By Hana Namrouqa http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=27139 AMMAN – The Ministry of Water and Irrigation plans to provide a constant water supply in the Kingdom to reduce deterioration of water networks and pollution, a senior government official said on Wednesday. The ministry has identified the implementation of the Disi Water Conveyance Project as an opportunity to switch from […]

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By Hana Namrouqa http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=27141 AMMAN – Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammad Najjar on Wednesday said the location for pumping water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea under the Red-Dead Water Conveyance Project has not been selected yet. Concerned parties are still in the phase of studying the project’s economic feasibility and environmental […]

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By GAIL LICHTMAN http://www.jpost.com/LocalIsrael/InJerusalem/Article.aspx?id=176770 05/28/2010 22:43 As Jerusalem joins the Local Action for Biodiversity network, 40 of the city’s urban nature sites are granted protection. For years, the study of biodiversity – the variety of life on Earth – was thought to lie in remote areas of our planet untouched by human hands, such as […]

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Conservation Agriculture A pathway towards sustainable agriculture http://www.mectat.com.lb/metopic/ConservationAgri/ConservationAgri.htm May 2010 By: Berthold Hansman and Boghos Ghougassian Conventional agricultural practices in the world, such as tillage, have led into the deterioration and degradation of soils and decrease in their productivity. It became more and more evident that the existing production systems are no longer sustainable and […]

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http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=26899 By Matthew Bresnahan ZARQA/AMMAN – Jordan’s expected population growth will have a major economic, social and environmental impact on the Kingdom, according to USAID Mission Director in Jordan Jay Knott. At the current growth rate of 2.3 per cent, Jordan’s population is expected to double from six million to nearly 12 million persons by […]

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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3893071,00.html For years some150 army bases have poured their waste water into open areas, causing severe environmental damage. Now, after long-running dispute over budget, agreement reached to allocate NIS 400 million towards connecting bases to sewage systems by 2015. Environmental Protection Minister Erdan: Historic decision Attila Somfalvi Published: 05.25.10, 08:14 / Israel Activism IDF bases […]

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http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/report-israel-s-streams-getting-cleaner-but-still-much-work-to-be-done-1.291607 Waterways remain sullied due to failing sewage systems and waste from Palestinian cities. They also need a fresh dose of water after years of poor rainfall. By Zafrir Rinat Almost two decades after the government started its project to clean Israel’s streams, most of the country’s waterways remain sullied due to failing sewage systems […]

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http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/vital-biodiversity-1.291843 Actions to promote biodiversity receive a tiny fraction of funding compared to activities aimed at promoting infrastructure and industrial developments. By Zafrir Rinat The Environmental Protection Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature launched the Israeli program for protecting biodiversity at a conference last week. A few minutes before the conference, a […]

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ttp://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/state-s-share-of-oil-profits-among-the-world-s-lowest-1.291834 Compared to other states, Israel is very generous to petroleum companies when it comes to sharing the revenues from oil and natural gas production, the Knesset Research and Information Center stated in a recent draft report. By Avi Bar-Eli Compared to other states, Israel is very generous to petroleum companies when it comes to […]

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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3893573,00.html Israel’s biggest refinery posts quarterly net loss of $3.6 million as increase in sales cancelled out by higher crude oil prices, decline in refining margins Reuters Published: 05.25.10, 14:48 / Israel Business Oil Refineries swung to a first-quarter net loss on Monday as an increase in sales was cancelled out by higher crude oil […]

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http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=176258 By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 05/24/2010 07:00 Cloud from blaze caused area residents to stay indoors by Gov’t instructions. The Acre Municipality decided Sunday to wait until the Galilee Fire Department and Environmental Protection Ministry investigations into Saturday’s fire at the Hod factory were concluded before deciding whether to order the factory’s owners to come […]

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http://www.jpost.com/LocalIsrael/InJerusalem/Article.aspx?id=176378 By RON FRIEDMAN 05/25/2010 05:57 Plan includes new light rail line, extensions of yet-to-be-completed red line, series of Bus Rapid Transit routes and five new roads. With residents still fuming over the long-overdue light rail project, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Sunday evening announced the city’s new transportation master plan for the next five […]

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http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=26836 By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Winners of the 2009 Environmental Media Award were honoured on Sunday, with Ikhlas Qadi from the Jordan News Agency, Petra, taking home first prize. Qadi’s article tackled environmental problems generated by an abandoned sheep market in the Sahab area, categorised by authorities as an environmental hotspot. Her prize is […]

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http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/ScienceAndEnvironment/Article.aspx?id=175926 By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 20/05/2010 02:56 Monday conference warns it can take 20 years for an invasive species to overcome local competition, yet have devastating effects when it does. It could start with something as innocuous as getting a goldfish or a turtle as a present and then letting it loose in the wild, […]

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http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/ibex-population-in-the-negev-dwindling-as-animals-migrate-toward-towns-in-search-of-food-1.290748 By Zafrir Rinat Environmental watchdog groups and activists have expressed concern over the increasing contact between humans and ibex in the Negev desert. The ibex, a species of wild goat that indigenous to the Negev, is suffering from a serious shortage of food and water. The problem is so acute that it has forced […]

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By Patrick Galey http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=115102#axzz0oajVRSzR Friday, May 21, 2010 BEIRUT: The Qadisha Valley could lose its World Heritage status if the government fails to curb illegal construction and waste dumping on the ancient site, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) confirmed on Thursday. “The world heritage center has warned [Lebanon],” a UNESCO source […]

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http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=115101#axzz0oajbIjjm Friday, May 21, 2010 BEIRUT: Beirut MP Mohammad Qabbani on Thursday held a news conference at the Parliament in which he announced the recommendations of a regional water forum organized last week in Beirut. The forum was held with the participation of parliamentarians from the Arab world and surrounding countries (Turkey and Iran) on […]

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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3891163,00.html Officials say huge new desalination facility on Mediterranean seashore, with network of pipes beneath beach reaching far into ocean, could help solve country’s chronic fresh water shortage Associated Press A huge new desalination facility on Israel’s Mediterranean seashore, with a network of pipes beneath the beach reaching far into the ocean, could help solve […]

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http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=176058 By YAAKOV KATZ 21/05/2010 04:03 Prisons Service will practice for mass escape. Amid growing fears that in a future war Israel will come under unprecedented missile fire, the nationwide civil defense drill that will start next week will include a new scenario – a Hizbullah attack on Israel’s national water carrier. The weeklong drill […]

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By Taylor Luck http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=26730 AMMAN – An international consortium on Wednesday unveiled plans for what is expected to be the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plant in the world in Maan. A consortium comprising Amman-based Kawar Energy and Italian firm Solar Ventures yesterday detailed the specifics of the Shams Maan project, a 100 megawatt (MW) solar […]

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