bill that had been expected to reignite the already tense relations between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister and Israel Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman. […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – The Red-Dead project’s economic feasibility study and the environmental and social impact assessment have been completed, marking a milestone in the water mega-project, a senior official said on Monday. According to Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour, the economic feasibility study and the environmental and social impact […]

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By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 02/14/2011 14:27 Knesset Health and Environment Committee told that State not prepared for a massive spill, which would have severe repercussions. Talkbacks (1) The Knesset Health and Environment Committee spared a moment on Monday to consider the implications of increased activity on the part of the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Co. on […]

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By JPOST.COM STAFF 02/15/2011 23:15 Dedication ceremony attended by PM, MKs, Haifa governor; Netanyahu says Druse are justified in claims to their land. Talkbacks (2) A dedication ceremony was held Tuesday for a new segment of the national natural gas pipeline that now reaches an area that includes Haifa, Acre, and the surrounding kibbutzim and […]

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Busted pipe and court order keep Cairo from supplying Israel with 20% of its natural gas needs Tani Goldstein Published: 02.16.11, 12:16 / Israel Business Share on TwitterShare on Facebook share Cairo has postponed once again the renewal of gas supply to Israel, due to an explosion that occurred in the pipe leading from Egypt […]

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The revolution has come, and it’s called shale gas. By Meirav Arlosoroff At least one group in Israel welcomed the revolution in Egypt with cheers: investors in the natural gas exploration companies. Upon learning that the status of Egyptian gas supplies had weakened, there was a stampede for stock in the Israeli companies. In their […]

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By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 02/16/2011 05:36 Originally, the Agriculture Ministry said two years would be required to save the lake’s fish populations. The Agriculture Ministry submitted regulations for approval on Tuesday which would prohibit fishing in Lake Kinneret from April 15 to August 15, 2011. Originally, the ministry said two years would be required to […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Newly appointed Environment Minister Taher Shakhshir on Monday outlined the ministry’s priorities for 2011, highlighting initiatives ranging from combating Jordan Valley flies to cleaning up the Zarqa River. During a meeting with the press yesterday, Shakhshir said the ministry will focus on four tracks this year: Zarqa Governorate’s environmental hotspots, […]

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The summary of the recommendations in the Strategic Foresight Report “Blue Peace” is available at www.strategicforesight.com/TheBluePeace-Summary%20of%20Rec.pdf Links to highlights of the report, in English and Arabic are available on the home page: http://www.strategicforesight.com/ for background to the project, see http://www.strategicforesight.com/middleeast_water_security.htm and http://www.strategicforesight.com/water_security_forum.htm See also their earlier work on costs of conflict in the Middle East […]

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Study: Water shortages to force Mideast cooperation Swiss FM urges Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestinians and Israel to work together on managing increasingly scarce water resources A report for the Swiss and Swedish governments warned on Thursday that water shortages in the Middle East were so alarming that opposing camps in the region would […]

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Rashed M.Y. Al-Sa’ed Birzeit University – Institute of Environmental and Water Studies; Birzeit University – Faculty of Engineering International Journal of Environmental Studies, Vol. 67, No. 6, pp. 937-954, 2010 Abstract: The annual discharges of municipal wastewater across the Green Line (the Israeli-Palestinian border) are causing a bi-national conflict with political, environmental, and economic dimensions. […]

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