MIDEASTENVIRONET - The Middle East Environmental Network

By Zafrir Rinat
Last update - 02:12 22/01/2007

Nitrate pollution in the drinking water of a number of communities in
the Sharon area may spread if the overall rise in this type of
pollution continues. "The whole coastal plain is facing exceptional
nitrate levels," Shalom Goldberger, environmental health engineer at
the Health Ministry, said last week.

In a few communities, the ministry has already made special
preparations to allow water use. "In Rishon Letzion a facility to
treat nitrates was established, and in Nes Tziona polluted water has
been diluted with water from another source. We have instructed the
residents of Bet Oved not to drink the water or cook with it, but
residents continue to do so," Goldberg said.

Use of the local tap water for cooking and drinking has been
prohibited for the past few weeks in Moshav Benai Dror in the Sharon
due to nitrates that exceed allowable levels.

Nitrate pollution occurs when sewage and chemical fertilizers
containing nitrate compounds penetrate the water table. Last year's
Hydrological Service report on the situation in 2005 revealed high
concentrations of nitrates in agricultural areas from Binyamina in the
north to Rehovot in the south.

About half the water in the coastal plain aquifer is currently
provided by local suppliers and not by the national water company,
Mekorot. To overcome the pollution these suppliers must either find
ways to purify the water, or connect to the Mekorot system.

In most places where nitrates exceed allowable levels, those levels
are determined by new standards. When the old standards were in place,
no particular health problems associated with exposure to nitrates
were noticed.

Goldberger says that while no immediate danger is posed, standards
must be maintained because the presence of nitrates in the water is a
health problem in general.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/816051.html

Posted by MEEF at 12:55 PM | Permalink

By Zafrir Rinat
Last update - 02:12 22/01/2007

David Litvinoff, the head of the Tamar Regional Council, has lived
most of his life at Kibbutz Ein Gedi, near the Dead Sea. But he made
his first visit to neighboring Jordan only last week. His main reasons
for finally taking the trip were the houseflies that plague residents
on both sides of the Dead Sea, and the realization that the
ever-shrinking sea is also a common problem.

Litvinoff and a delegation of regional council heads from the area met
in the Jordanian city of Safi with officials of the Jordan Valley
Authority and district governors. He and the head of the Jordan River
district, Ghaleb al-Shamaila, signed a memorandum of understanding to
work together against the flies and to establish a border crossing for
merchandise and workers on the Dead Sea's southern shore. They also
pledged to work to establish a regional peace park south of the Dead
Sea and to bring public pressure to bear on the issue of the Dead
Sea's desiccation.

The visit to Jordan was organized by the joint Israeli, Jordanian and
Palestinian Friends of the Earth-Middle East (FoEME). "It is a rare
event in which the representatives of so many Jordanian bodies meet
with Israelis, as political pressure usually prevents such meetings,"
FoEME's Israeli director, Gidon Bromberg, said. He stated that the
shared nature of the issues on the local level had created the level
of trust needed to reach the understandings.

"We've tried everything against the flies," Litvinoff said. "We
brought in specialists and used every kind of pesticide. The flies
continue to come from the Jordanian side. Some months, you can't even
sit outside."

The Israeli delegation came face to face with the source of the
problem in the fields near Safi: a fertilizer that attracts the winged
pests. "People here are poor, and they don't have money to buy
suitable fertilizers," said Dr. Farouk Arslan, a Jordanian ecologist
accompanying the group.

"This fertilizer gets wet and attracts the female flies, and that's
how the next generation develops," explained Shlomo Abadi, a pesticide
expert advising both sides.

The participants resolved to conduct a study on various methods of
decreasing the legions of flies. Bromberg and his Jordanian
counterpart, Munqeth Mehyar, met last week in Amman with the U.S.
ambassador to seek his help in establishing a compost facility that
will not attract flies.

The Jordanian side of the Dead Sea is in many respects a mirror image
of the Israeli side, complete with potash works and their evaporation
pools and a large number of hotels. The outstanding difference is that
the population on the Jordanian side is much larger, and poorer, than
on the Israeli side.

The Jordanians led their Israeli guests through a banana plantation in
which a huge sinkhole had opened, similar to the hundreds of such
holes on the Israeli side. The holes, which open without warning, are
created due to the drop in the level of the Dead Sea, which allows
fresh water to penetrate through salt layers beneath the surface,
dissolving them and causing the surface to collapse.

Ahmed Bukhri, a Jor dan Valley Authority engineer, said that there are
about 50 sinkholes in Jordanian fields. "We tried to block some of
them, but they reappear," he noted. As opposed to Kibbutz Ein Gedi,
which has stopped cultivation in the fields where the sinkholes
appeared, the Jordanian farmers appear to have no choice and continue
to work their fields, although there are sinkholes all around.

The shrinkage of the Dead Sea requires intervention at a higher level
than mayors on both sides, but the mayors are trying to raise
international awareness of the importance of preserving the area. At
their meeting, both sides agreed to continue their efforts to persuade
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) to declare the Dead Sea basin a World Heritage Site.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/816067.html

Posted by MEEF at 12:53 PM | Permalink

We are looking for masters students in environmental studies for the
AKIS/AIES program. We accept students with BA or BSc who are looking
to work in topics related to the environments. Currently we have few
positions:

§ Masters on environmental legislation and policy. Hebrew
reading and writing, BA or BSc, subject less important. Date of start
25th February 2007. Need to apply ASAP.

§ Masters on the impact of grazing on biodiversity. The study
looks at Bedouin decision making regarding grazing, for example: where
to take the herds at different seasons, ratio of goats to sheep, herd
size, who herds them. Also it looks at the behaviour of the goats and
sheep and the impact on desert plants. Could chose one of the above
subjects only. Requires BSc in biology, agriculture or related
subjects, or BA in humanities. Date of start 25th February 2007. Need
to apply ASAP.

§ Masters on domestication of desert plant species in Jordan.
Wild plants that have undergone domestication can be grown for
agriculture. We would like to try and introduce some of them to
Jordan. Requires BSc in biology, agriculture or related subjects.
Date of start 14th October 2007.

§ Masters on conservation of rare desert plants. In an attempt
to save rare species, we will look for populations in Jordan. Requires
BSc in biology, agriculture or related subjects. Date of start 14th
October 2007.

Elli@arava.org

Posted by MEEF at 12:49 PM | Permalink

Haaretz

24.1.07 | 11:15 By Amiram Cohen
Israel's farmers are making hay as the sun shines in the Middle East and storms
whip at California, the source of most things orange in the U.S.

The icy weather and pounding precipitation destroyed 70% of the state's citrus
crop, and counting.

The damage in California, which is the world's largest citrus producer, is
estimated at a billion dollars.

How does Israel benefit? Japan is taking advantage of the citrus crisis as an
opportunity to renew its imports from Israel for the first time since 1988,
says Tal Amit, head of the citrus sector at Israel's Plants Production and
Marketing Board.

Japan had stopped importing citrus from Israel for economic reasons. But
recently Israeli farmers received orders to ship 800 tons of oranges a week.

Amit said yesterday that he expected additional citrus orders by Japanese and
South East Asian markets. He doesn't believe the shortfall in California would
affect prices here, though.

This potential boon comes at a point where citrus prices have climbed
considerably over the past year.

During the third week of January, retail prices of red grapefruit were 33
percent above the same period last year. Similarly, prices are up for white
pomellos (19 percent), red pomellos (35 percent), and pomelits (78 percent).

In the wake of the disaster, Spain and Morocco, both major citrus suppliers to
the European Union, decided to redirect a considerable share of their crops to
the U.S., leaving the EU out in the cold.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/817279.html

Posted by MEEF at 12:47 PM | Permalink

Israel21c
Israelis raise coral out of the blue
By Karin Kloosterman January 21, 2007

Israeli scientist win US award for ecological research

While other criminal lawyers are spending their afternoons preparing court
cases, Israeli attorney Ofer Almalam is taking off his tie and heading over to
an unusual aquatic farm to dote on some special clients.

In a secret location not far from the city of Haifa, Almalam and his partner
Alon Efergan, a former engineer, are working around the clock raising coral for
their new company - Advanced Coral Propagating Technology (ACP Tech).

The coral they produce - about 8,000 pieces of 6 cm. coral a year - is living
proof that coral can be cultivated in captivity and in a closed system. It is
the first large-scale operation of its kind in the world where coral are reared
with no connection to nutrients in the sea.

The zoological research done by the unlikely pairing of a lawyer and an
engineer, they hope, may one day save the world's coral reefs from extinction -
or at least make it to the pages of National Geographic.

Pet stores and reef keepers around the world are taking notice of ACP Tech,
which has been having a hard time meeting the demand for their colourful sea
creatures. Distributed by Israeli food and agriculture giant Agrexco, major pet
store distributors in the US such as Segrest Farms in Miami and Merit Import are
placing orders faster than they can be delivered. The wholesale cost - about $15
apiece.

Like the secret location of the tanks, the precise methodologies used in raising
the finicky coral are under wraps until the company acquires patents. What they
can say is that it has taken them late nights of hard work, a whole lot of
intuition, and a special combination of technologies that give the coral the
specific conditions needed to grow.

Coral reefs in the sea serve as one of the world's most important marine
ecosystems. The exoskeletons of the small animals are home to thousands of
other aquatic plants and animals. Coral are necessary for nutrient cycling in
the sea; they are important for tourism in island economies, used in medical
studies for skin grafts and could be sources of new medicines.

But coral are sensitive to the smallest fluctuations in pH, chemical mixtures
and temperature. Global warming, fish farming, pollution and a whole host of
man-made activities are proving to be disastrous to their survival. Some
scientists believe that one-third of all coral in the sea has already died.
This year, reports CNN and New Scientist, has seen record amounts of coral
die-off.

"I feel that we are heading into a period where the coral will become extinct,"
Almalam told ISRAEL21c. "They have existed for 500 million years and have
passed a few extinctions. But we are going into an era that may have
immeasurable consequences for their survival."

"And hard corals, like the ones we are growing, are the most sensitive kind,"
says Almalam. "They need special conditions to live and require components in
the water present in a narrow range that includes such chemicals like calcium
and strontium."

Feeding his coral what he jokingly terms a "body-builder's" diet, Almalam helps
the coral grow twenty times faster than they would if they were growing
naturally in the sea. Those grown on his farm are more colorful than the native
sea varieties; they also adapt better to aquarium life.

The way ACP Tech packs and ships its coral, in special brine, also ensures a
near one-hundred-percent survival rate for coral that have to brave the long
journey from Israel to the United States.

Although environmentalists try to sway people from stealing coral in the sea,
the marine animals remain a hot commodity for hobbyists looking to add them to
exotic home aquariums.

By propagating and selling coral, Almalam says, ACP Tech is helping to offset
illegal poaching of coral. At any rate, he adds, poached coral has a low chance
of survival once someone removes it from the sea.

Much of what ACP Tech does is under wraps until the company receives patents on
their technologies and methodologies. What they can divulge is the fact that
the coral is propagated from smaller pieces of the substance through a process
known as fragmentation; the pieces are glued to a cube of concrete and then
placed in an aquarium environment that contains minerals and elements in the
"perfect" combination that coral love.

And "love" is the word Efergan uses when describing the most important
ingredient in the rearing process. "I give them the best that I can- like the
love I give to my children," he says. "I also give them the highest quality
food. They speak with me. I can feel how they feel."

"The environmental aspect is also important for me and I live the principles I
believe," added Efergan, a vegetarian who doesn't eat fish.

After studying mechanical engineering at Tel Aviv University, Efergen decided to
try his luck in the pet store business. It was then, about five years ago when
Almalam took an interest in aquariums, the two met.

Within three months of raising lionfish, Almalam had moved on to soft coral,
hard coral and then a 600 liter aquarium that found a home in his living room.
Besides buying materials and equipment from Efergan, Almalam was ordering
specialty supplies from the US and the UK.

Through their mutual love of coral and environmentalism, Almalam and Efergan
forged a bond like brotherhood, they say.

Today the aquariums are too large for the house and have been moved to a small
village outside the coastal city of Haifa.

Almalam's father Avraham Almalam an engineer with a background in agriculture
also deserves credit for ACP Tech's success. "Of course," says Almalam's
father, it was a dream of his and his wife's that their son would grow up and
become a lawyer. But it was no surprise that he would end up dedicating the
better part of his day to growing coral.

"Ofer always cared about animals and has since he was a young boy. He raised
snakes, dogs, butterflies and many kinds of varieties of mice at our home. He
grew up knowing how to be close to animals," says his father. "Developing a
closed system of raising coral was not a strange thing for my son to do. And it
is such an important thing for the world."

ACP Tech could one day - if the right investor comes along, they say- supply
coral to every corner of the world. Already, they have started supplying coral
to reef-keepers used for transplanting them in the natural environment in
efforts to keep reefs alive.

"Our production could be higher at the moment," says Almalam. "We just don't
have the system big enough to satisfy the demand."

Karin Kloosterman is a freelance reporter living in Israel.
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El1531&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Democracy&

Posted by MEEF at 12:44 PM | Permalink

Source: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Date: 12 Jan 2007

USAID funds a waste removal project in Tal El Sultan

Tal El Sultan, Gaza Strip - The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) is assisting in the removal of a
hazardous solid waste dump in Tal El Sultan neighborhood in Rafah.
Through this $25,000 emergency assistance program, USAID is
responding to a serious health threat to the residents of Tal El
Sultan. The cleanup, which started on December 19, will improve the
environment and quality of life for 30,000 people.
The Tal El Sultan waste removal project is part of USAID's $28.2
million emergency assistance program, Rafeed. This program enables
USAID to respond promptly to the immediate humanitarian and emergency
needs of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza.
Since 1993, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have received more
than $1.7 billion in U.S. economic assistance via USAID projects to
combat poverty, improve health and education, create jobs and promote
good governance.

Posted by MEEF at 12:43 PM | Permalink

Arab Environment Monitor

UNEP's post conflict assessment of Lebanon's environment Arab Environment
Monitor

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Berlin, 23 January 2007— Serious and in some cases widespread environmental
challenges are confronting the Lebanese authorities as a result of the recent
conflict, a report launched today by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) says.

Many of the bombed and burnt out factories and industrial complexes including
the Jiyeh power plant south of Beirut are contaminated with a variety of toxic
and health hazardous substances.

Urgent action is needed to remove and safely dispose of such substances, which
include ash and leaked chemicals amid concerns they represent a threat to water
supplies and public health.

Dealing with and disposing of significant quantities of war-related debris,
including health care and hospital waste represents a further and major
environmental challenge.
The sheer scale of the debris is overwhelming existing municipal dump sites and
waste management regimes, the team found.

The report also stresses the importance of rapidly removing unexploded cluster
bombs, especially in the south of the country where large areas of economically
important agricultural land have become” out of bounds” for farmers.

Wide-spread damage to Lebanon’s water supply and sewage networks also occurred
as a result of the recent hostilities. Prior to the 34-day conflict, which took
place between July and August 2006, the networks had been undergoing
comprehensive upgrading and modernisation.

“These networks were extensively damaged in the conflict and hence present a
risk of groundwater contamination and a potential public health hazard. Waste
water management constitutes a major chronic environmental stress factor,”says
the report, prepared by UNEP’s Post Conflict Branch.

On a more positive note, the report indicates that oil pollution to the marine
environment has been largely contained and contamination levels appear to be
generally typical of coastal areas of that part of the Mediterranean. This
should be good news for the country’s economically important tourism and
fisheries sectors.

A further positive finding, particularly in the light of various high profile
media reports, come from studies in Beirut and southern Lebanon of sites struck
by munitions. Detailed field tests and analysis of samples at laboratories in
Europe have found no evidence that the missiles used contained depleted uranium
or another kind of radioactive material.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said:
“This post conflict assessment was carried out at the request of the Lebanese
authorities following the cessation of hostilities in mid August last year”.

Posted by MEEF at 12:42 PM | Permalink

A running river under the desert or a river running under the desert sand?
Jordan Times

By Ammar W. Mango

One of the least talked about mega projects in the world media lies beneath the
desert in Libya. Termed the “Great Man Made River,” it consists of a network
of underground pipe systems that draw water from the deep aquifers beneath the
Libyan desert, and pumps it all the way to the population centres of Libya’s
Mediterranean coast.

The project, started almost forty years ago, is considered one of the greatest
engineering feats ever to be attempted and consists of over 1,300 wells and
2,000 kilometres of pipelines which provide potable water daily to Tripoli,
Benghazi, and Sirte.

The need for the project arises from the fact that most of Libya is arid desert
land, with hardly any rainfall to support its fresh water needs. During oil
explorations in the fifties, expeditions discovered over ten thousand year old
aquifers of water hidden deep in the desert. This finding provided an
alternative for solving the water shortage problems that would have plagued
Libya’s future. Other options considered included importing water and
desalination plants.

Despite skeptics, the man made river option was chosen over the others. At the
time, one of the concerns was that the amount of water in the aquifers was not
really known. Initially, rough estimates said there was enough water to last
fifteen to fifty years. However, more recent estimates have put the figure at
one hundred years.

The project is still half way through, with two of its five phases already
complete. Phases one and two were completed in 1991 and 1996, respectively.
Phase three is currently in progress, and the whole project is expected to take
another twenty years to complete.

Once completed, the project will provide 6.5 million cubic metres of fresh water
daily to several cities in Libya. It will also provide the needed irrigation
for 1.5 billion square metres of cultivated land. The flow of water at its
completion will be equivalent to the daily flow of the River Thames in London.

The project is owned by the Great Man-made River Authority and funded by the
Libyan government. The total cost is projected at more than $25 billion. More
than 10,000 people and 4,500 pieces of equipment are currently engaged on the
project.

Most of the material used, including the huge four metre diameter pipes were
manufactured in two local specially built plants. UNESCO has been a
contributor to the project by providing training for engineers and technicians
through a training centre and a technical documentation centre set up to serve
the project. Also, several international subcontractors have been hired
throughout the project to aid in the design and provide other technical
services. Some sources estimate that the stone and sand used to make the pipes
are sixteen times the amount sufficient to build the pyramids of Giza. This
might be why some Libyans proudly call it the “eighth wonder of the world.”

A project of this magnitude and requiring such a long time to complete requires
the continuous support of its sponsors in the face of changing circumstances.
This is why such projects only survive if a deeply strategic goal lies behind
the project to the point that will ensure the continuous funding and support to
see it through to completion.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Posted by MEEF at 12:41 PM | Permalink

Friends of the Earth Middle East

Issue No. 41 (December 2006)
GOOD WATER NEIGHBORS BULLETIN

This is a monthly electronic bulletin on water and environmental issues in our
region, produced by Friends of the Earth Middle East. Friends of the Earth
Middle East (FoEME) is a regional environmental organization of Jordanians,
Israelis and Palestinians working together to promote sustainable development
and peace building through environmental awareness.

REGIONAL UPDATES FROM THE GOOD WATER NEIGHBORS PROJECT

The most important happening of November was the result of the quick response
from FoEME’s staff on the notification that work will start on the Separation
Barrier between the Good Water Neighbors (GWN) communities of Tzur Hadassa on
the Israeli side and Wadi Fukin on the Palestinian side. FoEME’s Tel-Aviv
branch responded by appealing to the Israeli Civil Administration, which
resulted in the work being postponed until a decision is made on the issue. In
the event of a negative response, FoEME is already preparing a petition to the
Israeli Supreme Court against the barrier in Wadi Fukin.

Another important issue was the second meeting between the mayors of the GWN
communities of Beit She’an and Sheikh Hussein, where a Memorandum of
Understanding was drafted as a first step to restore the streams of Nahal Harod
and Wadi Ziglab, both important tributaries to the Jordan River.

NEWS IN BRIEF [HEADLINES REPRINTED ONLY; FOR FULL STORIES SEE THE FOEME WEBSITE
OR SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER]

Since 'Operation Summer Rains', 90% Gazans Eat Less than Three Meals a Day, Only
a Third of Gazans have Running Water
(Ma’an News -- www.maannews.net, Palestine, November, 17th, 2006)
_____________

Cost of water to farmers to rise 20% over five years
(Ha’aretz, Israel, November 16, 2006) By Amiram Cohen

_____________

A 15 meter sink hole appeared in Deir Allah
(Al-Dustor, Jordan, November 1, 2006)

_____________

Evaporation and Israel Threatens to Vanish the Dead Sea
(Al-Jazeera Net, www.aljazeera.net, Palestine, November, 14th 2006)

_____________

ISO certificate for the water ministry
(Al-Ghad, Jordan November 21, 2006)

_____________

Israel and Jordan fight sea pollution
Ha'aretz, November 16th, 2006
_____________

Sink holes threatening the lives of South Ghour residents
(Al-Arab Al-Yaum, November 22, 2006)

Municipality of Tulkarm Urged the Residents of the District to Pay their Duties
for Electricity and Water Services
(Ma’an News -- www.maannews.net, Palestine, November, 1st, 2006)

An Israeli-Jordanian Agreement on water issues
Ha'aretz, November 23rd

This bulletin is part of Friends of the Earth Middle East's regional project:
Good Water Neighbors.

The bulletin aims to bring up to date information from the region on pertinent
water issues facing communities, focusing on water provision, allocation and
good management practices.

All issues of Good Water Neighbors bulletins are also available online at:
www.foeme.org

Contributions to this bulletin are welcome. Please send by the 24th of each
month to: info@foeme.org

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of FoEME and/or of
individual contributors and not necessarily those of our sponsors. The Good
Water Neighbors Project recognizes the support of the European Union
Partnership for Peace program, the UK Government's Global Opportunities Fund
and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.

This newsletter or portions thereof may be freely distributed. All quotations
from material enclosed herein should be properly cited. If cited in other
publications, please send us copies.

This project document has been produced with the financial assistance of the
European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of
EcoPeace / Friends of the Earth Middle East and can under no circumstances be
regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

www.foeme.org

Posted by MEEF at 12:39 PM | Permalink

Jordan Times

By Hana Namroqa

AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Thursday signed a 1.175-million
euro agreement with the European Commission for improving management of water
and wastewater services in the country.

Under the deal, signed by Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem and Head
of the European Commission Delegation in Amman Patrick Renauld, the Ian Pope
Associates (IPA) Energy + Water Consulting will provide the ministry with
technical assistance for the project.

As part of the EU-funded agreement, an audit unit to monitor the water sector’s
performance will be created if approved by the government.

In addition, the British consulting company will provide technical assistance to
the programme management unit (PMU) at the ministry to help it implement all
water-related projects, Renauld said during the signing ceremony.

Under the agreement, which will go into effect next month and last for three
years, IPA Energy will provide the PMU with consultancy services and ensure
smooth transition from LEMA to the government-owned Our Water (Meyahuna)
company.

In October last year, the government extended LEMA's contract, which was
scheduled to finish by the end of 2006, for an extra six months as a
transition period before handing over the management of the capital's water
system to Our Water.

The capital, which is home to about 1.9 million of the Kingdom's 5.4 million
people, consumes around 115 million cubic metres of water annually.

Almost half of this water is pumped from the Zai Water Treatment Plant and the
rest from several springs in and around Amman, including Ras Al Ain in the
centre of the city and Wadi Seer in the western part of the capital.

Founded in 1989, IPA Energy + Water Consulting is an independent company
specialised in creating, implementing and strengthening energy markets in order
to increase competition, raise economic efficiency, attract private sector
capital, foster renewables and promote emissions reduction, according to its
website.

Ambassador of the United Kingdom James Wilfred Watt, as well as senior
officials, attended the signing ceremony.

Posted by MEEF at 12:38 PM | Permalink

Jordan Times

By Hana Namroqa

AMMAN — A new “manifest” system designed to limit random dumping of wastewater
into the Zarqa River, will help address part of the area’s environmental
problems, Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said this week.

“By registering the source of the wastewater and where it is dumped, the
Environment Ministry will have better control over sewage tankers and
consequently limit the haphazard clearance of waste into the river and the
surrounding area,” the minister said during an inspection tour of the river on
Wednesday.

The follow-up tour was organised to check on the river’s main sources of
pollution and take necessary measures accordingly, Environment Ministry
Spokesperson Isa Shboul told The Jordan Times.

Earlier this month, the ministry prepared an integrated emergency plan to
address the pollution problem, which identified the river's main sources of
contamination as wastewater leakage, the Ain Ghazal sewage tanker facility,
nearby factories, car wash stations, flooding manholes and sewer systems, and
the Greater Amman Municipality slaughterhouse.

The plan includes conducting maintenance work on drainage systems in Zarqa and
Amman to prevent rainwater from entering the sewage system, establishing a 21km
sewage pipeline from the west Zarqa pumping station to the Khirbet Al Samra
station between Zarqa and Mafraq governorates, establishing a new
slaughterhouse and studying the relocation of the stone quarries to a new
industrial site.

“The long-term plan will continue for up to 12 years. Solving the river’s
environmental problems requires time, as the roots of the problem go back
decades,” Irani said.

During the tour, the minister checked on eight sources of pollution along the
river. A scrap yard was closed down permanently, a quarry and a cattle farm
will be relocated to another site, while a car wash facility was given two
months to rectify the violations.

Mohammad Shishani, a resident of the Sukhneh area in Zarqa, complained about the
stench from the river and the garbage strewn along its banks.

“Authorities are blaming area residents for polluting the river by connecting
their sewage system to the river, but everyday we see sewage tankers
discharging waste into the water,” Shishani told The Jordan Times.

According to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, 10 per cent of wastewater in
the river is a direct result of illegal connections.

The ministry said it dealt with 167 violations, where citizens connected their
sewage networks to the rainwater drainage system linked to the river.

The emergency plan also seeks to protect the unpolluted parts of the river,
Irani said.

Although some sections of the river are not contaminated, the water is not
potable and can only be used for agricultural purposes, Water Authority
Director in Zarqa Jabr Hmoud told The Jordan Times.

Posted by MEEF at 12:37 PM | Permalink

Jordan Times

By Mohammad Ben Hussein

AMMAN — The Lower House on Wednesday agreed to hold a special session to discuss
the reasons behind the failure of the JD60 million Karameh Dam.

Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali said he would arrange with the government
for a suitable date within the next two weeks to discuss the issue.

The House decision was prompted by a letter signed by 63 deputies calling for an
immediate investigation to find out why the dam did not live up to its
potential.

The embankment dam in Wadi Mallaha, constructed in 1997, was primarily designed
to store surplus winter flows and intended to assist in the development of
irrigation in the southern zone of the Jordan Valley.

During construction of the reservoir, it was predicted that the dam would
be emptied several times in order to clear the salt concentration in the water.

Karameh Dam, the second-largest dam in the Kingdom with a maximum capacity of
56mcm of water, was flushed several times over the past few years in order to
reduce the concentration of salt, but farmers are yet to benefit from its
water. Jan 25/07

Posted by MEEF at 12:36 PM | Permalink

Samih Massoud Al-Hayat - 21/01/07//

The Human Development Report 2006, called: 'Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and
the Global Water Crisis', issued last November, confirmed that access to safe,
low-cost water sources is a basic human right that governments should secure at
least 20 liters of clean water for all citizens a day and provide the same
quantity free of charge to the poor who cannot pay for such a quantity of
water.
The report called for a global plan of action under the G8, with a view to put
the problems of water and sanitation as a main item in the international
development agenda. It also called upon all the developing countries to prepare
national plans to push progress in the provision of water and sanitation
services, highlighting that these plans should define the ambitious goals with
allocations no less than 1% of the GDP of these countries, so that the current
public expenditure on water resources this year can be less than 0.5% of the
GDP.
The report also spoke of the importance of increasing the international annual
assistance allocated for water and sanitation by between $3.4 billion to $4
billion. It considered such assistance as an investment that has been delayed,
but has a positive effect on health, productivity and quality of life.
The report was presented when it was launched in Cape Town, South Africa, by the
Director General of the UN Development Program in a joint statement with the
Minister of Finance of the Republic of South Africa. He selected three
surprising passages from the report. The first does not recognize the existence
of a logical (financial, logistical or geographical) reason that prevents
providing the poor with clean water sufficient to meet the basic human needs.
The report emphasized that approximately one billion people do not have clean
water, and that 2.6 billion do not have hygienic drainage. The second passage
casts doubt on the validity of forecasts about the unavoidable 'future water
wars', and considered them exaggerated concerns. The third considered the
report a pilot study that refutes many 'myths' about trans-boundary water
conflicts and wars in the water stress areas.
Even though I appreciate the efforts made in this report, I did not find any
evidence that the global water crisis and conflicts over water are just a
'fairy tale'. Suffice it to recall in this regard the 4th World Water Forum,
held last March in the Mexican capital, with the participation of
representatives from 130 countries to discuss the water supply in poor nations
and the global water crisis in general. This Forum acknowledged the validity of
the expectations of 'future wars' over water resources. It also confirmed that
about 40% of the world's over six billion people only have access to small
quantities of water and do not have a sewage system, in addition to 1.1 billion
people without clean drinking water, leading to the deaths of over three million
people annually.
Participants of the Forum were also unanimous that the global water crisis is a
concrete reality, not a 'fairy tale', because the 'ghost of thirst' haunts the
majority of the Middle Eastern countries, including Pakistan as well as
sub-Saharan Africa. The report indicated inequality in consumption between
industrialized countries, where per capita water consumption ranges between 400
and 600 liters per day, and the poorest countries, where the per capital
consumption is less than 20 liters a day, taking into account the inequality
between these countries in terms of the potential required for access to safe
water.
This global crisis may be seen in light of the World Water Council (WWC)
reports. The WWC has been stressing the need to redouble financial investments
to face inequality in water distribution in the world. It has estimated that
the UN needs some $20-30 billion annually until 2015 to achieve one of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which urge a reduction in the number of
those who do not have access to safe drinking water and sanitation structures
in developing countries.
The water crisis may also be seen in light of the many indications about the
seriousness of the water situation in the Arab World, because the Arab
countries have scarce water resources in terms of the average share of water
allocated for a cultivated area, the per capita share of water, or
inappropriate geographical distribution of these resources and the difficulty
of controlling and exploiting many of them.
It goes without saying that the Arab countries are among the poorest water
regions in the world, as they have only 1% of the global renewable water,
whereas some 5% of the world's population lives in this region. A report
presented by the Arab Council for Water to the 4th World Water Forum pointed
out that the available stock of per capita water consumption in the Middle East
and North Africa decreased from 4000 cubic meters in 1950 to slightly more than
1000 cubic meters currently, and is expected to drop to 577 cubic meters in the
region by 2050.
The Unified Arab Economic Report gives a more severe futuristic picture of the
water situation in the Arab World. It estimates that the per capita share of
water will decrease to 500 cubic meters in 2025 because of high population
growth rates and the decline of the amount of water taken by Arab countries
from common rivers, which represent half the amount of available water. The
same report also estimated the Arab water deficit needed for domestic food
production at 58 billion cubic meters per year and said that it is expected to
rise in 2030 to 378 billion cubic meters, which will negatively affect the
achievement of Arab food self-sufficiency.
The future of water in the Arab countries foreshadows a very dangerous
situation, not only because of the limited water resources, but because the
majority of water resources spring in non-Arab countries and the Arab countries
do not have full control of them. This definitely exacerbates the problems of
water and causes dangerous economic and political problems over the
distribution of water resources regionally, which may lead to conflicts and
wars in the future. It is to be noted that such conflicts have already emerged
in the past few years. Some of them were related to Arab-Israeli water
disputes, Israel's control of the resources of the Jordan River and its
withdrawal of large quantities of water from the Yarmouk River, in addition to
its control of more than two billion cubic meters of Arab water resources.
There are also some differences between Syria and Iraq with Turkey over the
Tigris and Euphrates basins. Turkey has large-scale and long-term projects to
make use of the Euphrates River water, in addition to differences between
Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the Nile River water.
Organizing the investment of the Arab limited water resources is the basis for
sustainable development, which requires strengthening Arab co-operation to
optimally utilize the available water resources and improve the use and
preservation of these resources.

* Mr. Massoud is an economics expert at the Canadian Center for Middle East
Studies

http://english.daralhayat.com/business/01-2007/Article-20070121-44a33c09-c0a8-10ed-009d-421b4c65a313/story.html

Posted by MEEF at 12:34 PM | Permalink

By Fadi Eyadat

Haaretz- 10:36 25/01/2007

Two garbage containers stand in front of MK Ami Ayalon's house at
Moshav Kerem Maharal - one for general and the other for organic
garbage. The Ayalons are among the community's 161 residents who
recycle their organic garbage for compost production.

The trash cans were provided by Ayalon's former navy subordinate and
neighbor, Amiad Lapidot, who initiated the Kerem Compost project.

Lapidot, 38, founded the Eretz Carmel non-government organization
(NGO) in July to process organic garbage at Kerem Maharal and turn it
into compost, or plant fertilizer. The NGO won this year's Ford
Foundation first prize for environment preservation.

Moshav residents separate organic garbage - food leftovers, fruit and
vegetable peels, tea bags, coffee and matches - from the rest of the
garbage. Lapidot, the NGO's director, collects the organic garbage on
his three-dunam farm. "We bring eight tons of garbage here a month.
There are no flies or stink here, although hundreds of tons of garbage
have passed this site," he says.

This is because of the natural decomposition process that turns the
garbage into compost. The organic garbage must be put into the pile
with grass clippings, hay, leaves, newspapers, sawdust and weeds.
Microorganisms (bacteria and fungi), earthworms and insects work in
the compost pile to break down the materials into compost. The
temperature rises to 60-70 degrees Celsius, sterilizing
disease-causing bacteria.

After a month and a half, special worms of the Eisenia Fetida species
are introduced into the pile.

"The worms eat the organic materials and leftovers, break them down in
their bodies, and their secretions are the best fertilizer," Lapidot
says.

After the pile has decomposed for six months, the parts that have not
broken down are taken out, leaving plant compost. "This could be done
anywhere in the country or city. It doesn't stink, and doesn't bother
anyone," he says.

When organic garbage is not separated from plastic bags and other
garbage, it decomposes without oxygen, a process that emits methane
gas and contributes to global warming and "climate imbalance," Lapidot
says. "Without recycling, we are enhancing the greenhouse effect."
Almost 40 percent of Israel's household garbage consists of organic
materials that can be recycled into fertilizer. "We create an organic
circle that could go on forever," Lapidot continues. "The food I eat
goes to the compost pile, with which I fertilize the tree that
provides my food. This food goes to the compost heap and so on," he
says.

The garbage recycling in Kerem Maharal prevents the emission of
500,000 cubic meters of "greenhouse" gases into the atmosphere,
Lapidot says.

Lapidot built his house with earth bricks and straw, and uses dew for
cleaning and irrigation. Now he is thinking of producing methane gas
from his home's sewage for heating. In the summer, he cools his house
with a pipe stuck a meter deep in the ground, where the temperature is
16 degrees Celsius. Thus he saves water and energy. "My motto is to
live without infringing on the future generations' ability to
survive," he says.

Globalization, population growth and consumption have increased
environmental damage, he says. Israeli culture has "mutated." "It's
built into our society, we are raised to compete, to consume
endlessly, regardless of the laws moving the earth. There are laws,
and we've decided to ignore them. We must understand that we live by
the same laws that move and manage the planet," Lapidot says.

He is dedicated to creating a model to balance out modern
globalization and consumption, and preserve an environment "rich with
nature's free services."

"We must create a situation in which everything we do enriches the
environment. A tree, for example, develops and grows, yet it
contributes to cleaning the air, and produces fruit."

Lapidot is operating this model by recycling organic garbage, living
in his his earth-brick and straw home, and using dew. "I am the
environment," he says.

"As educators, we must teach others about nature's laws so that future
generations are able to survive," he says.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/817442.html

Posted by MEEF at 12:28 PM | Permalink

By Sharon Kedmi 25/01/2007
Haaretz

The National Infrastructure Committee last night approved plans to
upgrade Road 1 between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which will transform it
into a three-lane highway at a cost of NIS 2.5 billion.

The statutory processes should be completed by the end of the year,
and 2008 will be dedicated to detailed planning. If the necessary
funding is found, work can begin in 2009 and will continue over three
years.

The project's main purpose is to improve and pave the road according
to safety standards that will enable a steady flow of traffic along
its entire route. The project will include the drilling of a 600-meter
tunnel beneath the Harel interchange and Mevasseret Zion, connecting
the road to new entrances into Jerusalem, and upgrading the Shoresh,
Neve Ilan, Hemed and Harel interchanges.

Special attention is being given to upgrading without interfering with
traffic flow or closing lanes. Efforts to cooperate with environmental
groups have helped its plans obtain unanimous approval.

The Israel National Road Company noted that the road's main problems
include the lack of an additional lane and proper shoulders on both
sides of the road. In addition, geometric improvements at certain
relatively unsafe sections are required.

There are two routes leading into to Jerusalem from the west - Road 1
and Road 443 from Modi'in.

According to forecasts, there will be a need to substantially upgrade
the current network, which is on the brink of collapse, while
conditions during heavy traffic hours are an intolerable nuisance for
drivers. The final road system leading to the capital will include a
complete upgrade of Road 1, construction of missing intersections on
Road 443, completion of a train line, and new road from Road 6 near
Kiryat Malachi to the Begin Highway near Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium via
Tsur Hadassa.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/817481.html

Posted by MEEF at 12:26 PM | Permalink

Subject: Greening Your Beat (TreeHugger)

Greening Your Beat
Treehugger.com by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv
29 January 2006

It’s not just the Mad Professor who likes coming to Israel... Thanks
to a tipster at WorldChanging (David Zaks), we are about to back-comb
our hair and wax it into natty dreadlocks in preparation for Israel's
Reggae Environmental Education Concert. The event will take place on
February 22 with a desert vista at Kibbutz Ein Herod on the Dead Sea.
Reggae party organizer Island Galambos says Jamaican reggae artist
Pato Baton will perform and lecture at the green event. “We are going
to be promoting an earth friendly environment with guest speakers
discussing Solar Energy, Bio-Diesel, Recycling, Organic Foods, Clean
Air, and more,” writes Galambos. During his 2006 visit to the Holy
Land, Galambos writes that he has made “wonderful contacts and
friends and wants to invite all to this event.” If you are over here
in the Holy Land or are making land holy in your own land, give
Galambos a shout out to help plan the environmental sides of green in
Israel (you weren’t imagining some other sort of green were you?).
Email Island Galambos or phone
707-845-1114 (Northern California number).

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/01/green_roots_par.php

Posted by MEEF at 12:24 PM | Permalink

By Sharon Kedmi 25/01/2007
Haaretz

The winning group in the tender for the Tel Aviv light rail has been
announced, but the battle surrounding the excavation method isn't over
yet. TheMarker has found that the Green Party and environmental
factions in Tel Aviv have approached National Infrastructure Minister
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, urgently requesting the suspension of the
project until the issue of excavation is clarified. They have also
demanded that the water authority be included in the process
immediately, and threaten to turn to the courts if these steps aren't
taken.

The environmentalists are demanding that Ben-Eliezer, as the authority
responsible for the water economy in Israel, intervene immediately.
The concern, TheMarker found, is the deep mining method proposed by
MTS, the company awarded the tender, which could cause environmental
damage due to the large quantities of ground water that will have to
be pumped out during digging.

According to estimates made by rail-engineering consultants, the
mining method MTS proposes involves pumping 50 million cubic meters of
water during the five-year construction period, as compared to about
four million cubic meters in the conventional "cover and cut" method
proposed by tender loser Metro Rail. Additionally, there is a risk of
emission of poisonous subterranean gases along part of the route.

Metro Rail has also approached the tenders committee on the issue. A
discussion among the specialists on the committee, however, concluded,
on the basis of the information available to them, that the deep
mining method poses no problem.

Ben-Eliezer's office confirmed that the protests had been received,
and said they had been forwarded to the authorized entities in the
Water Commission.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/817482.html

Posted by MEEF at 12:20 PM | Permalink

Environment party says political parties take money to turn a blind eye

By Hani M. Bathish and Maher Zeineddine
Daily Star staff
Friday, January 19, 2007

BEIRUT: The numerous unregulated sand and rock quarries dotting Lebanon's
picturesque landscape make up the single largest local source of income for
many political parties, according to Habib Maalouf, head of the Lebanese
Environmental Party. Many politicians themselves own quarries, he says.

Maalouf told The Daily Star that, aside from the inestimable environmental
damage that results from quarry activity, the Treasury loses around $500,000 of
potential revenue per day due to a lack of licensing and regulation of the
mining sector, with all of the earnings from mining going into private pockets.

Thus, unlicensed and unregulated work continues unabated as politicians turn a
blind eye.

Maalouf said each rock or sand quarry makes an estimated $80,000 per day.

"They continue to make astronomical profits as a result of the lack of
regulation and organization, which has denied the Treasury billions of dollars
of potential revenue," he added.

The party's estimates put the amount of lost revenue over the last 15 years at
$2.5 billion.

A Cabinet decision issued on January 4 extended a six-month grace period to
quarry owners, allowing them to continue mining until June 30.

A statement issued by the Environment Party Thursday called for an investigation
into the quarry file due to the Environment Ministry's failure to regulate the
sector, and in view of the "historic" accusations of complicity leveled against
the [ministry's] administration.

Repeated attempts to contact Environment Ministry officials were unsuccessful.

The Environment Party statement said the Cabinet had once more failed to specify
where quarries were forbidden and where they were permitted, lamenting "another
lost opportunity" to regulate the sector.

Maalouf said successive governments had ducked the licensing issue over the past
15 years, each government extending the previous "administrative" grace period
allowing quarries to continue operating unabated.

"No one knows exactly how many rock and sand quarries there really are in
Lebanon," he said. "Estimates range between 300 and 400, but there are no
accurate statistics."

"Some quarries operate under the guise of a land survey. Others, known as roving
quarries, excavate new roads and conduct quarrying as part of road-excavation
activities," Maalouf added.

The Environment Party accused the Cabinet of ignoring the role of the
Environment Ministry and its guidelines concerning quarries. "The Cabinet's and
the interior minister's decision only serves to prolong this chaotic situation,"
Maalouf said.

Instead of drafting legislation for the sector, in addition to implementing
licensing and operating fees to generate income, the Treasury allows quarries
to operate free of any official regulation or concern for environmental
standards, he added.

Maalouf said the most recent Cabinet decision merely refers the file of each
"investor" to the "concerned section at the Internal Security Forces," which
then must conduct a survey and evaluate each quarry individually.

Such studies must be carried out by qualified technicians and geologists, "which
we doubt are available at the Interior Ministry," the party statement added.

A study conducted in 1996 to organize quarries and establish technical and
environmental standards identified permissible locations for mining and
determined the national demand for stone. Political bickering has prevented the
plan from being implemented.

In 2005, a controversial judicial decision ordered the state to pay $250 million
in compensation to MP Nicholas Fattoush's family for having shut down their
quarries.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=78747

Posted by MEEF at 10:41 AM | Permalink

By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

SIDON: The mayor of Sidon, Abdel-Rahman Bizri, has vowed that the Southern port
city's notorious and perennial waste-treatment crisis "will be resolved soon."
Bizri said in a statement issued Monday that efforts to remove the massive dump
were now under way thanks to a donation from Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.

The $5 million donation was originally made in 2004 by the Alwaleed bin Talal
Humanitarian Foundation but had been withheld due to disagreements between the
foundation and the municipality of Sidon over conditions to be met by the
municipality before it could receive the promised funds.

The statement from Bizri said the municipality had fulfilled the foundation's
conditions by acquiring necessary licenses and conducting an
environmental-impact assessment on a plan for the dump's removal. "The
municipality worked in cooperation with South for Construction [a major
contracting firm] to set up a mechanism that ensures the partial use of the
dump without hampering its elimination process," Bizri said.

"We ensure our Sidon neighbors that the dump treatment will not have any
environmental repercussions on their regions," Bizri said. "On the contrary, we
will work simultaneously on establishing a modern waste-treatment plant."

However, environmental activists told The Daily Star the announcement was an
"exaggeration" and that efforts being carried out were aimed at repairing
previous damage caused by the municipality's negligence, not treatment or
removal of the waste heap.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

An environmental activist at the dump said the first phase of the removal
process was to reduce the dump to its original size. "Work is being done to
reduce the trash heap to its initial size, since the dump has grown by more
than 40 percent and now covers land that had originally been set aside for the
waste-treatment plant," the activist told The Daily Star.

"Bulldozers working around the dump are doing nothing but repairing what has
been spoiled by the municipality. Several dumps have resulted from the main
one," said the activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We are
monitoring the treatment process and awaiting the results."

According to the activist, the reclamation of land for a waste-treatment plant
would take at least another month.

The Sidon dump has been an ongoing crisis for more than 35 years. Over the
decades it has repeatedly caught fire, and in 2005 and 2006 it partially
collapsed into the Mediterranean, sending waste as far as Greece.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=78652

Posted by MEEF at 10:39 AM | Permalink

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 11:23:32 -0600

Daily Star staff
Thursday, January 18, 2007

SIDON: Fishermen in the Southern coastal city of Tyre held a protest on
Wednesday in objection to other fisherman's use of dynamite to catch fish, an
illegal practice. Speaking at a news conference in Tyre, Khalil Taha, the head
of the local fisherman's syndicate, hailed the behavior of fishermen who refuse
to break the law by fishing with explosives but instead use "more traditional,
albeit time-consuming, methods" that preserve the environment and marine fauna.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

Taha called on the government and environmental associations to put an end to
dynamite fishing, "which not only harms the fish, but the fishermen too."

Dynamite is frequently used by fishermen at night, when sticks of the explosives
sometimes miss their targets and end up landing in the boats of other fishermen.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=78716

Posted by MEEF at 10:37 AM | Permalink

Indigenous technique has long history of involving communities in protecting
their own environment
By Maria Abi-Habib
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

BEIRUT: Nature conservation in Lebanon now has a new face with the revival of
the hima, a 1,000-year-old method of sustainable development. The Society for
the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) is building partnerships with
villages to create himas - areas in which wildlife and natural resources are
protected from exploitation and used in a responsible manner.

"The idea behind himas is the hima versus the nature reserve. Himas are
community-based conservation," says SPNL general director Assad Serhal. "Nature
reserves ... in the Middle East are a translation of the Western system to
conserve biodiversity. The hima is from our region and has evolved over time to
include sustainability to allow us to use nature for our survival, whereas in
nature reserves you can't even step into the area."

Himas give back to the community by generating income with ecotourism activities
such as hiking. Traditional businesses will also be revived, including basket
weaving and bed and breakfasts.

"The human angle here is very important," says Serhal. "We can't only be
romantic about nature, [we also need to be] practical. For the local people
conservation is not enough; they want to see the profits and benefits. You have
to be realistic."

Himas were in use over 1,000 years ago in the Middle East, serving as communal
plots of land for sustainable use of wildlife and vegetation. The first modern
hima in Lebanon was created from a bird sanctuary in 2004, on land considered
an important bird area by Bird Life International (BLI).

Initially attempting to figure out how best to preserve the bird sanctuary, SPNL
decided himas were preferable to nature reserves across the country.

"We work for the birds and also for the people through the himas at the same
time," says Ibrahim al-Khader, head of BLI's Middle East division. "People may
be the problem, but they are also the solution."

Two land himas have already been created in Lebanon, the first in Ibl as-Saqi in
Marjayoun and the other in Kfar Zabad, in the Bekaa. A marine hima is also under
construction off the coast of Qleileh, outside Tyre.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb

In an attempt to raise awareness of the himas' benefits, the SPNL announced
Tuesday that it has published the first Arabic translation of Richard Porter's
"Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East."

Porter is a UK-based ornithologist and conservation expert. The book was first
published in English in 1996 and is the only field guide to the region's birds.

"Water conservation and the threat to wetlands from draining marshes are very
dangerous for Middle Eastern birds, but so are hunting and cutting down trees,"
Porter says. "The solution to this is to make people understand their
environment and then they'll see the threats it faces and want to help.
Hopefully this book will help their understanding."

"We train the villagers and provide them with capacity building and teach them
how to manage the hima in a sustainable way," says Khader. "You offer them
alternatives for income like ecotourism, a bed and breakfast and selling local
goods. At the same time you're teaching them about the benefits their land
offers - and we're not taking their land away from them" as opposed to
government-controlled nature reserves.

Serhal believes that people will continue to exploit natural resources as long
as they are marginalized from the process of conservation.

"If you don't involve the community, in times of hardship they'll scale the
fences of a ... reserve and exploit its resources," he says. "In a hima the
community owns everything - the medicinal and edible plants, water, birds or
fish - which we teach them to manage."

Lebanon will host a regional hima workshop in March.

"There used to be a hima in every village," says Serhal. "We only destroyed this
in the last 30-40 years, [isolating] from nature, and we've lost touch with
reality."

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=78650

Posted by MEEF at 10:34 AM | Permalink

Sam Ser, THE JERUSALEM POST Jan. 11, 2007

If you've ever held a magnifying glass over a piece of paper on a bright summer
day, you can appreciate the potential of concentrated solar energy. What
scientists have had to do to realize some of that potential, though, has turned
that simple phenomenon into a complicated operation that now entails p-n
junction diodes, depletion regions and the Czochralski process.

Different approaches to capturing and transforming solar energy have led to a
number of amazing technologies.

The simplest, called a hot box, goes back 240 years - when a Swiss scientist who
took notice of the greenhouse effect, in which a glass enclosure traps heat from
the sun, started building contraptions to do just that. By the end of the 19th
century, crude systems for heating water had been developed; today their
descendants, not much more complex than the originals, can be found on rooftops
all over the country (and the world). The same concept can be used to make
low-tech devices offering a cheap, safe cooking method for the world's poorest
people.

That the sun can produce heat seems obvious. That it can be used to produce
electricity is another matter, and requires a whole lot more engineering. There
are essentially two ways to go about it. One way exploits the heat of the sun's
rays, while the other exploits its light.

The Israeli company Luz developed one of the world's most stunning examples of
solar thermal power by utilizing parabolic troughs. These curved mirrors
reflect and amplify the sun's heat, directing it onto a pipe carrying a liquid
that is capable of reaching and maintaining very high temperatures. The liquid
flows to a facility where its heat turns a turbine, and the turbine generates
electricity. With rows upon rows of troughs in a large solar field - and with
improvements to the technology from Beit Shemesh-based Solel significantly
increasing its efficiency - the method can produce enough electricity to power
hundreds of thousands of homes.

"So far," notes Prof. David Faiman of the National Solar Energy Center in Sde
Boker, "this approach has proved the most economically viable."

A similar idea is to use flat mirrors arrayed in a circle or a semi-circle to
reflect sunlight onto a central tower, where the heat can be used to create
electricity. This is the approach used by the Weizmann Institute of Science in
Rehovot.

An alternative to solar thermal energy is using the sun's light to manipulate a
metal's molecules.

As their name implies, photovoltaic (PV) systems turn light into electricity.
Photons in sunlight come zooming through the atmosphere and smacking into an
absorbent material, knocking electrons loose and setting off a reaction that
gets a direct current (DC) flowing. An inverter turns this into alternating
current (AC), which can then be directed into your home to power your
appliances.

PV technology is highly adaptable. Since a series of breakthroughs in the
mid-1950s that allowed satellites to use solar panels to power themselves in
space, PV systems have been used for a wide variety of applications - from
solar-powered wristwatches to solar-powered factories and villages.

In Israel, PV panels power remote Beduin encampments, small schools and
cash-strapped clinics, street lights and even irrigation systems. The traffic
probe readers that monitor the Trans-Israel Highway and its automated billing
system are powered by PV panels; the system is the first of its kind in the
world.

A major downside of PV technology is its reliance on silicon. Although the
wafers of semiconductive material used in solar panels are incredibly thin,
they still amount to a huge expense because the material is scarce and very
expensive to create. Competition with the computer industry for access to
silicon has been fierce; both fields are growing at a tremendous rate, and
production of silicon is limited.

Researchers around the world, including numerous teams here, are developing
alternative materials that can be made into multi-layered, thin-film composites
and used instead of silicon. Other avenues include light-absorbing dyes and even
more complicated technologies such as photoelectrochemical cells, polymer solar
cells and nanocrystal solar cells. None of these has proven yet that it can
replace silicon. And in the meantime, silicon systems are being designed with
greater efficiency to reduce the amount of the material needed.

Taking that idea a giant step further, the contraption that Faiman and his
colleagues set up in Sde Boker uses only one silicon solar cell. Like the solar
thermal systems, it uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight - for its light in this
case, not for its heat.

No matter which of these approaches is used, though, solar electricity is
hampered by one obvious drawback: the sun only shines for half the day.

In theory, this is not as big of a problem as it seems. Peak energy demand time
is during the day; there is much less demand for electricity at night. Since a
conventional power plant cannot just be shut down after sundown, because it
needs to be kept firing constantly - a huge waste of resources, alternative
energy proponents note - most of the electricity that a conventional power
plant creates at night just goes to waste. That's why electricity costs much
less at night than it does during the day. In that sense, a solar plant is much
more efficient.

However, there is no denying that at least some power needs to be generated at
night. To overcome their inability to function after dark, solar power systems
can be outfitted with supplementary power generators fueled by coal or natural
gas, if need be. The combination of the two would provide the efficiency of
solar power with the stability and on-demand production of conventional power.

(Another solution would be to add batteries to a solar power plant to store
excess energy from the day for use at night. At present, such storage solutions
are impractical, but a commercial-level model may be ready within a few years.)

For now, it seems that solar power is destined to augment, rather than replace,
conventional electricity. Even for those involved in solar power's development,
like Faiman, that's not a bad scenario.

"I think that, for now, one doesn't want to replace conventional electricity,"
he says. "First of all, there is a tremendous amount of money invested in the
infrastructure, and to simply junk that would be a major perturbation to any
country's economy.

"Secondly, major international companies rely on these power plants to keep them
in business, and if you were to threaten to put them out of business, you would
generate a backlash and they would probably destroy you. What is necessary is
for them to perceive solar power not as a threat, but as something that they
themselves could eventually offer."

- S.S.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467710557&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Posted by MEEF at 10:33 AM | Permalink

Haaretz

By Zafrir Rinat

Residents of Moshav Bnei Dror, who are unable to use their tap water for
drinking or cooking because it is polluted, are threatening legal action if
they are not either supplied with an alternative water source or reimbursed for
the bottled water they are currently using instead.

The Sharon-area moshav's water was declared unsafe to drink a few weeks ago,
after the level of nitrates in the local well exceeded the permitted maximum.

The Health Ministry had warned the local water corporation a year ago that the
nitrate level was approaching dangerous levels, but the problem has still not
been solved.

In a letter sent yesterday to the health, environment, national infrastructure
and interior ministers, the moshav's lawyer, Nava Sendar, threatened legal
action unless the residents' problem is solved promptly.

"Not one of the authorized bodies is trying to resolve the situation," she
charged.

In her letter to the ministers, Sendar wrote that while the moshav was slated to
be connected to the Mekorot Water Company in June, it was untenable to demand
that residents continue to buy bottled water for the next six months.

The residents would have to purchase the bottled water their own expense.

The problem of high nitrate levels in water has surfaced in a few other
Sharon-area communities. In those areas, too, residents have been forced to
stop using tap water.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/814319.html

Posted by MEEF at 10:32 AM | Permalink

YNET
Israel may soon ‘sell’ air at special ‘stock market’ trading oxygen emitted by
trees

Amir Ben-David
Published: 01.16.07, 12:30

Air stock market? Yes, there is such a thing. There is also a chance that Israel
will join it and start making money off the rockets that fell during the second
Lebanon war .

Allow us to explain. Human actions on earth, mainly the burning of fuels and the
emission of gases, as well as the interference with various natural processes,
have brought about the interruption of the natural balance which previously
existed here.

The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
is the main international system designed to deal with that issue.

Among other things, the protocol allows for entities which “stop” the emission
of toxic gases into the air (buy planting trees) to calculate the amount of
gaseous activity their intervention actually prevented.

The protocol also allows for the “worth” of the above gases to be sold in a
special international “stock market”.

Those who pay are the operators of industrial factories and other international
companies which are required to cut down on the amount of toxic gas they emit,
although that proved to be a difficult task.

It is here that the Jewish National Fund (JNF) enters the picture along with the
many trees consumed by fires during the Lebanon war.

Money could be used to maintain forests
The head of strategic planning at JNF, Yishai Schechter, said that planting new
trees would increase Israel’s contribution to the prevention of unwanted gases
being emitted into the air.

If enough trees were planted in place of the ones burned down during the war,
JNF would be able to join the Kyoto Protocol and earn an income of hundreds of
thousands of shekels each year – money which could then be used to maintain
forests.

JNF was looking into whether the replanting of over 12 thousand dunam (3
thousand acres) of trees burned during the war would count as replanting and
not “restoring” the forest, which would not earn Israel points at the
international air stock market, otherwise known as The Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM).

Another point being looked into was whether or not it was profitable to replant
the number of trees needed for Israel to join the protocol.

JNF's estimates showed that the addition of any less than 10 thousand dunam
(2,500 acres) of forest area would not be profitable due to the high expenses
involved in the process.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3352941,00.html

Posted by MEEF at 10:31 AM | Permalink

Jordan Times

We have just celebrated Arbor Day by planting about 60,000 trees in 13 different
areas of the country.

That Prince Feisal, deputising for King Abdullah, took part in the event shows
support and determination, at the highest echelons, to make the country
greener.

There was a time when Jordan had considerably more vegetation, with forests much
more plentiful. According to historians, it was during World War I, and
specifically during the Ottoman rule, that forests were targeted and trees cut
to generate fuel and for construction. At the end of that era, forest areas in
the country were reduced to almost the current size.

Since we started to observe Arbor Day, the process of afforestation was set in
motion and thousands of trees, especially the drought-resistant kind, were
planted. Still the country looks barren when compared to many others. This
means we have yet a long way to go.

The question that remains, however, is why we failed to make our country greener
so far. There must be something wrong with the plans in place for this purpose
if we have so little to show for.

There is every reason to believe that had there been a more determined policy to
make the Kingdom greener, success could have been scored beyond the current
dismal rate. If trees could grow in the past, what is to prevent them from
growing now?

A more concerted effort must be exerted if we wish the country greener. But for
that to be attained, annual celebrations and tree-planting ceremonies are not
enough.

What about the construction boom that so savagely destroys nature in its wake?
What about inconsiderate citizens who show no respect for the little plant life
we have? Who litter, burn and cut the trees they so avidly seek when going for a
picnic?

What about intelligent zoning regulations that put as much value, or maybe more,
on greenery as on concrete and tar?

The official drive to make the country green is there. Science and experience
help choose judiciously what to plant in a country starved for water. But much
more is needed to raise the citizen’s awareness than planting once a year, as
laudable as this is.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/opinion/opinion1.htm

Posted by MEEF at 10:29 AM | Permalink

Arab Environment Monitor

Thursday, January 18, 2007
Source: Id 21

In many cases, poor governance of international transboundary water resources
results in water conflicts of varying intensities. Can cooperation over water
replace competition and conflict?
Transboundary water resources are those which cross one or more international
borders. Research from Kings College London in the UK focuses on transboundary
water conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. The research examines how
control is determined by the competing riparians (countries sharing the banks
of a water resource), and attributes many of the outcomes to the ‘power’ of
each country.

Predictions of ‘water wars’ have generally not been correct, despite increasing
water shortages. This is not due to cooperation among the countries involved,
as many low-intensity conflicts demonstrate. Instead, the stronger countries in
a region manage water for their own benefit, often at the expense of weaker
countries. The authors use the concept of ‘hydro-hegemony’ to analyse how
countries exploit power inequalities to stake their claims to water resources.
The concept of hydro-hegemony is best described as somewhere between positive
regional leadership that emphasises cooperation, and regional dominance.

In the cases studied, Israel, Egypt and Turkey have established situations of
hegemony over the Jordan, Nile, and Tigris and Euphrates river basins
respectively. They have denied weaker countries their water rights, leading to
low-intensity conflicts. These stronger countries use three strategies to
control water resources:

Resource capture: countries acquire or annex land or construct large-scale
hydraulic works on rivers (for example Turkey’s GAP project and Egypt’s High
Aswan Dam).
Containment: stronger countries dominate competitors, for example by threatening
economic sanctions, political isolation, or unevenly balanced treaties. Examples
include the 1994 Israel-Jordan and 1959 Egypt-Sudan treaties.
Integration: some countries encourage more shared control of water resources,
for example South Africa’s approach to the Orange River.
The hydro-hegemony framework identifies the factors behind each country’s
ability to use these resource-control strategies:

Countries exercise power through military or economic means, by providing
incentives for weaker countries to comply, or using propaganda to justify
control.
Countries upstream of a water resource use the water available to them to wield
more power. Countries downstream use other forms of power (such as military or
political power) to get more water.
Exploitation potential is the technical capacity and infrastructure a country
has to exploit a water resource. This is greater in stronger countries.
In the Middle East and North Africa, Israel and Egypt possess more power and
exploitation potential than their neighbours, allowing them to overcome the
disadvantage of being downstream. Turkey has all three factors in its favour.
The lack of internationally recognised water laws also plays a role in allowing
some countries to dominate water resources.

To enable better sharing of water resources, the authors stress the need for
more research. Priorities include:

how the hydro-hegemony framework may support the formulation of an international
water law
how the apparently weaker countries can resist these hegemonies
how a similar approach could examine transboundary water pollution issues, the
behaviour of multinational corporations and water conflicts within one country.
Source(s):
‘Hydro-hegemony – A Framework for Analysis of Transboundary Water Conflicts’,
Water Policy, No.8, pages 435–460, by Mark Zeitoun and Jeroen Warnerb, 2006

Further Information:
Mark Zeitoun
Centre for Environmental Policy and Governance
London School of Economics and Political Science
Tower 2, V901
Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 207 852 3618
Fax: +44 (0) 207 955 7412
Contact the contributor: m.zeitoun@lse.ac.uk
http://www.arabenvironment.net/archive/2007/1/145238.html

Posted by MEEF at 10:28 AM | Permalink

Arab Environment Monitor

Thursday, January 18, 2007

This is a very important article written by Dr. Dureid Mahasneh one of Jordan
main water experts on the proposed project to bring water from the fossil
aquifer of Disi to meet the domestic water demands in Amman. He requests
another approach of bringing the people to the south of Jordan and establishing
development activities supported by the Disi aquifer.

The article was published in Jordan Business magazine and here is the full text:

Two important announcements were made last month: the start of an environmental
and feasibility study for the Red-Dead Canal project, and the government’s
disclosure that investors submitted bids for the Disi water project. Dr. Dureid
Mahsaneh explains the significance of both

Priority has been given to both projects, but the Disi project, which will be
executed on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis and will bring 100
million cubic meters (mcm) of fresh water per year to Amman, has been
fast-tracked.
The water will flow through a pipeline from the fossil aquifer on Jordan’s
border with Saudi Arabia to Amman, a distance of some 325 kilometers, at an
estimated cost of $600 million. In the past, this project was considered too
expensive to execute and was kept on the back burner.

Over-pumping and drilling of underground aquifers has almost depleted all
subterranean resources. Even Disi, a non-renewable resource, is facing
over-exploitation.

Rainfall has been scarce this year and the main source of water for Jordan, the
Yarmouk River, is at record low. Dams throughout the country are almost empty
and the new Wehdeh dam under construction at the Yarmouk River, has no hope of
getting filled when completed this winter.

This dam, which was originally designed with a capacity of 300 mcm, has now been
built to only hold 80 mcm. Unless violations on the Yarmouk water aquifer are
stopped and the Syrian-Jordanian Water Agreement of 1987 is respected, there
will not be enough water to flow in the Yarmouk River or fill the Wehdeh Dam.
In fact, even if Syria did honor its commitments, it would still not be enough
to supply increasing demand. Jordan needs over 1.5 billion cubic meters a year,
leaving a 450 mcm per year shortfall.

Poor management of water resources, in particular by the agriculture sector, and
water loss through theft or misuse have compounded the crisis. Therefore, the
government has been left with little choice but to explore the Disi option
again.
Execution of the project has been met with objections from some
environmentalists and potential financial backers, including the World Bank and
donor countries like the U.S. and Europe. The government’s ideal scenario is
that water will arrive in Amman for less than $0.60 per meter. However,
expectations are that the price would not be less than $0.85 per meter. Why is
it so expensive? Pumping water to Amman, which lies at an altitude of 500
meters and a distance of almost 300 kilometers from Disi, added to the price of
energy, pumps, and pipes, makes this a very costly endeavor.

The multi-million dollar project will take more than five years to complete. The
aquifer will be depleted in about 50 years - if agricultural use is stopped
immediately. Already around 60 mcm of the Disi water are being used annually
for agriculture by four privately-owned farms almost free of charge, under a
25-year concession agreement granted by the government in 1985. Another 18 mcm
are extracted from the aquifer for domestic use for the port city of Aqaba.

By the time the project comes to a close, the 100 mcm supply made available by
Disi will not meet the increased demand. It is also absurd to spend $600
million on a project when stopping illegal underground water drilling would
make available larger quantities of water than those from Disi. It is time to
begin managing our water resources properly. Produce that requires a large
amount of water, and irrigated agriculture in the northern and eastern parts of
the country using the Yarmouk water aquifer, should stop. Jordan cannot afford
to keep exporting precious water for tomatoes and watermelons to other
countries while the tap is running dry for drinking and household purposes.
Heavily subsidized water tariffs also need to be reviewed and corrected.

Our strategy, or the lack of it, for combating the water shortage is the main
problem. Since the establishment of the country, we have been bringing water to
the people from all parts of the country, especially major cities like Amman,
Zarqa and Irbid, regardless of the cost. We kept enlarging big cities to an
extent where their infrastructure is becoming a burden to our economy. Amman,
for example, is dependant on its water for resources from the Jordan Valley,
Azraq and Kerak.
It would be more economically feasible to ask people to head south and play a
role in the development of new regions than keep expanding cities.

If we believe in regional planning and equal opportunities for people all over
Jordan, then we should stop spreading pipes and replace them by people. We need
drastic measures and actions in water resource management and not short-term
remedies, which only increase our debts and consume our revenues.

Dr. Mahsaneh is the former co-chairman of the Jordan-Israel Water Coordination
Committee.

http://www.arabenvironment.net/archive/2007/1/145241.html

Posted by MEEF at 10:27 AM | Permalink

Jordan Times

By Mohammad Ghazal

AMMAN — The government will announce the winning bidder to implement the $600
million Disi Water Conveyance Project early March, an official at the Ministry
of Water and Irrigation said on Wednesday.

A committee at the ministry is currently studying financial and technical offers
submitted by six international companies.

Adnan Zu’bi, the ministry’s spokesperson and assistant secretary general, said
the project, to be carried out on a build, operate and transfer basis, is
expected to be completed four years after construction work begins.

Zu’bi added that a technical Jordanian-Saudi committee was formed recently to
exchange expertise on sustaining the Disi basin on both sides.

A key solution for the country’s water shortage, the project has faced several
obstacles since 2001 when the government floated a tender for its
implementation.

It did not refer the tender to an international bidder, citing the high-end cost
per cubic metre to customers.

The scheme was later assigned to the Jordan Armed Forces’ Investment Projects
Fund, which failed to meet a deadline to submit technical and feasibility
studies.

When implemented, the conveyance project will supply Amman and the southern
governorates with some 100 million cubic metres of water per year from the
southern Disi aquifer, for the next 100 years.

As part of the plan, a main pumping station, three storage wells and a
320-kilometre conveyance line will be built on the project site.

The Disi project is one of six strategic plans initiated by the ministry to
address the country’s water deficit.

These include the Lajoun project, which will provide 20mcm of freshwater per
year to the capital and Karak Governorate upon completion, the Zara Maeen
project for the treatment and desalination of 40mcm of water per year, and the
Khirbet Al Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Friday-Saturday, January 19-20, 2007

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews9.htm

Posted by MEEF at 10:25 AM | Permalink

FOEME

Mayor of Tamar Regional Council, Israel and Governor of South Ghores, Jordan
Sign on MoU to Advance Sustainable Development in the Southern Dead Sea Basin

January 18, 2007
Yesterday, at the initiation of Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), a
Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Mayor of the Tamar Regional
Council in Israel, Mr. Dov Litvinoff and the Governor of South Ghores in
Jordan, Mr. Ghaleb Al-Shamayleh.

The MoU was signed with the understanding that cooperation is necessary in order
to promote sustainable development in the Southern Dead Sea Basin.

According to Dov Litvinoff, Mayor of the Tamar Regional Council, “the signing on
the MoU is a breakthrough in regional cooperation between us and the Jordanians
on issues of environment, quality of life and raising awareness of the general
environmental issues at the Dead Sea”. Mr. Litvinoff added that “the Regional
Council has declared 2007 as the year of environmental protection and regional
cooperation.”

The Dead Sea Basin is suffering from severe environmental degradation:
• The dramatic decline of the Dead Sea causes the formation of sinkholes to
appear, endangering lives of those in the area.
• Use of fertilizers that have not been properly composted, mainly on the
Jordanian side of the border, creates a significant fly problem.
• Without a border crossing in the area, tourism development and cross border
trade is being delayed.

The mayors, in signing the MoU, have identified the social and ecological
importance of the Dead Sea area, and see its inscription for a UNESCO World
Heritage Site as an important mechanism to rehabilitate the area.

In addition, they promise to work towards finding sustainable solutions to the
economic and environmental issues at hand, through the building of a compost
station, the building of an ecological cross border Peace Park at the Southern
end of the Dead Sea, and call for the opening of an additional border crossing
to promote tourism and trade crossing.

Gidon Bromberg, Israeli director of Friends of the Earth Middle East, says “this
MoU confirms the need to solve the environmental problems at the Dead Sea and
proves the ability of the communities in the area to rise above political
difficulties and work together.”

http://www.foeme.org/press.php?ind=43

Posted by MEEF at 10:21 AM | Permalink

Arab Environment Monitor

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Jordanian magazine "Jordan Business" has recently published a thorough
analytical article on the joint statement by Jordan, Israel and Palestine to
conduct a feasibility and environmental impact study for the proposed Red-Dead
Canal.

This is the full text of the article:

Last month, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Israel launched a two-year
feasibility study for a project to replenish the rapidly disappearing Dead Sea
by way of pumping water into it from the Red Sea. Nisreen El-Shamayleh reports
on the meeting at the lowest-lying body of water on Earth.

The Red-Dead Canal project has been on the drawing board for years but has yet
to enter the construction phase. The feasibility study, to be conducted by the
World Bank, is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2007.
Officials hope that the two-year feasibility study and environmental and social
assessment will recommend a multibillion-dollar project to link the Dead Sea
with the Red Sea, using a pipeline or canal to suck 1,900 million cubic meters
(mcm) of water annually from the Gulf of Aqaba.

France, the U.S., the Netherlands and Japan attended last month’s Dead Sea
meeting in Jordan together with the World Bank and the riparian states and have
already contributed $8.8 million to fund the $15 million study.
Ministry of Water and Irrigation Official Spokesperson and Assistant General
Secretary, Adnan Zoubi, said the three regional players had decided to initiate
a feasibility study after meeting at the World Economic Forum in May 2005.
Political developments, including the rise of Hamas to power in the
Palestinian territories, delayed the launch. Jordan, which has said it is
prepared to cooperate with the Palestinians, “whether led by Hamas or any other
party,” invited the Israelis and the Palestinians, along with the main parties,
to attend last month’s gathering.

The study became possible after the international community stepped in with the
financing and after Israel apparently dropped its Med-Dead Sea canal project,
which many experts say is not feasible. The Israelis had proposed building a
canal extending from the Mediterranean coast to the Dead Sea, including a
desalination plant that would sell freshwater to both Jordanians and
Palestinians. Such a project would have left the tap under Israeli control, a
set up neither Jordan or the Palestinians would have accepted.

Construction of the project, if determined feasible, would cost around $4
billion, last over 10 years and would link the Dead Sea with the Red Sea
through a series of pipelines, canals and tunnels. The intended 180-kilometer
conduit would carry around two billion cubic meters of seawater per year to
associated power, reverse osmosis desalination facilities and would increase
freshwater availability to Jordan, Israel and Palestine by an annual 850 mcm.

The project will also include a hydro-electric plant to capitalize on the drop
in level of 400 meters from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, generating 550
megawatts of power, which will be used to operate the desalination plant and to
nourish electricity networks in the Kingdom. The Israelis and Palestinians will
also benefit from the generated power. The proposal also envisages a shared
cross-border airport and an industrial city.

Dr. Dureid Mahasneh, former co-chairman of the Jordan-Israel Water Coordination
Committee, said Jordan is expected to get 570 mcm of freshwater through
desalination and the remaining 280 mcm would be divided among Palestinians and
Israelis annually. While Israel’s water share is not yet clear, the Israelis
see the project as a means of cementing relations with its Arab neighbors. The
Dead Sea is depleting at the rate of about 80 centimeters per year, and will be
completely dry by 2050 if urgent action is not taken. The Red-Dead project will
quash the 25-meter fall in the level of the Dead Sea over the past century.
Experts say the reduction has been caused mainly by the diversion of the Jordan
River, which feeds the Dead Sea, for irrigation and drinking water - mostly by
Israel, but also by Jordan and Syria. Today, less than 7% of the river’s
original flow reaches the Dead Sea.The annual drop in the level of the Dead Sea
has already left the nearby lands unstable and susceptible to sink holes,
which puts infrastructure, including roads, hotels and chemical plants around
the sea, in jeopardy. The natural environment has also been disrupted,
affecting bird migrations and desert wildlife.
Dr. Mahasneh said the completion of the study doesn’t necessarily mean execution
of the costly project will follow. However, he pointed out that getting funds
for the mega-project is not as difficult as it used to be five or 10 years ago
because through a build, operate and transfer basis, consumers will be paying
for the desalinated water so investors may be more tempted. He added that the
liquidity in the region could make it easier to attract investors, especially
that the project will spin off to include resort areas, fish ponds, and lakes
in Wadi Araba to bolster tourism.

Although many studies have been conducted to explore the feasibility of the
project, Dr. Mahasneh said the new study is “using totally different techniques
and is not intended to complete or build on what has been done in the past.”

Water politics
There is no doubt that the Red-Dead Canal project is highly political and not
just another water project. Professor of Hydrogeology at the University of
Jordan, Dr. Elias Salameh said the project may enhance peace and lessen
tensions in the region through joint research and scientific studies - a
sentiment shared by all the parties. “The project is very important since it
will deepen the meaning of peace in the region through joint projects and
practical work,” Mr. Zoubi said.
Now key players, the Palestinian Authority was represented by President Mahmoud
Abbas’s economic advisor, Mohammad Mustafa, who described the study as
“essential in promoting sustainable development of the entire Jordan Valley
basin.” In 1990, the Palestinians were excluded from the Red-Dead Canal
trilateral committee, consisting of Jordan, Israel and the U.S., which was
responsible for the development of the Jordan Rift Valley.

At the launch of the feasibility study in Jordan, Israeli Minister of National
Infrastructure Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told reporters the project goes beyond
protection of the Dead Sea because the economic cooperation would fortify the
peace process. The Israelis are also keen on protecting their touristic
investments along the Dead Sea.

Shimon Peres, the Israeli deputy prime minister, said the “project of the canal,
or the Peace Conduit…is vital for the preservation of the Dead Sea, but just as
much for peace and prosperity in this area,” he said. “In the Middle East we
have used too much diplomacy and strategy, and too little economy,” he added.

Regardless of these declarations there is still skepticism of Israeli
intentions, especially that it has taken more than its fair share of water. He
explained that the Israelis “falsely presume that the [new] desalinated
freshwater for the Palestinians might replace the freshwater they illegally
take from the West Bank underground aquifers.” Israel still controls 75% of
underwater aquifers in the West Bank. Drilling, licensing and water allocation
are also under Israeli control.

But not everyone supports the closer cooperation. Jordan’s Islamic-led
opposition rejects the project, which it says has the primary aim of promoting
normalization with Israel.

“From a principled attitude, we view the project a political move that has the
key aim of normalizing ties with the Zionist entity,” Secretary General of the
Islamic Action Front (IAF), Zaki Bani Ershaid, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur
after the launch of the study.

Environmental critics
Critics on opposite shores of the Dead Sea say the project is a pricey endeavor
that fails to address the root cause of the depleting sea, which could destroy
the very sea that they are trying to resuscitate. Some environmentalists have
warned that the two bodies of water may not mix well and that siphoning out
large volumes of water from the Gulf of Aqaba may damage its fragile ecosystem.
Some say that pumping less salty water into the Dead Sea could kill its delicate
micro-organisms and harm its appeal to tourists. Others argue that the Dead Sea
used to be replenished from fresh water from the River Jordan, so it should not
be harmed.

Friends of the Earth warned that mixing water from the Red Sea with the unique
chemical soup of the Dead Sea could create a natural disaster. “The [Dead
Sea’s] mix of bromide, potash, magnesium and salt is like no other body of
water on the planet,” said Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli director of Friends of
the Earth in the Middle East. “By bringing in the marine water, this
composition will be changed. There is concern about algae growth and we could
see the sea change from deep blue to red and brown and the different waters
could separate.”

Some environmentalists have gone as far as charging that Red-Dead is driven by
the interests of Israeli and Jordanian construction companies eager to
capitalize on the mega-project. The Red-Dead canal is not the only solution to
the water problem; neither is it going to undo the mismanagement of Jordan’s
reources, Dr. Mahasneh explained. “Re-exporting water in the form of
watermelons and tomatoes is part of our water mismanagement that also has to
stop,” he said.

http://www.arabenvironment.net/archive/2007/1/145250.html

Posted by MEEF at 10:19 AM | Permalink

Jordan Times

By Ramsey G. Tesdell
and Hugh Naylor

AMMAN — Last year, Mahmoud Ibrahim was earning a modest living selling bread and
sweets at his Raghadan bakery. But things have changed: Business has taken a
turn for the worse this year, stripping him of the income he needs to feed and
clothe his family.

Ibrahim, a father of six young daughters and a 13-year-old boy, is one of many
Jordanians experiencing the side effects of a price increase on oil-based
fuels.

“I had to raise my prices to 200 fils for a pastry. I used to sell them for 150,
even 100 fils, if people bargained,” he said, adding that raising his prices has
failed to compensate for hike in the cost of cooking gas over the past year.

Gas cylinders now cost JD4.25 each, compared to JD3.25 in 2005.

“My rent’s JD300 a month… but I’m not making enough to pay for it,” he said.

The spike in oil-based fuel prices is a consequence of a plan by the ministries
of finance and energy and mineral resources to reform the energy sector.

Announced in 2004, the plan aims to wean the Kingdom off subsidies that have
placed a huge burden on the state budget due to soaring international oil
prices and the loss of preferential rates from Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which
used to provide Jordan with 5.5 million tonnes annually before the March 2003
US-led invasion.

According to Ezzeddin Kanakria, assistant secretary general at the Ministry of
Finance, the treasury is currently paying around JD250 million annually in
subsidies.

“But for every $1 increase in the price of a barrel of oil,” he said, “it costs
the treasury an additional JD35 million.”

The elimination of subsidies will relieve the government of this onus and “allow
the Jordanian market to compete on the international market,” Mahmoud Al Ees,
director of the planning department at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Resources, told The Jordan Times. “The people will be paying the market price
for oil products.”

The initiative, originally projected to occur under a phased lifting of
subsidies over a four- to five-year period, has apparently been accelerated to
take place over a two-year timeframe. The final removal, according to Kanakria,
is slated to occur sometime early this year.

But Ibrahim, who has never heard of a government plan to remove subsidies, said
he had been forced to take drastic measures to heat his home and feed his
family.

“I sold off my wife’s jewellery to get money, but it’s not enough,” he lamented.
“I’m now JD5,000 in debt to my neighbours. I am forced to borrow — my family
depends on it.”

The effects of the reforms and an apparent lack of advertising of the
programme’s timetable and objectives have drawn scrutiny from economists and
members of civil society.

Yusuf Mansur, a local economist, said the enormous financial burden of the
“elimination of oil grants from Iraq and Saudi Arabia” and a simultaneous
increase in “world oil prices” — once assumed by the government — is
effectively being passed on to citizens as subsidies are lifted.

He believes the government’s reform initiative has not given enough
consideration to the economic welfare of citizens in the Kingdom, which hosts
roughly 850,000 people living under the poverty line and an unemployment rate
of 15.5 per cent, according to government figures.

“Has the government been clear about fuel subsidies and prices? No,” said
Mansur. “Has there been enough public debate on this subject? I don’t think so.
Has the government clearly announced the breakdown of prices and aid? Again, the
answer is No.”

The reform initiative is taking a heavy toll on Abu Ahmad, a 43-year-old truck
driver from Aqaba.

“It’s affected me a lot. It costs me JD8 every three days to heat my house,” he
said, adding it was an increase of around one-third of what he was paying a
year ago.

Even though his house in Aqaba requires less kerosene to heat compared to colder
areas of the country, Abu Ahmad said escalating fuel costs are depriving him of
income for his five children.

“It’s harder to feed my children, even if I work all day and all night,” Abu
Ahmad told The Jordan Times, adding that he receives no financial assistance
from the government.

“I’m considering making a move to Dubai to find better paying work,” he said.

In order to offset some of the side effects of this programme, the government
intends to set aside JD65 million in next year’s budget. “These cash subsidies
for families will be available to help them accommodate the higher prices,”
Kanakria said. He did not elaborate further.

Despite repeated attempts to contact the concerned ministries, The Jordan Times
was unable to obtain detailed information of the compensation strategy.

But Mohammad Obeidat, president of the National Society for Consumer Protection,
said the system to disperse funding to low-income families is confusing and may
not be enough to dampen the effects of a surge in the price of oil derivatives,
particularly in light of increasing demand resulting from the influx of up to
800,000 Iraqis.

“There is no real organised system to promote and bring special assistance
programmes to the people,” Obeidat told The Jordan Times. “It’s very
complicated… People don’t understand it; I don’t understand the system,” he
added.

For Ibrahim, government policy was of little concern — his thoughts were with
his family in Ruseifa and his struggling bakery business. “I receive JD75 a
month from the government, but it doesn’t cover my needs or my family’s
needs... I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”

Posted by MEEF at 10:23 AM | Permalink

By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent

Mekorot Water Company workers repaired a faulty water pipeline Wednesday that
has failed to supply water for the past 48 hours to tens of thousands of
residents of settlements and Palestinian villages in the Dolev-Talmonim and
Nili Na'aleh areas in the West Bank.

Escorted by security, the Mekorot workers repaired the Kiryat
Sefer-Herevta-Dolev water pipeline and restored the water supply to the homes
of some ten thousand settlers and tens of thousands of Palestinians.

The emergency reservoir planned for Talmon has yet to be built, due to Defense
Minister Amir Peretz's refusal to authorize the project.

Peretz contends that the emergency reservoir is slated to be built in an area
for which an urban construction plan has not been officially filed, and
therefore the area is essentially being developed without a permit. Peretz is
also refusing to authorize a "pinpoint" construction plan that would give
permission to build the reservoir, as is accepted procedure in such cases.

In recent months, there have been several water stoppages in the area, which in
recent years has seen significant population growth, primarily among the
Palestinians.

The Binyamin Regional Council distributed water tanks Tuesday to the affected
settlements.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806477.html

Posted by MEEF at 10:22 AM | Permalink

Thu, 4 Jan 2007 06:27:20 -0500
Haaretz

By Zvi Zrahiya

The Knesset Economics Committee yesterday reduced the minimum 2006 recycling
threshold of 1.5 liter bottles for ELA (the Recycling Corporation) from 85
percent to 65 percent. The committee thus accepted the claim that ELA was
experiencing difficulties meeting the legal target set by the Environment
Ministry and allowed the corporation to avoid a NIS 50 million fine set by law.

Committee chair Moshe Kahalon of Likud expressed bitterness ELA didn't show up
to confirm claims that the demands of the law were putting the company in
danger of collapse. Kahalon abstained, but both Shas MKs, Amnon Cohen and
Yitzhak Vaknin, voted in favor to carry the day.

Gilad Ostrovsky of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense (IUED) said
yesterday the target was set in order to expand collection points, based on
extensive research conducted in Israel and abroad, and not on demands by ELA.
The IUED contends that were the ministry to collect the fine from ELA each
year, the corporation would make more of an effort to meet the 85 percent
target. If the fines were to reach a cumulative NIS 200 million, it would be
possible to purchase automated machines for recycling bottles and containers
and returning bottle deposits, the environmental advocate agency added.

The Environment Ministry commented that forcing ELA to pay the fine would cause
it to collapse.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806582.html

Posted by MEEF at 10:20 AM | Permalink

The National Capacity Self Assessment for Global Environmental Management--Jordan
Arab Environment Monitor

The National Capacity Self Assessment for Global Environmental Management -
Jordan Arab Environment Monitor

Jordan is currently undertaking the National Capacity Self Assessment for Global
Environmental Management Project (NCSA), which is funded by the Global
Environmental Facility (GEF) and administered by the UNDP through its country
office in Jordan . The Ministry of Environment is the implementing agency and
taking the leading role in cooperation with other national agencies.

The NCSA is a GEF initiative that aims to assess the capacity constraints and
potentials for implementing the three International environmental conventions
on Biodiversity , Climate change and Desertification .

The primary goal of an NCSA is to determine national priorities for capacity
development to better address global environmental issues. The NCSA will
analyze the country's capacity strengths, constraints and needs, and recommend
capacity development actions to address them. In addition, the NCSA process
aims to identify cross-cutting capacity issues and foster synergies among the
conventions.

The project focuses on cross-cutting issues within the three conventions to
complement and enhance linkages and integration as well as promote resource
mobilization and coordination in implementation.

The NCSA process represents the only nationally focused, global initiative
explicitly designed to examine potential synergies between the Rio Conventions.
In addition, they can be used by countries to mainstream the global environment
into broader national sustainable development processes.

The NCSA process was launched at the Ministry of Environment in August 2004 with
the first few months used for developing and operating coordination mechanisms.
The NCSA process is composed of various inter-connected stages for capacity
assessment and providing a national action plan for capacity development in the
three conventions themes and cross-cutting issues.

The NCSA project is implemented in four phases, as follows:

Project Coordination Mechanism established and operational.
Stocktaking and thematic profiles developed.
National consultation and in-depth analysis of priority areas.
Developing and endorsing the final NCSA report and action plan.

for more details see
http://ncsa.moenv.gov.jo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=33

Posted by MEEF at 10:18 AM | Permalink

The National Capacity Self Assessment for Global Environmental Management--Jordan
Arab Environment Monitor

The National Capacity Self Assessment for Global Environmental Management -
Jordan Arab Environment Monitor

Jordan is currently undertaking the National Capacity Self Assessment for Global
Environmental Management Project (NCSA), which is funded by the Global
Environmental Facility (GEF) and administered by the UNDP through its country
office in Jordan . The Ministry of Environment is the implementing agency and
taking the leading role in cooperation with other national agencies.

The NCSA is a GEF initiative that aims to assess the capacity constraints and
potentials for implementing the three International environmental conventions
on Biodiversity , Climate change and Desertification .

The primary goal of an NCSA is to determine national priorities for capacity
development to better address global environmental issues. The NCSA will
analyze the country's capacity strengths, constraints and needs, and recommend
capacity development actions to address them. In addition, the NCSA process
aims to identify cross-cutting capacity issues and foster synergies among the
conventions.

The project focuses on cross-cutting issues within the three conventions to
complement and enhance linkages and integration as well as promote resource
mobilization and coordination in implementation.

The NCSA process represents the only nationally focused, global initiative
explicitly designed to examine potential synergies between the Rio Conventions.
In addition, they can be used by countries to mainstream the global environment
into broader national sustainable development processes.

The NCSA process was launched at the Ministry of Environment in August 2004 with
the first few months used for developing and operating coordination mechanisms.
The NCSA process is composed of various inter-connected stages for capacity
assessment and providing a national action plan for capacity development in the
three conventions themes and cross-cutting issues.

The NCSA project is implemented in four phases, as follows:

Project Coordination Mechanism established and operational.
Stocktaking and thematic profiles developed.
National consultation and in-depth analysis of priority areas.
Developing and endorsing the final NCSA report and action plan.

for more details see
http://ncsa.moenv.gov.jo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=33

Posted by MEEF at 10:18 AM | Permalink

Jordan Times

By Hana Namroqa

AMMAN — Heavy precipitation last week boosted storage levels of the Kingdom’s
10 dams, which now hold 91.240 million cubic metres (mcm) of water, according
to an official at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

A depression, which brought heavy rain and snow to the Kingdom last Wednesday,
provided about 8.3mcm of water to the country’s major dams, Ministry of Water
and Irrigation Assistant Secretary General Adnan Zu’bi told The Jordan Times.

“The country’s major dams currently hold some 91.240mcm accounting for 27.8 per
cent of their total storage capacity of 327mcm, while before the rainfall they
held 83mcm,” Zu’bi said.

He added that “up to 30 to 40 per cent of the water is stored as a strategic
reserve to ensure a continuous supply of water to farmers during a dry year.”

The King Talal Dam received the largest amount with 3.26mcm, while the Waleh Dam
received 1.95mcm and the Mujib Dam 1.33mcm.

The Wadi Al Arab Dam now holds 38.41 per cent of its total capacity, Sharhabil
43.05, Karameh 24.29, Kafrain 11.56, Tannour 32.42, Wadi Shueib 34.16 and Wihda
2.02, Al Rai daily reported.

The Wihda Dam, with a total storage capacity of 110mcm of water, is designed to
provide water for both human consumption and agriculture. A total of 31,000
dunums of agricultural lands in the Jordan Valley will be annually irrigated
with 30mcm of Yarmouk River water, while 50mcm of potable water will be
supplied to Amman every year.

In addition, the dam will generate 18,800 megawatts of electricity per hour in
the near future.

Meanwhile, the 27 sand dams spread across the Kingdom received over 16mcm,
accounting for 60 per cent of their total storage capacity.

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation initiated a campaign in October to check on
the preparedness of the country’s dams.

Under the campaign, the ministry took samples from each dam to check on water
quality and ensure that it conforms to international standards.

It conducted operations to wash away sediment and remove soil from dams and
streams. For example, sediment from the Zarqa River was cleared to ensure its
water wouldn’t be polluted in winter.

The Water Ministry official said the rainfall would have a positive effect on
underground water, especially since the southern regions registered heavy
rainfall.

Tafileh, which until last week was well below its average rainfall levels for
the time of year, received 22mm of snow, according to the Jordan Meteorological
Department statistics.

Meanwhile, Ajloun received 70mm of rain and 5mm of snow, Deir Alla and areas
around the Dead Sea recorded approximately 40mm of rainfall and Amman 30mm.

Jordan is ranked as one of the 10 poorest countries in the world in terms of its
water resources. Dams, even though expensive to construct, are among the major
solutions the country relies on to secure its needs for water.

Posted by MEEF at 10:17 AM | Permalink

Jordan Times

AMMAN (IRIN) — Pollution, overfishing and the destruction of marine habitat are
driving commercial fisheries in the port city of Aqaba, 250km south of Amman,
to the brink of collapse, according to environmentalists and fishermen.

“Immediate action must be taken to stop the ongoing depletion of fish stocks and
damage to the ecosystem,” said Fadi Sharaiha of the Royal Marine Conservation
Society of Jordan.

Halting the destruction of coastal habitats, taking steps to control and reduce
pollution, and preventing the use of dynamite in fishing would help to restore
productivity in the area, he said.

“In a few years’ time, there will be no fish to catch in Aqaba Port,” said
Sharaiha, who is urging authorities to implement strict measures against
vessels that dump garbage and toxic waste in the sea.

Fears are growing that the fishing community may lose its livelihood, which
would have profound social consequences with resulting high unemployment.

For the past few months, tens of fishermen have stopped casting their nets into
the nearly empty waters. Out of the 147 fishermen authorised to venture into
the gulf, more than 80 have permanently anchored their boats on the shores.

Abdul Rahman Mahmoud, 44, who has been fishing since he was 12 years old, has
already started looking for a new job.

“Everyday we hear about laws and plans to protect the sea. We need deeds not
words,” Mahmoud said.
Ever-increasing marine traffic in the port and building construction onshore has
compounded the fishermen’s problems.

The government turned Aqaba into a special economic zone nearly five years ago
in a bid to attract foreign investment and transform the area into a commercial
hub.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were pumped into real estate projects on the
seafront, while marine traffic nearly tripled.

“We cannot have it all. We either make Aqaba a free trade zone, bustling with
marine traffic, or [we make it] a tourism destination,” Mahmoud said.

As a result of its semi enclosed form, the Gulf of Aqaba is susceptible to
marine pollution and ecosystem degradation.

Officials from the Ministry of Environment said they were aware of the problem
but admitted their hands were tied.

“We cannot create hurdles in front of investment projects,” Isa Shboul,
spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, said.

Recently, Parliament endorsed an environment law to protect the country’s
fragile ecosystem, which set penalties that include one year in prison and
hefty fines.

The government also proposed to fishermen to ply their trade in international
waters off the coast of Yemen, but the fishermen were not interested.

Abu Ali, 55, said the long journey was not feasible. “Our boats are too small to
handle the expenses of a long fishing journey that lasts for weeks,” said Ali.

“This is our water, we must be able to fish here, not hundreds of miles away.”

Posted by MEEF at 10:16 AM | Permalink

AL-BIA WAL-TANMIA
The Leading Pan-Arab Environment Magazine
Volume 12, No.106, January 2007

CONTENTS

5 Nuclear energy in the Arab market (editorial by Najib Saab)
14 Globalization of nuclear energy: will Arabs run the marathon? cover story
22 Arab media forum for environment and development in Cairo
24 Environmental justice: road to an Arab renaissance
28 Me and the Environment best of a photo contest
36 Arab NGO success stories in defending their environment
40 You are what you eat
44 The endangered Arabian Tahr thrives in UAE Sir Bani Yas island reserve
48 Wild Borneo
56 The era of nanotechnology
60 Safe drinking water from the sun
62 The Mediterranean in 2025 a sea threatened by development
64 Sky hole patching a UNEP project to curb illegal trade in ozone depleting
substances
66 The global carbon market
69 Secrets of Lake Vostok a hidden world in Antarctica
72 China shifts gears car industry in China

http://www.mectat.com.lb/contents/page106.htm

Posted by MEEF at 10:12 AM | Permalink

Jawad Anan
Al-Hayat - 08/01/07

Many celebrations coincided at the end of the 2006, drawing a caricature
reflecting the contradictions on the ground. The whole event seemed as if it
were a Rococo painting, as the occasion has nothing to do with the reality.
As to celebrations, they have their own economies. My neighbors in Amman
traveled to Lebanon to spend their vacations. When they returned, I asked them
why they chose Lebanon. They said that the conflicting parties there had agreed
to maintain calm during the holiday season. Therefore, the Jordanians found the
venture to an internally unstable country worthy so long as they would enjoy
much and pay less.

In the US, consumption is at highest during the Christmas season. Strangely
enough, about 50% of the annual purchases in some commercial markets are for a
single day's occasion, even though they begin a month before and continue for a
month after the occasion. The seasonal purchase phenomenon needs a pause. It is
perplexing and, from an administrative and financial perspective, very costly.
However, the fierce competition between chain stores provides an opportunity to
the consumer to get some commodities for attractive prices in comparison with
the prices of the same commodities during the year.

We watched on television channels how thousands of people can spend the night in
front of stores, waiting for the moment the doors will open in order to scramble
and pick the commodities advertised in the media. Those respectable people do
not stay in front of stores to buy bread, oil, milk or meat, but rather to
purchase third-generation Play-Station devices, television sets with big, thin
LCD screens, or digital cameras, to which many of them must have similar ones
at home.

This feverish consumption requires a pause. In the Arab world, we do the same.
It is obvious that the money allocated for promoting durable or consumable
commodities has enormously increased over the recent years, because of the
spread and fast growth of newspapers and magazines, luxurious printing, free
classified magazines, increase of radio stations and television and satellite
channels, and websites allocated for this purpose.

There is another fierce competition underway between major international
companies to produce everything new in all human activities. This organized
marketing is accompanied by huge development in regards with stores and
markets, attractive advertisements, which encourage youngsters to buy the
recent and most expensive commodities, services and accessories.
We usually see queues of people wanting to attend a signature party of a
renowned writer, an artistic performance, a music party, or poetry recitation.
But this scramble to buy discounted commodities is confusing. It implies
deception. If people do not scramble to buy, the promoters will have to sell
such commodities at lower prices anyway.

Ironically, an ad urging people to buy cars published a contradictory phrases
reading: "Buy now and Save". How can man save if he buys now? It is a confusing
question, because the definition of saving in economics is "delayed
consumption".

In the US, some $19 billions are spent annually on plastic surgery, more than
$36 billions on diet food, and over $10 billions on cold and headache drugs, so
what remains to help countries like Malawi, whose GDP does not exceed $1
billion?

The problem is that the Arab World is being entrapped into consumption. We are
not opposed to the economic shift mechanism, but we are taken aback by the
yawning gap between the buyer and seller in terms of information in this era of
information, communications and advanced research.

Consumption has many negative aspects. We can observe the sufferings of the Arab
family from the pressures on their limited income at a time when demand for
consumption is on the rise and the size of families is still considerable.

*Mr. Anani is an Economic expert at al-Basira Consultants

http://english.daralhayat.com/business/01-2007/Article-20070108-01b01c6f-c0a8-10ed-0055-77007bc6e060/story.html

Posted by MEEF at 10:10 AM | Permalink

21c
By Nicky Blackburn January 07, 2007

When Michael Cohen visited the Alexander River estuary in the center of Israel a
few weeks ago with other researchers, he was shocked at what he found.

"The river was so unclean, there were dead fish, plastic bottles and other
garbage floating downstream and it was a disgusting brown colour," says the
director of special projects at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
on Kibbutz Ketura near Eilat.

"The tide was out, so the filthy river just stopped five feet from the
Mediterranean. The sea looked so pristine and clear, but at high tide, all the
filth from the river washes straight into the sea polluting it for miles
around," he told ISRAEL21c.

The miserable state of the Alexander, which runs through both Israel and the
Palestinian Authority, is one of the reasons why a team of Israeli and
Palestinian researchers have joined forces to create a blueprint for action to
restore the quality of not only the Alexander, but the 15 rivers that flow
through both Israeli and Palestinian areas.

Rivers, as everyone knows, are not confined by borders. Cleaning a river in one
location, will not stop it becoming polluted elsewhere, if people continue to
dump sewage or industrial waste along the route.

Most of the rivers that flow through PA and Israeli land are heavily polluted
with raw sewage, effluent, and industrial waste. This is the first time,
however, there has ever been any kind of joint monitoring of water quality or
combined action plan to clean the rivers up.

The team of 14 researchers from the Arava Institute on the Israeli side, and the
Water and Environment Development Organization (WEDO) in Bethlehem on the
Palestinian side, is being funded with a $1 million grant from the Middle East
Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program of the US Agency for International
Development (USAID).

The three-year Trans Boundary Stream Restoration Project began in October 2004,
and after two years of monitoring, team members are now in the final stages of
putting together an effective river restoration strategy for Israel and the PA
which is tailored to the unique ecological and geographical conditions of local
streams. Final recommendations will be available in July this year (2007).

The group, who meet regularly in the field and elsewhere to assess their work,
focused on two steams that flow through large population centers in both Israel
and the PA - the 25 mile Alexander, which flows from the heavily populated West
Bank city of Nablus to its estuary not far from Netanya in Israel; and the
River Hebron, which passes Hebron in the West Bank, flows through Beersheva as
the River Besor, and then runs on to Gaza and the sea.

The researchers set up 15 monitoring stations along the length of both rivers -
six on the Alexander (three on each side), and nine on the Hebron River (four
on the PA side) and began monitoring the quality and flow of the water, and the
ecological health of the streams.

"This is the first time any monitoring of water quality has been carried out on
these two rivers," says Lior Asaf, scientific coordinator of the project on the
Israeli side.

So far 300 measurements from these rivers have been analyzed, and a further 100
samples taken during recent storms have now been sent away to be checked.
Though the data so far is still raw, the results are clear, says Asaf, a
hydrologist from the Arava Institute.

"Both steams are heavily polluted," he says.

There are numerous point pollution sources that originate in both Israel and the
Palestinian territories, according to the project's recently published annual
report. In the Alexander, untreated sewage is dumped into the stream at Nablus,
and the annual report states that there are 70 sources of pollution along the
steam's route, including sewage and effluents from refugee camps, towns, the
Palestinian city of Tulkarm, stone cutting industries, landfills, and leather
factories. In addition, from October to December, waste from surrounding olive
press factories is added to the general pollution.

In Israel, pollution sources include treated and untreated sewage, fishpond
effluents and industrial effluents. Winter storms and floods bring even more
pollution.

Since 1995 some $12 million has been spent on restoration efforts to the
Alexander, and Israel has even set up a wastewater treatment facility on the
river. In 2003, the river won the international Riverprize award in Australia
for this work. Despite this, however, the report states: "Despite considerable
restoration efforts, to date, the stream is still severely polluted, unsuitable
for human use with unhealthy ecosystems."

Without any kind of wastewater treatment facility, the Hebron stream is
inevitably in worse condition than the Alexander, according to Asaf. The major
source of pollution is raw sewage discharged from Hebron. Domestic sewage is
also pumped into the stream from the Israeli settlement of Qiryat Arba. In
addition, according to the report, wastewater from almost 100 industrial
facilities flow into the steam, treated effluents are discharged from Dimona,
wastewater from Ofakim, and on occasions treated wastewater leaks out of
municipal waste facilities in Beersheva.

"Raw sewage flows for over 60 miles from Hebron, through Beersheva to Gaza,"
says Asaf.
During winter storms pollution also comes from Ramat Hovav, a toxic waste
disposal site that contains some of Israel's heaviest chemical industries.

In the past, both the Alexander and the Hebron steams traditionally dried up
during the summer months. Now they have become a permanent, year-round conduit
for sewage and effluent, says Asaf. "In the last 50 years, many streams have
been transformed into sewage canals," he explains.

With the monitoring virtually complete, the Palestinian-Israeli team has now set
about the last part of their program, developing the foundations for an
effective river restoration strategy for Israel and the PA.

Four team members (two Israeli and two Palestinian) recently took part in a
two-week workshop at the University of Maryland, to learn about the clean up of
the once heavily polluted Chesapeake Bay.

"We are not simply coming up with a report or a survey, but are developing a
real road map to move things forward," says Asaf. "We plan to develop a clear
plan of what should be achieved. Many people say we should wait for peace and
then we will all have a clear vision of what's going on, but we believe that we
can't wait for that. We should address our problems now because natural
resources do not know boundaries. We need to come forward with a clear
Palestinian and Israeli vision of how to address these problems, what is in our
best interests, what should be done, and how much it will cost."

The Palestinian and Israeli researchers, who include Israeli Jews, Israeli
Arabs, Palestinian Moslems and Palestinian Christians, meet regularly and
communicate mostly in English. Their most recent meeting took place in Beit
Jalla, just outside of Jerusalem.

"We meet in a place that is usually safe for both of us," says Asaf.

The project demands a great of cooperation between the Palestinian and Israeli
teams and Asaf says the researchers work extremely well together. "Certainly
from the perspective of "peace making" the initiative has exceeded the
participants' expectations," the annual report states.

In May the research team plans to hold a joint workshop in Akaba in Jordan where
they will invite policy makers from both the Palestinian and Israeli sides. "We
have received a positive reaction so far," says Asaf.

In the meantime, the researchers have also approached the Ministry of
Environment in Israel to encourage them to continue monitoring water quality in
the two rivers using the framework of monitoring stations already set up by the
team. "We believe it is easier to encourage people to go forward once we have
this framework for information," says Asaf.

Asaf is a firm believer that the only way to solve the problem of the region's
polluted rivers is by working together. Israel, for instance, now has plans to
build a wastewater facility on the Israeli side of the Hebron river. "In the
short term that may prevent pollution down stream, but if we don't deal with
the source of the pollution it will not solve the problem forever," Asaf
insists. "If we don't take control we won't do the right job.

"Our team includes many people from different religions, but there is no
difference between any of us," Asaf continues. "As human beings we need clear
water and water resources. We need natural places that we can come and relax
and enjoy ourselves, not places fouled by raw sewage and effluents. We can only
achieve this if we work together. Only multilateral action will solve these
problems."

http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El1517&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Democracy&

Posted by MEEF at 10:09 AM | Permalink

By Haaretz Service

The awarding of the Tel Aviv light rail tender to the MTS group, headed by
Africa Israel, ostensibly heralds a new age of transportation. In practice, the
company faces many obstacles. Above all, it will have to prove - possibly in
court - that the massive tunneling that its construction method entails will
not damage groundwater resources. Afterward, it will have to cope with the
planning agencies of five different local authorities and the challenges of
funding a complex project. At the same time, it will be forced to prove that
its passenger cars are suitable. Construction will take several years, during
which time the region's main traffic arteries will be adversely affected.

Despite these difficulties, we welcome the fact that the plan for the mass
transit project has finally been launched. The plan, which began when Golda
Meir was prime minister, was revived and given priority during Yitzhak Rabin's
term and was shepherded through the advanced planning stages by then finance
minister Avraham Shochat.

The plan, which was developed by Metropolitan Mass Transit System (NTA),
formerly the Tel Aviv Rail Administration, presents a much greater challenge.
At first, there was talk of building a subway similar to those operating in
cities around the world. The advantages of this type of system include
unlimited right of way (underground routes that avoid above-ground traffic
signals, jams and other vehicles), large passenger capacity (due to size,
speed, closely-spaced stations and high frequency of travel), and minimum
environmental impact.

After Rabin's murder in 1995 and the political changes it engendered, all
successive Israeli governments have been wary of spending the enormous amount
required to build a subway. Africa Israel is now taking on a patchwork,
compromise project: a train that will run only partially underground - and,
unusually, not in the city center but rather in intercity stretches. Most of
the train's route will be on the surface, where it will not have the benefits
of speed, high capacity or the right of way.

For now, only the project's Red Line, connecting Petah Tikva, Bnei Brak, Ramat
Gan and Jaffa-Tel Aviv, to Bat Yam, has been approved. This will reduce road
traffic but is not part of the future traffic network (which remains undefined)
and does not offer a solution to transport in the center of Tel Aviv.

An effective transit system is critical in Tel Aviv, to open up the traffic
blockages that exact a high economic price in Israel's urban center. Following
the impressive development of Israel Railways, ridership has increased from 4
million to 20 million passengers a year in the past eight years. Car owners
have willingly left their cars behind. It is not too late for Tel Aviv. There
is still time to consider building a subway, and to plan a multi-branch
underground system whose speed and convenience will encourage more people to
give up their cars within the city as well. The underground rail system could
still change from being merely a means of transport into the agent of historic,
transportational and economic change.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/808350.html

Posted by MEEF at 10:07 AM | Permalink

Jordan Times
By Cheryl Haines

AMMAN — With the finalised terms of reference (TOR) for the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) of the proposed Dibbeen tourism complex still pending, concern
about the joint Jordan Dubai Capital (JDC) and Social Security Corporation
(SSC) venture remains strong within the Kingdom’s environmental circles.

The environmental consulting agency ECO Consult is due to issue the EIA in the
next two months.

The report will signal whether construction on the JD100 million project can
begin in the forest located in the Jerash Governorate.

Environmentalists fear the ecological ramifications of the proposed 500-dunum
tourism complex will wreak havoc in one of country’s few remaining forests.

“Small and isolated patches of habitat have lower diversity than larger patches.
Major disturbances within a small habitat patch, like the tourist project in
Dibbeen, will definitely have a negative impact on natural processes and
biodiversity,” Fares Khoury, a professor in the department of biological
sciences at Hashemite University, told The Jordan Times.

“Less than one per cent of Jordan’s total area harbours natural woodland… This
forest habitat is important for a number of plants, including rare trees
species, orchids and animals, including a few bird species of national
conservation importance,” Khoury added, emphasising the ecological fragility of
area.

According to a bylaw within the Ministry of Environment’s environmental
protection act, a positive EIA is required before construction begins.

It is, however, theoretically illegal to build on any of the Kingdom’s natural
reserves although the Ministry of Agriculture has the last say on whether
construction on any patch of land goes through.

The proposed site for the Dibbeen tourism complex lies adjacent to the Dibbeen
Reserve.

“Roads and networks for water and sewage have to be established, thus it is
expected that the construction will go through and affect the surrounding
reserve,” Khoury added.

When JDC and the investment unit of the SSC announced the Dibbeen project last
May, a memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties included a
cooperative agreement with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature
(RSCN) and the Jordan River Foundation (JRF).

According to the memorandum, upon the issuance of a positive EIA, the RSCN will
provide JDC with consultations and methods to aid in the preservation of the
surrounding natural habitat.

The JRF will contribute by facilitating training programmes for citizens in the
area to help prepare them for job opportunities within the tourist complex.

“We understand the sensitivity of the area in Dibbeen,” JDC CEO Samir Rifai,
stressed.

“We will work closely with the RSCN and other organisations to forego damage to
the surrounding environment,” he told The Jordan Times

Part of the EIA’s stipulation is to ensure that the construction is carried out
within the confines of the Kingdom’s environmental regulations.

Commenting on the natural and historical richness of the northern part of the
country, Rifai noted the visible absence of 5-star hotels and lack of a
veritable tourism infrastructure in the Jerash Governorate.

“The Dibbeen location was chosen because of the natural beauty of the
surrounding area,” Rifai explained, adding that the north of Jordan is among
the least economically developed areas in the country.

The forest is the most southerly natural pine forest in the world.

JDC Capital was established in May 2005 with the vision of developing projects
in the country’s less-developed areas to aid in the creation of job
opportunities, increase shareholder value of privately-owned land, and the flow
of tourists to these areas.

The proposed site is owned by the SSC and they have an interest in bringing
investment to the land to help benefit the corporation’s shareholders, Rifai
noted.

ECO Consult’s TOR was presented at a scoping session in December attended by
JDC, SSC, the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture and several environmental
organisations including the RSCN and the Jordan Environment Society (JES).

The document includes specifications relating to the EIA, whereby the methods of
site analysis, qualifications of those involved and environmental regulations
are detailed and submitted to the ministry.

The scoping session was intended to iron out the TOR, but it failed to produce a
consensus among attendees and the ministry is still awaiting the finalised
document.

“The TOR was focused on the social side of the project, noting that young people
in the area will be introduced to more employment opportunities,” JES President
Mohammad Masalha told The Jordan Times, adding that the EIA should be a
technical and scientific document. “This project will never be sustainable. The
trees in this area are over 300 years old with diverse systems of ecology and a
place for Jordanian wildlife for hundred of years,” he said.

The Environment Ministry is waiting for the outcome of the EIA until they take
an official standpoint on the tourism complex.

“JDC approached us about wanting to begin a project in Dibbeen several months
ago. It is legally required that they submit to an EIA to determine the
immediate impact the complex would have in the area… Our official view is
dependent upon the assessment,” Ahmad Qatarneh, acting secretary general of the
ministry told The Jordan Times.

Meanwhile, Khalid Nasser, president of the Jordan Society for Sustainable
Development, fears that if the tourism complex goes through it will clear the
way for further construction in the country’s other environmental hotspots.

“My concern is not only for the Dibbeen forest, I am also concerned about Ajloun
and other natural forests in Jerash and Irbid. If we open the door for such
investment we don’t have the right to turn down other investors from building
elsewhere in the future.”

JDC’s consultation with the RSCN resulted in the initial design plans being
downsized. The project started with three hotels and nearly 600 chalets, but
was reconfigured and now includes one hotel and 200 chalets within the tourism
complex.

“We understand we have a responsibility. If we are not at one with nature, this
project will not fly,” Rifai emphasised, adding that the well-being of the
surrounding habitat is pivotal in attracting tourists to the complex.

Eight per cent of the total 125 acres (500 dunums) that encompasses the entire
complex will be directly affected by the construction — 160 trees will be cut
down, out of a total of over 9,000 calculated after a topographic study was
conducted in cooperation with the RSCN.

With the finalised terms to completed in the coming weeks, the debate remains
caught in between the social benefits of private investment versus the
ecological implications.

Acknowledging the benefit of creating jobs and bringing tourists to experience
Jordan’s natural habitats, RSCN Acting Director General Yayha Khalid
emphasised: “Our main concern is to ensure the ecological integrity of the
area.”

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews4.htm

Posted by MEEF at 10:06 AM | Permalink

PNN

(Nablus) Amin Abu Wardeh
Sunday, 07 January 2007
Palestinian researcher Abu Kishek said that the Arab water security is
threatened due to Israeli policy and that any political solution to the
Palestinian issue will not happen except through the water.

The researcher said that Arab water security is facing a number of challenges,
and has been for a long time. However little attention has been paid to
Israel's steady take-over of water resources. “The solution to the entire
situation lies in the subject of water.” He pointed out that Israel began its
quest to control Palestinian water when the state was established in 1948.
Water has assumed top priority for Israel since it nationalized its water
project in 1949.

Israel worked to gain control of the groundwater and surface water in the Jordan
River basin, threatening the most fertile agricultural area. After the
occupation of the Golan Heights, West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip in
1967, Israel began taking control of all of those water resources and visits to
Lebanon began. Israel recently built a dam near Syria's Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights near the ceasefire line.

The Israeli government denies permits to Palestinians to dig new wells on their
own land. This is an old practice that means once a well is dry, there is no
more water. Inside Israeli settlements the drilling is free-flowing as it
notable from a distance in the greenery. A Palestinian researcher reports that
Israel controls 80 percent of Palestinian water resources.

Abu Kishek said that Israel's route in building of the Wall inside the West Bank
conforms 100 percent with the course of water basins and groundwater wells in
the West Bank. Per capita Israelis inside Israeli borders consume four times
more than Palestinians, while Israeli settlers in the West Bank consume seven
times more than Palestinians.

Regarding the Israeli policy to control the water in Palestine, he said that it
includes the destruction of large parts of the water utilities, such as the
demolition of wells and the destruction of irrigation systems and reservoirs
and water lines in the West Bank. This all results in a major deficit in the
underground reservoir, and the increasing suffering of some of the population
for access to drinking water on a daily basis. Israel's destruction of the
water supply for many Palestinian cities added to the salt content of the well
water in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which has also led to a decline in
agricultural production.

Abu Kishek pointed out that Israel has dug 500 water devices along the boundary
of the West Bank, while along the northern edge of the Gaza Strip Israeli pumps
operate 18 hours per day. The route of the Wall in the West Bank was set to take
the Palestinian water supply into Israeli boundaries, in addition to what is
already taken by the Israeli settlements inside the West Bank. And that
included destroying existing greenery and agriculture.

Israel has also been diverting water from the Jordan River and part of the
waters of the Negev's western basin. The ill-effects of Israeli water theft are
clear on the Dead Sea, which the Israelis are now trying to have the Red Sea
pump into by destroying large tracts of land to build a connecting point.

Abu Kishek added that the goal of the Israeli government in its frequent visits
to Lebanon was to gain control of regional water. In 1978 Israel was able to
control the waters of the Litani River and had installed pumps large near the
Khardali Bridge, with a pipeline stretching 10 kilometers from the river
through the town of Taibe. Israel had major storage tanks in the southern
outskirts of the town of Aita Al Shaab for storing Litani water and
distribution methods to the settlements in the Upper Galilee. Israel had
transferred the waters of the Litani River to Lake Tiberias which is inside
Israeli boundaries and under its control. Israel also dominated the water of
the Hasbani River. There are also Israeli attempts to take control of the
waters of the Tigris and Euphrates. There is also the role of Israel in the
conflict over the waters of the Nile.

As for reasons for the water crisis in the Arab world, Abu Kishek said that
there are several. They range from irregular rainfall, to the fact that most of
the sources of rivers come from outside its political borders, effects of global
warming, large population increases, development projects and ambitions in
foreign waters that seek to control and exploit.

http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1393

Posted by MEEF at 10:05 AM | Permalink

Jordan Times

AMMAN (JT) — There is copper in the Wadi Araba district worth $1.5-2 billion,
according to local geologists.

In a statement this week, Jordan Geologists Association President Khalid
Shawabkeh said the international rise in prices of this metal make investment
in copper mining feasible.

He made the remarks as he and other association leaders were finalising a report
on the prospects of copper in the area. They will present the document to
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Khalid Shraideh early next week.

The minister has requested the syndicate’s opinion on the best mechanism to mine
copper deposits in the southern region without degrading the environment.

Over the past few years, the association has called for utilising copper in the
southern part of the Dana Reserve at the edge of Wadi Araba, triggering
protests from the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN).

A previous study showed that Dana, which once bordered King Solomon’s copper
mines, contains significant reserves of copper that could be extracted over a
period of 20 years with estimated direct and indirect proceeds to the
government of $700 million over the entire period, or $35 million per year. The
remaining $1,050 million would go to the mining firm.

Proponents of this study said they want to expropriate one-fifth of the Dana
land and convert it into a copper mine. Opponents, on the other hand, said Dana
has the potential to bring the government and Jordan much more than copper,
since it is a key product of the tourism industry, which earns the country
about $1.5 billion.

The RSCN has set up small income-generating socio-economic projects in the
reserve, where local residents, who are among the poorest in the country, are
engaged in preparing and packaging herbs and spices, and crafting jewellery and
other items inspired by the area’s wildlife.

Established in 1989, Dana Reserve is home to rare animals like the Nubian ibex,
the mountain gazelle, wolves, foxes, jackals, badgers, hyraxes, porcupines,
hares, striped hyenas, Indian crested porcupines and wild rabbits.

In 1993, the Dana Nature Reserve was officially registered with the government
as a protected area and is preserved as a model of sustainable development.

Four years later, the Natural Resources Authority tried to enter the Dana Nature
Reserve to take samples of copper deposits, but the project was halted, thanks
to the efforts of environmentalists who argued that mining is an
environmentally destructive activity and a threat to natural resources and
habitats.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews7.htm

Posted by MEEF at 10:04 AM | Permalink

Haaretz
08.1.07 | 13:47 By Tzipi Iser-Itzik

How do you advance a project as complicated and grandiose, as expensive and
intricate, as building a canal between two seas? It's an issue that keeps
popping up in the public debate and then disappearing again because it's so
terrifically unfeasible .

First of all give it a name that can't be resisted, like "Peace Conduit". Once
it's become synonymous in international circles with regional amity, who the
hell cares if it's economically and environmentally feasible?

Yet so many formulas for peace have come and gone in the annals of history that
caution is warranted. Before starting any project, let alone one on which peace
in the Middle East is supposed to depend, one should check in advance if it's
sustainable.

Building a canal between the Red Sea and the Dead one, while blithely ignoring
the tremendous potential damage it could wreak on the water sources and ecology
of the Bay of Eilat and the Arava, could prove to be an incompetence that will
bear an enormous cost.

If risks are not evaluated ahead of time, we may find ourselves in a dreadful
situation whose solution is bad.

How? The canal is supposed to save the Dead Sea from drying up once and for all,
by pumping 1.5 billion cubic meters of water a year, which is 3 times the amount
of water transported through the National Conduit, from the Red Sea.

Is it even possible?

The Arava valley has aquifers of sweet and brackish water, that serve for
drinking and agriculture. Leaks of briny water from the canal could salinate
the water sources. Is this not a risk that should be addressed in advance?

There are plenty of other examples.

How will pumping hundreds of cubic meters of seawater affect Eilat's ecology?

The project calls for hundreds of "fish cages", for farmed fish, to be built
along the canal. These could poison the regional water supply through leaks.

The plan calls for a desalination plant to be erected, using water that drops
from the heights to 400 meters below sea level (which is how low the Dead Sea
is). But from there, the water has to be propelled 800 meters upward: how will
this effect the environment?

The seas in question sit right smack in the crack of the Great Rift Valley, that
splits the earth from southern Africa up to Syria. The entire area is prone to
earthquakes. A bad quake could badly damage the infrastructure, leaving to
potentially grave environmental damage if the canal is ruined; this too
warrants examination in advance.

Perhaps for a change, given the vastness of the project, we should replace the
empty slogans with actual thought about how to create a project sustainable for
generations.

The author is the executive director of the Israel Union for Environmental
Defense, known locally as Adam, Teva V'Din.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ArticleContent.jhtml?itemNo=810860

Posted by MEEF at 10:02 AM | Permalink

JPost.com
By MATTHEW WAGNER

Global warming, the thinning ozone layer and the greenhouse =
effect are not presently at the top of the haredi community's priority =
list, but an organization known as Haredim Le'sviva (Haredim for the =
Environment) wants to change that.=20

Not only desecration of Shabbat by El Al or the sale of =
immodest clothing in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem will be at the forefront of =
haredi interests if Haredim Le'sviva has its way, but also educating =
against littering and encouraging recycling.=20

In the first conference of its kind, haredi MKs and a dozen =
local government politicians together with Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Meir =
Lau, will meet Monday in Bnei Brak to discuss recycling, air and noise =
pollution and the adverse effects of cellular phone antennas.=20

Environment Minister Gideon Ezra will also attend the =
conference. McCann Erickson, an ad agency with a haredi department, will =
be sponsoring the gathering.=20

So far none of the major haredi halachic authorities has =
come out publicly in support of the move and without their support it is =
doubtful that Haredim Le'sviva's initiative will gain momentum.=20

However, according to Yehudah Ganut, a young haredi educator =
from Petah Tikva who founded the organization several years ago, two =
prominent rabbis are backing his organization. Rabbi Yitzhak =
Zilberstein, an expert in medicine and halacha, and Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer =
Stern, a member of Rabbi Shmuel Halevi Vozner's rabbinic court, both =
support increasing haredi awareness to environmental issues.=20

Akiva Briland, a member of Haredim Le'sviva, told The =
Jerusalem Post that there were many classical Jewish sources supporting =
environmental protection.=20

"For instance, Jewish law states that a tree must be planted =
50 amot (25 meters) from the city out of consideration for the landscape =
and the Midrash [homiletic rabbinic commentary] warns man to be careful =
not to destroy the world," said Briland.=20

Briland and Ganut say that haredim realize the importance of =
protecting the environment, but they have yet to be mobilized.=20

According to a survey conducted by Mutagim, a leading =
pollster, 94% of haredim surveyed said that protecting the environment =
was important. Some 72% said they were bothered by air pollution and the =
same amount said they wanted to live in a green setting.=20

In a related development, the government set in motion =
Sunday a recycling bill that would include as refundable 1.5 to 2 liter =
plastic bottles. The government set up a committee that is supposed to =
prepare the legislation within a month. The Sephardi haredi Shas party =
has opposed the bill, arguing that it would hurt large families. Shas =
said that including the bigger bottles as eligible for a deposit refund =
would raise the price by half a shekel.=20

"We do not have enough refund outlets for the bottles," MK =
Amnon Cohen (Shas). "So haredi families will pay the extra price without =
getting their money back."=20

Haredim Le'sviva recommended allowing non-profit =
organizations to collect the bottles, thus encouraging citizens to =
recycle them.=20

Briland said that in Bnei Brak last year, four million =
bottles were returned for refunds.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1167467681210

Posted by MEEF at 09:59 AM | Permalink

Al Jazeera

The lack of wind stops the smog from dispersing [AFP]
Air pollution has killed more than 3,000 people during one month in the Iranian
capital, Tehran, according to a local official.

"Pollution has directly or indirectly caused the deaths of 3,600 people in the
month of Aban [October 23 to November 23]," Mohammad Hadi Heydarzadeh, director
of Tehran's clean air committee, said.
He said that the deaths were caused by heart attacks brought on by the pollution
and that the smog was responsible for 80 per cent of the fatal heart problems in
Tehran.

"It is a very serious and lethal crisis, a collective suicide," he said.
The new figures showed a sharp rise in pollution-related deaths in Tehran -
9,900 people were killed between March 2005 and March 2006.

Carbon monoxide from car exhausts is blamed for the majority of the deaths. 1.3
million ageing cars with poor fuel efficiency are causing respiratory and
cardiac problems for the seven million residents of Tehran.

Half of Iran's six million cars fail to meet global standards and burn twice as
much petrol as a European car. The low cost of petrol keeps the streets packed
with cars and Tehran suffers severe traffic jams during rush hour.

"A real revolution is needed to resolve this problem," Heydarzadeh told
Kargozaran newspaper.

The problem is particularly bad during the winter when a lack of wind and the
cold air means that clouds of smog hang over the city for days on end.

The authorities regularly ask the elderly and children not to leave their homes,
shutting schools to protect the pupils when the pollution is at its peak.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/91192AC2-D3A4-4942-AEE4-CA727EFB2CB1.htm

Posted by MEEF at 07:33 AM | Permalink

By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
Thursday, January 11, 2007

NABATIEH: The head of the Confederation of Municipalities Union in Shqif on
Wednesday warned residents of villages in the Nabatieh area against piling
their garbage in the street following the closure of the Arnoun dump. The dump,
closed at the end of 2006, was notorious for receiving 100 tons of waste a day.
Serious environmental concerns had been raised due to the dump being
precariously perched atop a hill next to the Khardali River.

"We closed the dump because it is harmful [to the environment] ... I warned
mayors of 28 villages and towns two months ago of its dangers and asked them
not to throw garbage there by the end of 2006," Samih Halal told The Daily
Star.

Halal urged the government in Beirut to find alternative means of disposal for
the region's waste.

"The state should find a location where Shqif's municipalities could bury their
waste," he said. "Otherwise it should set up a waste-separation plant."

"The most important point today is to deal with the current situation after the
dump was closed," he added. "Piles of waste have started to appear in Nabatieh
and the surrounding areas due to a lack of dumps."

Acting Arnoun Mayor Rafik Hamdan said the decision to close the area dump was
made after repeated charges of negligence were leveled against the disposal
company responsible for waste collection in the area.

"The dump caught fire many times and the company was totally careless," Hamdan
said.

Environmental studies recently conducted in Arnoun said the location of the dump
was "inappropriate," he added.

"The dump is close to the Khardali River, which made the municipality of Arnoun
file a lawsuit against the [waste disposal] company," the acting mayor said.
"We have had enough of bearing the trash of around 30 villages for the past
four years."

Posted by MEEF at 07:32 AM | Permalink

Daily Star

Thursday, January 11, 2007

BEIRUT: Israel's assault on the Jiyyeh power plant during the war last summer
led to a strict power-rationing schedule, raising concerns about the damage
that private generators may have done to the environment. Many Lebanese chose
to use generators to compensate for electricity shortages, and this decision
could have negative repercussions on their health.

In an article published in the Environment and Development magazine, Environment
Hotline investigated the metal army of generators that has been deployed
throughout the capital in recent months.

Environment Hotline said that a large percentage of these generators were being
operated illegally, with many placed on building rooftops and in lobbies, in
clear violation of a law requiring all generators to be housed away from other
machinery and people.

In addition, high levels of noise and toxic smoke have resulted from generators
being used around the clock.

But the pressing threat that results from the misuse of such machinery is that
of massive noise pollution.

Environment Hotline measured the level of noise produced by one typical
generator, which it found to be operating at 92 decibels. The maximum legal
noise level during daylight hours is 65 decibels.

The Environment Ministry has established strict guidelines concerning the use of
generators, including a regulation requiring all generators to be outfitted with
specific filters to screen toxic fumes. - Environment Hotline
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=78426

Posted by MEEF at 07:31 AM | Permalink

Environmental Issue Overrides Outdated IDF Decision FOEME
2006-12-31

Israeli military reverses previous decision against a solid waste facility in
Israeli-controlled parts of the West Bank

Tel Aviv, 31st December 2006
In response to pressure from environmental groups, the Israeli military has
approved the establishment of a landfill to be built on land previously
restricted to Palestinian development.

The new landfill site will be constructed near the village of Dir Dibwan, east
of Ramallah in "Area C," land under full Israeli military control.

The site will replace two antiquated dump sites in Al-Bireh and Ramallah -- both
of which lack basic environmental infrastructure, resulting in pollution of the
Mountain Aquifer's groundwater, as well as air pollution.

"The decision is a victory for the citizens of Ramallah, who have long been
forced to live with the stench, public health hazards and polluted air
generated from the atrocious state of the cities dumps," said Nader Khateeb
Director of FoEME's office in Bethlehem.

Responding to calls by Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), support for the
site's approval was secured by Mr. Hagai Alon, advisor to Defense Minister
Peretz.

The former objection to the site was justified by the military due to plans to
construct an eastern separation barrier, which would have separated the
proposed waste disposal site from Ramallah and the adjacent village of Dir
Dibwan.

"Despite the fact that the barrier plan was abandoned by the government as early
as 2004, Israeli military objections to the site remained," said Zach Tagar,
Deputy Director at FoEME's office in Tel Aviv. "Reversal of the decision is a
hopeful sign of changes in the New Year. Moreover, the decision facilitates the
advancement of a 14 million Euro German investment in protecting shared ground
water resources by providing a solution to waste disposal for over 350,000
people."

Approximately sixty million cubic meters of sewage and solid waste pollution
seep into the Mountain Aquifer every year, threatening the fresh water supply
for Israelis and Palestinians, both of whom are dependant on the fresh
groundwater resources of the Mountain Aquifer.

For more information or to join a site tour, please contact Zach Tagar at: 03
5605383 (ext. 7) or 057 7492201.

For background information on sewage and solid waste pollution please see the
FoEME publication Seeping Time Bomb at: http://www.foeme.org.

Posted by MEEF at 07:29 AM | Permalink

Haaretz

By Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent

Defense Minister Amir Peretz has called for a halt in the construction of a
section of the separation fence routed to run through the Judean Desert, until
conclusive research about the environmental impacts of the fence can be done.

Peretz's decision comes after head of the Labor faction in the Knesset, Yoram
Marciano, requested that Peretz assess the possibility of changing the route of
the fence in order to avoid the expected negative impact it would have on the
views and nature of the area.

Recently, environmentalists and settlers have launched joint efforts in nature
preserves and settlements in the area of Hebron mountain to stop the
construction of the fence within the Judean Desert, which they maintain will
cause great harm to the ecology and aesthetics of the region.

Mount Hebron Regional Council Chairman Tzvika Bar-Chai recently met with
official from the Israel Defense Forces' Central Command in an attempt to
persuade them to reroute that section of the fence, or to cancel its
construction altogether.

Bar-Chai enlisted the support of one of the founders of the Israeli conservation
movement, Ezriya Alon, who in turn contacted GOC Central Command Yair Naveh.

"The essence of the Judean Desert is wholly unique in all of Israel. The fence
will amputate the desert and destroy its vistas and appeal for backpackers and
tourists, dealing a severe blow to the living world," Alon said in his
statement to Naveh.

Dr. Yossi Lashem, former general secretary of the Society for the Protection of
Nature in Israel and one of the country's foremost aviary researchers, sent a
letter on Wednesday to IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Defense Department
General Secretary Gabi Ashkenazi. In the letter, Lashem warned that the planned
route of the fence would prevent animals from moving freely and would destroy
food access for birds of prey.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/811440.html

Posted by MEEF at 07:27 AM | Permalink

(Tulkarem) Palestine News Network
Thursday, 11 January 2007

The Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the northwestern West Bank's
Tulkarem ended the first phase of a land reclamation project in two villages.

Project Coordinator Abdul Rahim Barhush said, “The reclamation project lasted
seven months and focused on planting sites with 250 nut and fruit trees.” The
United Nations Development Program funded that aspect of the project under the
supervision of the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.

Khalid Barham of the Agricultural Work Committees said that 10 sites throughout
the governorates of Tulkarem and Qalqilia are working on seed production,
organic pesticides and home gardening.

“The trainees received assistance, agricultural equipment and seedlings with the
help of Italian hydrologists and EU funding.”

Barham explained that 900 farmers were trained on pressing and fundamental
issues in agricultural diversification, such as water resource management, the
use of pesticides and establishing cooperatives.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1428

Posted by MEEF at 07:26 AM | Permalink

From: Jordan Times
By Hana Namroqa

AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment has completed an integrated emergency plan
to address the severely polluted Zarqa River, according to a Ministry of Water
and Irrigation official.

“The plan identified the river’s main sources of pollution as wastewater
leakage into the river, the Ain Ghazal sewage tankers’ facility, nearby
factories, car wash stations, flooding manholes and sewer systems and the
Greater Amman Municipality’s slaughterhouse,” Ministry of Environment
Spokesperson Isa Shboul told The Jordan Times.

Following an inspection tour of the Zarqa River last month, Prime Minister
Marouf Bakhit instructed the concerned authorities to immediately start work on
the restoration process in order to rid the river of its stagnant water.

The emergency plan was prepared in cooperation with the ministries of water and
irrigation, interior, health, agriculture, finance, municipal affairs and the
GAM.

It also features “a constant control programme,” which will be carried out by
the environment police and other concerned bodies.

“Under the programme, monitoring centres will be established along the river
bank to control violations and address any reported problems. The Environment
Ministry will organise a tour to the river for officials and media
representatives next week to announce the launch of the programme,” Shboul
added.

Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem recently said that 10 per cent of
wastewater in the river is a direct result of illegal connections, adding that
the ministry dealt with 167 violations, where citizens connected their sewage
networks to the rainwater drainage system linked to the river.

The Zarqa Governorate, which has a reputation for being one of the country’s
environmental hotspots, is home to 52 per cent of the Kingdom’s industrial
plants.

The pollution levels have become so severe that over recent years nearby
residents have consistently complained about the stench from the river, which
attracts rodents and insects, particularly in the summer months.

Spraying pesticides along the river and cleaning the sewer pipes are among the
immediate measures that were taken to reduce environmental and health problems,
Shboul noted.

He said several future projects for rehabilitating the river will be implemented
in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, such as conducting maintenance work
on drainage systems in Zarqa and Amman to prevent rainwater from entering the
sewage system, establishing a 21km sewage pipeline from the west Zarqa pumping
station to the Khirbet Al Samra station between Zarqa and Mafraq governorates,
establishing a new slaughterhouse and studying the relocation of the stone
quarries to a new industrial site.

The JD50 million projects will be implemented over a seven year period.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/homenews/homenews9.htm

Posted by MEEF at 07:25 AM | Permalink

Jordan Times
Yusuf Mansur

Can the dead be revived? No, but if we are speaking of the Dead Sea, it is
possible, and with water, too!

How simple the cure is. The new-old initiative of connecting the Red Sea with
the Dead Sea is the most important economic project for the sustainable
development of the Kingdom in the long term.

The Dead Sea is two-thirds its size in the 1970s, in terms of water surface, and
where it used to be 395 metres below sea level, it is now 417 metres, a 22-metre
drop in 30 years; and the rate of loss is accelerating as population and unfair
usage escalate. Thus, speeding up the untimely demise of one of the most
important cultural and historical sights in the world, at the current rate, the
Dead Sea will disappear by 2050.

The unfair uncoordinated usage of the resources that feed the sea is emblematic
of the Tragedy of the Commons, a well-known concept in economics, where two or
more parties share a common resource with no penalty or fee for usage.
Consequently, since usage is costless, each party has an incentive to draw from
the resource more than the others do.

When completed, the canal will mean more to Jordan than saving one of its
greatest tourist attraction sites. It will bring with it power generation from
the hydraulic stations on the canal, water desalination capabilities (Israel is
considered the world leader in water desalination and currently uses nuclear
energy for that purpose) and a renewable water source.

Agriculture will also blossom on both sides of the canal as irrigation water
becomes available, instead of using the water of the Disi aquifer in the south
of Jordan, thus wasting one of the cleanest water resources on a low-return
product, and draining possibly the oldest aquifer in the world to plant
watermelons for export to make Jordan, one of the ten water-poorest countries
in the world, a de facto exporter of water.

Tourism and tourist projects will also pick up as the canal comes to provide
unmatched scenery in a warm spot of the world. Aqaba will become even closer as
buildings and structures will appear between the Dead Sea and Aqaba and the
economic activity will see a population shift to the Jordan Valley, where
Jordanians won’t have to worry about heating their homes with expensive fuel in
the winter.

Thousands of skilled and semi-skilled jobs will be created. Billions of dollars
of investment will accompany the canal in order to benefit from the
opportunities it generates. The canal itself will be a tourist attraction and
economic activity will grow into truly sustainable economic growth and
development.

The cost of the project is not forbidding. It would be much easier for officials
to ask for aid and grants to finance this project than had been the case when
asking for finance for less sustainable and economically feasible projects.
Besides, investors could pick up the tab for the capital outlays through a BOO
(build, own, operate), BOT (build, operate, transfer), BOOT (build, own,
operate, transfer), or any other financing scheme.

The sad fact remains that this project had been thought of in Jordan more than
30 years ago; but since there was no peace treaty between Jordan and Israel at
the time, it was considered an embarrassing taboo. Jordan presented this
project among its mega-investment projects at the MENA Economic Conference held
in Amman in 1995. It remains there, in the literature. The cost of the study,
estimated then as now at $15 million, is paltry relative to the losses
associated with losing the Dead Sea every year. The simplest cost/benefit
analysis will show the economic feasibility and the high economic return to
Jordan and its neighbours from such a project.

Jordan should continue the drive to build the canal, reviving the Dead Sea
before it is too late.

Questions and comments can be directed at: ymansur@enconsult.com
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/opinion/opinion4.htm

Posted by MEEF at 07:24 AM | Permalink

FOEME

JORDANIAN, ISRAELI MAYORS SIGN ON MOU TO ADVANCE CROSS BORDER PARK AT THE ROTENBURG / NAHARAYIM / GESHER SITE

January 11, 2007
Yesterday, at the initiation of Friends of the Earth Middle East, an historic
Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Mayors from Israel and Jordan,
recognizing the value and importance of rehabilitating the Jordan River and
identifying the potential of advancing peace through creating a cross border
park, based on ecological values and cultural heritage.

Signing on the agreement were Eng. Abdullah Salman, Mayor of Mu’az Bin Jabal
municipality in Jordan, and Israeli Mayors of the Jordan Valley Regional
Council, Mr. Yossi Vardi and Beit She’an Valley Regional Council, Mr. Dani
Tamari.

According to Gidon Bromberg, Israeli Director of Friends of the Earth Middle
East, signing of the agreement - despite ongoing political tensions – “is a
result of recognition from both sides that it is not possible today to live on
agriculture alone; new possibilities need to be developed.” He adds that “the
suggested park will offer another source of income for the residents as well as
advancing the rehabilitation of the Jordan River”.

The mayors declared that their intention is to create a cross border park bird
sanctuary, eco-lodges and a visitor’s center, in the area of Bakoora /
Naharayim / Gesher, using the infrastructure still intact at the old Rotenberg
site. Other developments include cultural heritage sites at the Roman and
Ottoman bridges at Gesher, the Mamluk Khan and the old customs house at the
Gesher site.

Jordanian Director of Friends of the Earth Middle East, Mr. Munqeth Mehyar,
declared that “the signing of the agreement will push the Israeli and Jordanian
governments to live up to the 1994 Peace Treaty between the 2 countries,
promising to rehabilitate the Lower Jordan River”.

To date, the Lower Jordan River is severely polluted and has literally been
turned into a sewage canal, creating a serious hazard for the ecosystem.

Mayors and citizens of the area are determined to reverse this situation and
return the area to its once thriving state.

For more information, please contact Mira Edelstein, 054-6392937, or
mira@foeme.org

This activity is part of the “Good Water Neighbors” project, supported by the
European Union, the British Government and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman
Foundation.
http://www.foeme.org/press.php?ind=42

Posted by MEEF at 07:21 AM | Permalink