MIDEASTENVIRONET - The Middle East Environmental Network: February 2007 Archives

An Environmental Stand

Asharq Alawsat

18 February 2007

Hussein Shobokshi

More than a year has passed since my last meeting with the former Vice President of America, Al Gore, in Jeddah, which he visited as part of the economic forum. My meeting with him was long and he explained to me his new priorities away from the political world and far from his famous defeat in the race for presidency against George Bush in 2000.

It was clear to me that one of his priorities was to form a new visual media that would be equivalent to blogs in the form of Current TV, which would be prepared and edited by viewers; however, the most important issue to him was the environment and the challenge of protecting it from those who abuse it.
Al Gore was completely different to the “robotic” man that I had met in 1995 in the East Wing of the White House that was designated for a meeting with a delegation of Arab businessmen. The man had a cause that filled him with enthusiasm. Not even a few months passed when he released his astounding docufilm, “An Inconvenient Truth”, in which he features and explains the disturbing situations of the environment and the dangers facing planet Earth. The film enjoyed extraordinary success and the accompanying book of the same name was also a bestseller. Al Gore became the most prominent supporter of the environment and was joined by other influential activists such as the American actor, Leonardo DiCaprio and the British businessman, Richard Branson who gave their moral and financial support to the cause.
The environment is an elective issue in the Middle East, approached only by intellects and academics in a basic way; however the fact is that the consequences of neglecting environmental issues will affect every single person without exception.
There is no stronger or more apparent evidence of environmental issues than the excessive levels of pollution in the form of dark clouds that hang over Cairo and the dumping of excrement and remains of animals in the River Nile. Even the Paris of the East, namely Beirut, suffers from the tragedies of pollution as the machines march on to destroy Lebanon’s pine trees, stealing one of the country’s most important features and affecting its ability to breathe. Moreover, there is toxic waste buried in Sudan, the damage of which is yet to be revealed as well as the cost of such damage. The Jeddah disaster cannot be overlooked; the city that has no sewage system, the cause of which remains at large and unpunished.
The volume of fatalities, diseases, theft, administrative malpractice and financial corruption will remain a “dirty” secret that the Arab world will not be able to deal with unless there is a serious and real confrontation, without the courtesies, to look at the reasons behind the deterioration of the environment that is taking place today and which remains without a solution, regulations or punishment. Today, the environment has become one of the most important tools to measure the development of countries and one of the causes behind improving the quality of life in the same way as education, health and the judiciary. If it is not dealt with in this manner, the ultimate cost will be very high, which future generations will not be able to bear. The Arab region has always been the center of wars and conflicts; could it be the place where an environmental initiative for the world is launched to show the world that its people are truly concerned about the population of the earth and its preservation, just as they were commanded to be?

http://www.asharqalawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=8035

Posted by MEEF at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Quarries do damage you can see - and some you can't

The Daily Star

February 26, 2007

State inaction allows industry to imperil water resources and depress property values
By Hani M. Bathish
Special to The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Some of Lebanon's most picturesque areas bear the unsightly scars of quarrying, a frequent visual reminder of what can happen when the state consistently fails to regulate an industry whose work has so much potential for far-reaching side-effects. But the damage is more than skin-deep: The quarry industry's de facto freedom to act as it sees fit also contributes to a variety of economic, environmental and public-health problems whose impacts are no less damaging for their lower visibility.

In other words, as ugly as the gaping holes that pockmark certain sections of Lebanon's varied topography are, they also constitute telltale signs of even more serious damage that often goes unseen. Experts and environmental activists warn that some of the country's most important groundwater reservoirs - including those that serve the largest urban areas - are being fouled by unchecked quarrying.

In Mount Lebanon, for instance, the water authority has blamed persistent supply shortages this winter on the difficulties associated with water that is too muddy to be efficiently pumped. Historically, heavy rains have often been to blame, but observers believe this year has seen an increase in the problem that cannot be explained so easily. And environmentalists have no doubt that quarrying activities have played a role.

In an interview with The Daily Star, Habib Maalouf, head of the Lebanese Environmental Party, cited the example of one active quarry in the Metn's Abou Mizan area that he believes is affecting water supplies to Beirut and many surrounding communities. According to him, rainwater runoff carries mud and silt from the quarry into the Jeitta reservoir, clogging its contents and diminishing the amount of water that can be delivered to the capital and Mount Lebanon.

One culprit is the profit motive, since cheaper methods of quarrying tend to pose greater pollution threats and to contaminate or deplete water reservoirs more rapidly.

Mounir Bou Ghanem of the Association for Forest Development and Conservation said the use of explosives to excavate rock, especially in tandem with a practice known "horizontal mining," adversely affected the water table.

"Vertical mining, which consists of taking small chunks from the top of the mountain at a given time, is permitted but it's more expensive, so most quarries use the less expensive horizontal mining method," Bou Ghanem told The Daily Star.

When the horizontal technique is employed, he explained, cracks in the rock strata allow water trapped relatively close to the surface to seep down into lower levels, where it is lost forever.

Bou Ghanem said that sand quarries, which often compete for space with Lebanon's famous pine forests, also contribute to soil erosion. When a vegetated area's protective layer of plants and trees is removed to make way for a quarry, the topsoil is no longer anchored in place by roots and is easily scoured away by rainwater. Apart from the aforementioned difficulties this causes by clogging reservoirs and taxing pumping equipment, the removal of this nutrient-rich earth means that few plants will grow unless and until fertile soil is somehow restored to a denuded area.

Although wooded regions are afforded some degree of protection under the law, many quarry owners find ways to circumvent the regulatory system.

"In one location a landowner who wanted to set up a sand quarry just kept cutting down trees and paying the fines willingly," said Bou Ghanem, "until there were no more trees left on the land and he managed to open his quarry."

According to a study conducted in August 2003 by Marwan Owaygen, a former professor at Balamand University, the quarrying sector also has a measurable impact on property values.

The study found that 710 active quarries were operating in Lebanon - and that many had been established without consideration for their impact on the environment and surrounding areas of human habitation. Owaygen found that the largest concentration of active quarries was located in the governorate of Mount Lebanon, which in 2003 was home to some 367 quarries, compared to 154 in the North, 138 in the Bekaa Valley, 32 in the South and 19 in Nabatiyeh. Mount Lebanon also had the highest density of quarries per square kilometer.

The study, which was designed to assess the costs of environmental degradation, measured the impact of quarries on prices for both developed and undeveloped land. The research focused on five selected regions in Mount Lebanon where quarries were active and found that decreases in real-estate prices in the surrounding areas ranged from 19 to 71 percent for land, and from 16 to 45 percent for apartments overlooking quarries. The study concluded that the impact of quarries on property values was especially pronounced in regions located close to urban coastal zones between Jounieh and Beirut as well as in mountainous regions well known as popular sites for summer residences.

Despite the fact that a considerable body of knowledge exists about the negative repercussions of quarrying for everything from environmental damage to a dampening effect on investment, little has been done to regulate the industry. Maalouf described the situation in the sector as a chaotic one resulting from decades of inadequate regulation and supervision. During the Ottoman period and the subsequent French Mandate era, he said, governing institutions in Lebanon included a Directorate of Mines and Quarries. The French Mandate even saw legislation limiting the harm that could be inflicted by rock quarrying.

"Not since 1934, however, when a law was introduced to regulate quarries, has there been any new law to regulate this sector," Maalouf told The Daily Star, "nor has the old one been updated."

To make matters worse, he said, the years following the 1975-1990 Civil War saw a sharp increase in demand for the output of the country's quarries as rebuilding efforts led to a construction boom. Coupled with advancements in excavation technologies, this both accelerated the pace of environmental degradation caused by quarrying and broadened its scope. And while the 1934 law set guidelines on how quarrying work was to be conducted, he said, those rules are no longer followed.

"The law stipulated that quarries are to be cut in the sides of mountains in terraces in order to maintain the integrity of the mountain. Once work on one part of the terraced quarry was complete, it was to be replanted," he explained.

A fundamental error, he said, was that "quarries were taxed by the square meter [the surface area which they excavated], not by the cubic meter of gravel and rock removed." Maalouf said this provided quarry operators an incentive to dig deep into the sides of mountains, effectively hollowing out entire sections.

Neither terracing nor replanting is enforced today, Maalouf added, as any casual observer can see when driving past an operating quarry - or an inactive one that has never been restored. In the absence of updates to the regulatory environment, the highly profitable sector has grown over time.

The picture was further clouded during the period of Syrian "tutelage" that ended in 2005 after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

"Most parties allied to Syria, if not all of them, either directly or indirectly owned quarries," Maalouf said. "Thus for most of the past 15 years, no one had any interest in organizing the sector."

Syrian officials, he told The Daily Star, rewarded friendly Lebanese political figures by allowing them and their associates to open quarries. "These political allies would in turn pay their patrons with gifts or a share of the profits," Maalouf said.

Former Interior Minister Michel Murr, a staunch ally of Syria who was richly rewarded for his loyalty, is widely reputed to have extensive interests in rock quarries in Mount Lebanon's Metn district. Critics accused him of using his ministry's status as the issuer of quarrying licenses to restrict the activities of competitors.

As the post-Civil War construction boom peaked in the 1990s and quarries routinely eschewed practices like terracing and replanting, many also ignored laws requiring them to inform the government of the discovery of new groundwater resources. The result was additional damage and the loss of several freshwater springs that might have helped alleviate current and/or future shortages.

Observers acknowledge that there are no easy solutions. An outright ban on quarrying, for example, would bring Lebanon's construction industry to a grinding halt unless alternative sources of rock and gravel were secured beforehand - and the cost of importing such materials would make everything from roads and bridges to homes and schools more expensive. Nonetheless, environmentalists are determined to convince the government to take action. They argue that a combination of tougher regulations, consistent enforcement, and intelligently structured taxes could improve the situation before even more of the country's picturesque mountains and crucial water reserves are sacrificed for private gain.

One of the obstacles to the drafting and implementation of new laws governing quarries is the fact that the sector makes so much money for so many people. Quarrying for rock, gravel and sand to satisfy the insatiable appetite of the construction industry is a very lucrative business that generates astronomical profits. This has allowed the entrenchment of political patronage and protection that are not easily overcome. Maalouf said windfalls have been realized through political manipulation of the sector: Closing quarries and then reopening them artificially inflates prices, creating huge profit margins for some operators.

Maalouf said anytime a new quarry is opened there is environmental damage, but added that such damage could be limited by restricting quarries to certain areas, such as the Anti-Lebanon Mountain Range in the eastern part of the country, on land owned by the state. He also recommended "confining quarries to non-wooded areas, away from residential centers, and building special roads leading to the quarries for trucks to transport the material where it is needed." He said the reintroduction of the railway would be ideal for the sector and protect roads from further wear and tear caused by the traffic of heavy trucks.

But Bou Ghanem said such a solution was fraught with obstacles to fair implementation, especially since the vast majority of quarried rock and sand is destined for construction sites in Beirut and other coastal areas. "If one quarry is in Dahr al-Baidar [in the Lebanon Range overlooking the capital] and another is in Irsal [near the Syrian border]," he pointed out, "the one in Dahr al-Baidar will have a competitive edge."

As for a blanket ban on quarries outside the Anti-Lebanon Range (assuming it could be comprehensively enforced), Bou Ghanem said that no feasibility study had been conducted.

Another policy area in which Maalouf sees room for improvement is taxation. If the government slapped appropriate levies on the industry, he said, quarries could at least partly compensate for the damage they cause by generating considerable income for the Treasury. He estimates that because the sector is not taxed per cubic meter of rock or sand excavated, public coffers have been denied about $3 billion in potential revenues over the past 15 years.

Given the exorbitant profits earned by the industry he asked, "why should the money go only into private hands?"

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=1&article_ID=79846&categ_id=25#

Posted by MEEF at 07:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chouf residents protest waste shipments from Beirut

The Daily Star

February 24, 2007

By Maher Zeineddine
Daily Star correspondent

CHOUF: Chouf residents and officials staged a rally on Friday to protest waste shipments to the region from Beirut, vowing not to accommodate the unwanted garbage and to escalate their campaign until the transfers stop. "We refuse to see our region transformed into a waste dump," said Ktar Matta Mayor Mohammad Najib Hassan at a rally in Sibline, where garbage from the Normandy landfill in Beirut is being dumped.

Hassan called on officials and humanitarian institutions to find another solution for the overflow of garbage than the dumping of the excess on a politically "weak place."

"Truckloads of garbage are still being transported to Sibline despite the Chouf municipalities' objection," he told a crowd that included the mayors of Barja and Baasir.

Hassan said that politicians were responsible for transporting "such scraps to Iqlim al-Kharroub" but that the protest was not specifically addressed to one leader.

"This issue should not be politicized ... it should preserve its environmental aspect,"

he said.

Barja Mayor Salam Saad foresaw a deterioration in the situation if no action is taken. "Today's move is a sample of a bigger one if garbage continues to be deposited in our region," he said. "We urge all truck drivers who are thinking of transporting garbage to our region to shoulder responsibility.

"This is not a threat ... but the street is disciplined today; it might not be tomorrow."

At one point protesters tried to shut the main road to town, but the Lebanese Army prevented them from doing so. The army and Internal Security Forces also broke up a minor clash between two groups of youths.

The Lebanese Environmental Party issued a statement on Friday in support of Iqlim al-Kharroub residents.

"Dumping garbage randomly will create social and environmental problems in the future," the party said. "Transporting garbage from one region to another contributes to polluting air, soil and groundwater."

The party slammed the Environment Ministry for not finding solutions to the waste issue.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=1&article_ID=79840&categ_id=1#

Posted by MEEF at 07:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Only the pollution was not privatized

Haaretz

February 26, 2007

By Zafrir Rinat

The government of Israel lined its pockets with plenty of cash last week through the privatization of the Haifa-based Oil Refineries and also ensured handsome revenues for the new controlling shareholders. The calculation of monetary profit has already been made, but another calculation - environmental and health - remains unresolved.

According to environmentalists in the Haifa region, led by the Haifa District Municipal Association for the Environment (HDMAE), Oil Refineries is today the number one polluter in Haifa Bay. The company lags far behind similar facilities in Europe in treating pollutants.

The scope of health ramifications from the pollution generated by Oil Refineries is not known, but it is quite clear that it does not add years to the lives of local residents. Oil Refineries should be required to significantly reduce the pollution - by about 70 percent, according to the association.

The government did not define stringent environmental demands of Oil Refineries as part of the privatization process and made do with conditions which it set itself last year. It thus ignored the need to provide the residents of Haifa with the environmental protection they deserve.

If HDAME's assessments are accurate, Oil Refineries emits large quantities of pollutants into the air, which harm the respiratory system and are liable to increase the prevalence of heart disease. The treatment of this pollution, according to the association's demands, will cost tens of millions of dollars. This is the scope of funding (and sometimes even more) that is demanded of large factories throughout the world, and also in Israel today from facilities like those at Ramat Hovev.

After the region's exposure for many years to industrial pollutants that severely harmed air quality and irrevocably destroyed the Kishon River, the residents of Haifa Bay deserve affirmative action in environmental legislation and regulation. In addition to setting more stringent environmental demands for factories and plants that produce energy and oil products, this affirmative action would mean accelerating the process of linking this region to a natural gas pipeline (which would reduce the emission of pollutants) and maximal and rapid rehabilitation of the Kishon. Besides an investment of money, this would also entail the completion of planning measures to ensure the establishment of natural gas infrastructure and the river's rehabilitation.

Another improvement the residents of the bay deserve is treatment of hazards from the past, which stand like monuments to perpetuate the pollution. In the bay area, there are today two such sites awaiting treatment and continuing to threaten their surroundings. One of them is the abandoned site of Electrochemical Industries south of Acre, where there are still large quantities of hazardous materials.

The second site comprises large piles of refuse from the steel facility near Acre that operated for decades before being dismantled six years ago due to economic difficulties. It is estimated that there are thousands of tons of waste at this site, with huge amounts of hazardous materials including toxic metals like lead and cadmium. The piles of waste emit dust into the environment that contains toxic material, and dangerous materials also seep into the ground and pollute the ground water.

The government already decided five years ago that it would provide a grant of NIS 21 million for evacuating and cleaning the mountain of waste. But this decision has never been implemented. Several environmental associations, led by the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, petitioned the High Court of Justice last week to require the state to fulfill its commitments. They argued that all of the bureaucratic hurdles that delayed the treatment of the hazard have already been removed but, nonetheless, not a single gram of waste has been evacuated, and the budgets required for the evacuation have not been transferred.

The fact that these associations are forced to petition the High Court to achieve progress in treating a dangerous hazard is a sad reminder of the fact that in Israel the government demonstrates efficiency and readiness to act in cases involving the privatization of profit-generating assets. But when it comes to fulfilling its promises to prevent the exposure of residents to health hazards, it takes its time and is in no hurry to get anywhere.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/829725.html

Posted by MEEF at 07:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Green agencies oppose construction for Gaza evacuees

Haaretz

February 27, 2007

By Mijal Grinberg and Tzafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondents

Representatives of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Society for the Preservation of Nature said Tuesday they would battle against plans to establish new communities in the northern Negev for families evacuated from the Gaza Strip.

The representatives, touring the Lachish region, said that the government is promoting legislation that would override current planning procedures that protect the area's unique ecosystem.

The state has plans for establishing five new communities in the Lachish region. Two of the communities, Mirsham and Haruv, are at the advanced planning stages; two other communities - Arkovit and Egoz - are at the initial stages of planning; the fifth community, Givat Hazan, is still in preliminary discussions.

In addition, three existing communities in the region were significantly expanded to absorb evacuee families - Lachish, Amatziya and Shekef.

The Nature and Parks Authority, which reports to the Ministry for the Environment, is battling against the government's plans arguing it would cause significant environmental damage to the Lachish ecosystem. The environmental bodies promote an expansion of existing communities rather than the establishment of new ones in order to meet housing needs.

"The area accommodates Mediterranean and desert climates. This combination of climates generates unique features of flora and fauna," said Yariv Malki, an ecologist at the Nature and Parks authority.

The government's bid to build the new communities clashes with a decision issued 10 years ago by the national planning and construction board.

Under this decision, the Lachish area is a designated biosphere that will not include any new communities and will enjoy strict monitoring of the expansion of existing ones, in order to protect the regions unique ecosystem and landscape.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/831245.html

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Legitimization of land theft

Haaretz

Updated March 1, 2007

By Haaretz Editorial

The theft of private land and lawless construction, with the authorities' collaboration, have long been routine in the land of the settlers. The scope of these deeds and their seriousness are described extensively in the report on illegal outposts compiled by Talia Sasson, formerly a senior state prosecution attorney. The report was buried almost two years ago.

However, the decision of the Supreme Planning Council (SPC) for Judea and Samaria, which was revealed in Haaretz on Sunday, to legitimize the plan to build the Matityahu East neighborhood in Modi'in Ilit, beyond the Green Line, marks a nadir.

The plan is to legitimize 42 high-rises, which are in various stages of construction, some of them on land allegedly stolen from the villagers of Bil'in. All of the high-rises being built contravene the planning and construction laws. Peace Now and Bil'in's residents petitioned the High Court of Justice two years ago to have construction stopped. The legal counsel of Modi'in Ilit warned in writing of "construction offenses of such colossal proportions, ignoring the law and planning regulations, that words cannot describe [them]."

Following the petition, with the support of the State Prosecution, the High Court ordered a halt to construction and to the neighborhood's occupancy more than a year ago. At that time the prosecution instructed the police to open an investigation into those involved in the affair.

The authorities responsible for enforcing the region's planning and building laws knew what was going on and turned a blind eye. Instead, they recently decided to legitimize it retroactively.

Matityahu East is the latest in a series of such affairs in which the separation barrier, supposedly serving Israel's security needs, is used to annex West Bank territory to expand the settlements. The defense minister is dragging his feet on everything concerning the evacuation of illegal outposts. At the same time, bodies he is responsible for - led by the civil administration - are colluding in land grabbing and legitimizing illegal construction throughout the West Bank.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz is not fulfilling his duty by publicly denouncing the anarchy in the territories in everything concerning law enforcement. He must demand that the defense minister halt the implementation of the SPC's plan until the inquiry into suspicions of land theft is completed.

The scope of the offenses and the advanced stages of building and selling of apartments most not provide shelter for scofflaws. Peace Now is to be commended for its legal aid to Bil'in residents - as are the Israeli and international peace activists who come every week to demonstrate against the fence being built there.

The High Court did not hesitate to halt the construction in Matityahu East until the planning procedures and inquiry into the ownership issue could be completed. If the government does not quash the planning council's decision to allow construction to continue, the High Court will have no choice but to respond to the recent petition. It will have to abrogate that decision, to protect both the rule of law and the rights of those victimized by its breach.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/830963.html

Posted by MEEF at 07:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Peace Now: W. Bank settlements annexed nature reserve land

Haaretz

February 22, 2007

By Zafrir Rinat

A new report released yesterday by Peace Now says that several West Bank settlements have annexed land from nature reserves for construction purposes.

The group's claim is based on a comparison of aerial photographs of settlements and outposts and nature reserve maps.

The report, which refers to settlements in the northern West Bank, states that the phenomenon is widespread and is one of the main reasons the settlements in that area are popular.

The settlers have rejected the findings and accused Peace Now of spreading "false rumors."

The analysis indicates that the territory claimed by 21 settlements and 10 outposts includes land belonging to nature reserves or national parks. According to the report, the settlements have claimed a total of 1,900 dunam in land in this manner.

In some cases, structures were built and roads were paved on reserve and park lands. In other cases, settlements only annexed small plots of land and left them as open areas.

In extreme cases, dozens of structures were built. In the settlement Karnei Shomron, for example, 73 permanent structures were established within the confines of the Kaneh stream reserve. The settlements of Beit Arieh and Negohot also saw the construction of over 20 new structures.

According to Peace Now's data, the land of four outposts falls completely within the confines of nature reserves. The most significant of these is the outpost Alonei Shiloh, which comprises 44 structures.

"Those responsible for planning decided that reserve land should be annexed to the settlements, and the motivation was not only preserving nature - it was political," said Dror Etkes, Peace Now's settlement monitoring coordinator. "When the need to preserve nature stood in opposition to the need to expand construction in the settlement, the settlement's needs triumphed."

Peace Now submitted the list of settlements and outposts that infringe on nature reserves to the attention of the Civil Administration.

The Civil Administration stated in response that "the gradual reduction of nature reserve lands neighboring residential areas is a phenomenon that exists in Israel, and in the West Bank, among the entire population, be it Palestinian or Jewish. The Civil Administration combats these phenomena both through preserving the nature reserves and through enforcement activities against illegal construction and land incursions."

The Karnei Shomron council responded that the community's overall plan had been coordinated with all authorities and did not include a single dunam of nature reserve land.

Etkes stressed that all of his information was based on aerial photos and official Nature and Parks Authority data. He said a document on West Bank settlement, issued by the Jewish Agency about a decade ago, states that nature reserve lands would be annexed to settlements.

In several cases, Etkes's claims were confirmed by a Nature and Parks Authority response to a Haaretz inquiry on outposts two year ago. The authority at the time confirmed that several outposts, including those regarded as neighborhoods by the Karnei Shomron council, are located within nature reserves.

In at least one instance, the settlers themselves admit to permanently residing in a nature reserve. A Web site commissioned by settlers describes the Scali Ranch outpost near Nablus as "built within the reserve in order to protect its wild animals from Arab hunters."

The site further states that "the law does not allow residence in nature reserves, but Scali Ranch has received special ornithologist status and can thus reside within the reserves with some limitations."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/830946.html

Posted by MEEF at 07:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

King reiterates importance of land use plan

Jordan Times

February 22, 2007

AMMAN (Petra) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday reiterated the importance of the land use plan, part of the Amman Master Plan prepared by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM).

In a letter to Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, the Monarch stressed that the
plan was a major step to prepare a comprehensive and integral strategy to
regulate land use and to plan for future related services and development projects.

“We view the land use plan as a guide to determine the line of development
projects and regulate populated areas in all the Kingdom’s governorates and
cities,” the King told the prime minister in yesterday’s letter.

The Monarch emphasised the importance of the plan in directing investments
and preserving and promoting agricultural and natural resources.

He said the plan should conform to the country’s vision to provide the
necessary infrastructure to sustain the development process, draw and activate
investments, preserve the country’s resources and transform Jordanian cities
into models of modern design, planning and architecture.

The King’s directives were based on the results of the first stage of the
plan, which was announced earlier this week, and within the framework of the
government’s efforts to implement the second stage of the plan.

As the Kingdom includes several development areas that house tourist and
natural attractions, the King highlighted the need to arrive at clear regulations
and criteria on the use of land in areas such as Jerash, Ajloun, Umm Qais, Dana
and Wadi Rum.

The Monarch also reiterated the need to arrive at a clear mechanism to
regulate the development process in a manner that safeguards forests and other
natural resources and preserves the aesthetic value of these areas.

In addition, the King said these regulations and criteria should be included
in the policies and legislation that govern and regulate investments, while the
Ministry of the Environment will be entrusted with implementing these pieces
of legislation, in cooperation with the concerned institutions.

King Abdullah called for joint and integrated efforts to arrive at an
overall perspective on these regulations within two months starting now.

The Amman Master Plan is a response to the tremendous growth the capital has
witnessed over the past several years. The population increase, coupled with
limited infrastructure and planning has led to haphazard expansion,
according to the GAM website.

Posted by MEEF at 07:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

IDF begins mobilizing on 'training camp' town in Negev

Haaretz

February 20, 2007

By Tzafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent

The Israel Defense Forces has begun planning a town in the Negev that will accommodate several army training camps currently located in the center of Israel, Haaretz has learned.

The town will be erected in the northern Negev, some ten kilometers south of the Ramat Hovav industrial zone. IDF planners received the go-ahead after the Ministry of the Environment and Ramat Hovav factories reached a settlement agreement on the treatment of environmental hazards, which delayed the army's final decision on whether to build the town.

The IDF has decided to begin operational planning before receiving the final approval from the government, however, which is expected to discuss the project only in two months' time.

One of the stated objectives of the project, set to be completed within four years, is to ensure the hold of state lands by preventing the establishment of unlicensed Bedouin communities.

The large army base would also create jobs for professional army workers and generate greater economic activity in the region, thanks to the services it would rely on from nearby communities.

Training camp town would be home for seven camps currently located in central Israel, stretching over an area of 1,600 dunam, and accommodating over 10,000 soldiers. A train station would also be built near the town.

Chief architect of the construction department at the Ground Forces High Command, Hila Ro'imee, says "the city will be planned according to principles of 'green' construction, efficient energy consumption and suitability to climate conditions." Climate experts have begun taking measurements to ensure that constructions built at the site would not be exposed to dusty winds.

According to Ro'imee, a master plan has been completed recently by architect Rafi Lehrman, who has also been commissioned to draw the project's final and detailed plan.

The deadlock between the Ministry of the Environment and Ramat Hovav factories formed around concerns about soldiers' health in light of the proximity of the planned town to the industrial zone. The Health Ministry has warned that the pollution generated by the industrial zone and sewage pools pose a serious health hazard.

The IDF opted to rely in its decision to build the town on the agreement reached between the Ministry of the Environment and factory representatives within a mediation procedure. Under the agreement, the factories will observe stricter sewage treatment procedures and will act to reduce air pollution in exchange for a renewal of their business licenses.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/828151.html

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Palestinian Authority proposes building new city in West Bank

Haaretz

February 14, 2007

By Avi Issacharoff and Aluf Benn

A group of Palestinian entrepreneurs yesterday presented plans to create a new Palestinian city in the West Bank, located between Ramallah and Nablus.

The group, headed by businessman Abd al-Malik Jabbar, presented its plan to Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. officials during an economic conference at the home of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones.

According to sources who were at the Herzliya event, the idea was received with enthusiasm by the attendees, including Defense Minister Amir Peretz. The Palestinian Authority has already allocated land for the new city.

The Israelis attending the conference also included Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh and senior ministry officials Amos Gilad, Haggai Alon, Eitan Dangot, Michael Herzog and Yosef Mishlav.

The Palestinian delegation included the PA's chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, and two senior advisers to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Jones was joined by the U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the PA, Keith Dayton, among others.

According to Palestinian sources, the developers want to build the city in Area A, which is under the PA's full control.

They see the new community as comprising several thousand housing units containing 140 to 200 square meters of floor space apiece. It will be meant mainly for young, middle-class families.

The sources said that in addition to easing the housing crunch for West Bank Palestinians, the project would provide thousands of construction jobs, both for the homes and for the small businesses the city expects to support.

Jabbar's plan calls for subsidizing home prices with the help of funding from U.S. charities and wealthy Arab states.

'Not Israel's business'

Israeli military officials who spoke to Haaretz about the plan said it was first put forward about a year ago. "It's not any of Israel's business if the Palestinians want to build a city on their territory," said one.

However, implementing the plan will require Israeli military cooperation over the supply of raw materials and travel permits for the workers.

According to one Palestinian participant at the conference, "the Israeli response implies that the Defense Ministry won't torpedo the plans."

The conference participants agreed to create an Israeli-Palestinian economic committee that will meet every two weeks to discuss agricultural issues, trade and infrastructure, among other topics.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/825626.html

Posted by MEEF at 06:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Location: A sustainable development

The Jerusalem Post

Feb. 22, 2007

LEAH GRANOF, THE JERUSALEM POST

A single snapshot could capture the entire settlement of Haruv's long row of temporary houses built on a solitary street. But that picture would hardly encapsulate the essence of this community, 20 kilometers east of Kiryat Gat. Located next to the agricultural community of Shekef, Haruv's one street, adorned with playgrounds at each end and dogs cavorting with unabashed freedom, is only a temporary stopover for the community of 35 families awaiting construction of a permanent location atop the green hills two kilometers away.

Settlements have long been ideologically connected to land and Haruv is no exception. What is exceptional, however, is its one-of-a-kind commitment to what ecologists call a "sustainable community." In plain terms, that means a hypothetical walk through the yet unbuilt permanent neighborhoods will showcase an environmentally friendly infrastructure and an agreement with nature to preserve as many of its elements as possible.

According to Elad Topel, an ecologist with the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and one of the founders of Haruv, such an environmentally friendly community will ideally entail number of strategies including electricity generated by solar power, gray water (shower and kitchen water) recycling, the use of thick walls and double window paneling to prevent drastic changes in inside temperature and a water-friendly pavement that filters in rainwater and sifts out harmful liquids like motor oil.

The original idea for a sustainable community was the brainchild of the Or Movement, a grass-roots organization dedicated to settling the country's emptiest areas. The proposal appealed to Topel and, along with two other families, he began to recruit candidates.

What happened next, however, was the evolution of a philosophy that in many ways has taken precedence over Haruv's original goal of building a nature-friendly community. During the original planning discussions, the community members made a decision to create a settlement composed of half religious and half secular residents.

IN A COUNTRY where ideological beliefs are often at the root of lifestyle choices, the 35 families living in the two-year-old community are an unusual mixture of secular and religious Jews making a conscious effort to learn about, befriend, respect and live with one another. Practically speaking, this means educating their children in the same schools and sharing in daily rituals together.

"Every holiday we try to do something that is connected to both streams and every Saturday there is a lot of activity around the se'uda shlishit (the third meal on the Sabbath)," Topel said.

He considers himself secular, but said that both groups take great pains to accommodate one another. He has started keeping glass plates in his house so that his neighbors who observe kashrut can eat there and says he wouldn't dream of bringing non-kosher food to a community barbecue.

Topel readily acknowledges that it might seem that the non-religious members do most of the compromising for their religious neighbors. He emphasized, however, the mutual respect that the two groups show to each other through joint observance of holidays and understanding of each other's lifestyle.

So how do the observant members of the community express their compromise for those less observant? "I won't purposely ride my motorcycle on Shabbat now," Topel said, "but if I chose or needed to ride it, my [religious] neighbors would never tell me not to."

Both the religious and secular members are adamant about the appeal of the educational possibilities for their children as the primary conduit for their philosophy. The community plans to create one school for both religious and secular children.

Yael and Amir Ellenberg came on board during the initial planning stages after finishing their studies at Ben-Gurion University precisely because they valued the beliefs of respect and mutual reciprocity touted by community members.

"It was important for us to be in a place where there were many different kinds of people along the religious scale," said Yael, whose first son was born last year in Haruv.

For Raphael Zerbib, Haruv's way of thinking was attractive because he grew up observant in Efrat and remembers young people who became unreligious and were turned into social pariahs by the community.

"If my kids decide not to be religious, it is okay with me and they will have the support and education for what they want," he said.

According to Topel, in the secular world, "people are afraid that their children will get new ideas from the religious ones. It's really hard to convince people from the outside to bring their kids."

THE COMMUNITY MAY not have to, however. More than 20 babies have been born in Haruv's temporary location in the last two years. Haruv's demographics are almost exclusively well-educated young couples - Topel is the community's only bachelor.

In addition, the professions of its members - lawyers, engineers and hi-tech specialists - put most of them into an economic bracket in which they could easily afford to live elsewhere if not for their ideological commitment to the community.

"You need some courage to do this, and we are choosing to live here," Yael emphasized.

Some families have already left, however, frustrated not by the beliefs of the community, but by bureaucratic hassles. Haruv still doesn't have phone lines, and the residents rely instead upon cellphones and cables for Internet. Outdoor electricity was established only last year and the water has been known to stop running from time to time.

Although the temporary settlement was funded by the Jewish Agency and Jewish National Fund, Haruv's leaders must often deal with the government bureaucracy over the construction of the permanent site.

"Sometimes the government fails to see the connection between us and our new location," Topel said, describing requests from officials to take in 600 people or suggesting that the temporary community stay put and the new location be given to other types of settlements.

Both propositions would undermine what Haruv is trying to achieve, community members agree. Large groups of people would upset the fundamental balance between the secular and religious populations. (Parallel to Haruv's lone street is another single street with evacuees from Gush Katif also awaiting permanent homes. Although the two groups rarely interact, they do share the playgrounds and have not experienced any animosity, according to Haruv's members.)

More importantly, though, Topel hopes through careful planning of its permanent home the community will be able to return to its original ecological roots. "If we had gone there originally, instead of coming here, we would have had to just flatten the hill because of time constraints, and the people would have built houses as they received their permits," he said. With advance planning, the group is working on creating neighborhoods that can eventually accommodate 250 families while adhering to the guidelines of ecological sustainability.

"The synagogue can be removed from the traffic, and the houses will be part of the scenery," Topel said.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894492557&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Posted by MEEF at 06:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Israel to get its first solar plant, at last

Haaretz

February 22, 2007
22.2.07 | 10:31 By Sharon Kedmi

After years of delays and procrastination, a tender for building Israel's first solar-power plant is to be issued this year.

The 250-megawatt plant will be built on 4,000 dunams (1,000 acres) in the Ashalim complex in the Negev.

In 2001, the cabinet decided that by 2007, 2% of the country's energy production - or some 300 megawatts - would come from alternative-energy sources. To date, only 5 megawatts are being generated by such plants.

As part of the electricity reforms, the current cabinet has set an ambitious goal of 10% renewable energy by 2020.

The decision was made by the director general of the National Infrastructures Ministry, Hezi Kugler, the treasury's accountant general, Yaron Zelekha, and the budgets director, Kobi Haber.

The three agreed to establish a an interministerial tenders committee for the "buy, operate and own" (BOO) tender. A private franchisee will be selected to plan, finance, build, operate and maintain the plant.

The first stage of the tender will be published within a few months.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/829210.html

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Solar power station to be established near Jericho

MA'AN

February 2, 2007

تكبير الخط تصغير الخط
Jericho - Ma'an – On Thursday, the training center of the Jerusalem electric company concluded a customer-service training course for their employees for when they conduct technical works or collect money. They were trained to reply positively to citizens' inquiries.

Director of the Ramallah branch, Ali Hammouda, stressed the importance of employees who deal with the public, to be educated and knowledgeable, in order to do their job appropriately.

Prizes and certificates were awarded to 10 distinguished employees.

Finally, the director of the training department announced that a new power station, based on solar power, will be established with Austrian funding next June.

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=19784

Posted by MEEF at 06:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Khalaf: The Environmental Blogger

Arab Environment Monitor

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Blogging has became a highly effective and free expression medium that is spreading all over the Arab world. Amongst thousands of blogs in the Arab World very little focus can be found on environmental issues. One of the best and most informative Jordanian bloggers is "Khalaf" and he has proven to be environmentally aware in many posts. This is a collection of some of Khalaf's best environment related blogs that are based on good research and sound analysis

The Disi Project
http://ajloun.blogspot.com/2005/12/disi-project.html#links

Samra pipe Leak
http://ajloun.blogspot.com/2006/01/ain-ghazal-samra-pipe-leak-glitch-or.html#links

Radiation threats and credibility
http://ajloun.blogspot.com/2006/02/radiation-threats-and-credibility.html#links

The Disi project Again
http://ajloun.blogspot.com/2006/02/disi-project-again.html#links

The Cement Factory and Fuheis
http://ajloun.blogspot.com/2006/06/cement-factory-and-fuheis.html#links

Used Batteries
http://ajloun.blogspot.com/2006/06/used-batteries.html#links

The Ministry of Water and Zarqa River
http://ajloun.blogspot.com/2006/12/ministry-of-water-and-zerqa-river.html#links

The Karameh dam Inquiry
http://ajloun.blogspot.com/2007/01/karamah-dam-inquiry.html#links

On the Dibbin Controversey
http://ajloun.blogspot.com/2007/02/on-dibbin-controversy.html#links

http://www.arabenvironment.net/archive/2007/2/159553.html

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History of Environmental Policies in Jordan

Arab Environment Monitor

February 17, 2007

By: Batir Wardam

Planning and policy formulation in Jordan prior to the 1990s was based on a sector-specific approach with little consideration for environmental concerns. It can be said that environmental planning and policy formulation came to age in 1991 when the National Environmental Strategy (NES) was formulated by a national consultation process led by the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and the Environment with the technical assistance from IUCN and financial assistance from USAID.

The NES was the first environmental strategy in Jordan, and indeed in the Arab world. It has responded in content and recommendations to a large extent to the famous "World Conservation Strategy" of 1980 formulated by IUCN, UNEP and WWF.

Based on the NES Jordan was in a good political and strategic position to sign and then ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 during the Earth Summit. Two years later Jordan signed and then ratified the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Completing most of its international obligations and on the foundations of the NES, Jordan opted to develop a practical environmental action plan in 1995. The National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) was prepared in a national consultation process coordinated by the Ministry of Planning and it included a prioritized action plan based on results.

The NEAP remained to be the environmental guidebook in Jordan, with most of its proposed project either implemented or started to implement. In 2000 Jordan launched its multisectoral National Stratgey for Sustainable Development which was called "National Agenda 21" with technical and financial support from UNDP. The National Agenda 21 involved the participation of numerous organizations and individuals and was the most important participatory and learning-by-doing policy formulation effort in Jordan to date.

Between 1998 and 2006 an array of sectoral policies, strategies and action plans were developed and paved the ground for a solid policy framework. A total of 12 environmental related policies and action plans were developed between 1998 and 2006 covering water, poverty, agriculture, tourism, biodiversity, energy, youth, socio-economic development plan, childhood and desertification.

In 2005 however, Jordan embarked on the most promising and inclusive national planning process by developing the "National Agenda" which is a blueprint for political, economic and social reform and development covering almost all sectors of national development. The Agenda included a specific sector on environmental sustainability. The Agenda is currently considered as the basis of public planning included various performance indicators. The environmental portfolio of the national agenda was developed under the chapter of "Infrastructure development" and contained recommendations and action programmes in biodiversity, desertification, land use, marine ecosystem, waste management and air pollution reduction.

http://www.arabenvironment.net/archive/2007/2/159803.html

Posted by MEEF at 06:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Road to Chelm: Highway 431 to cost double the budget, or NIS 280 million

Haaretz

February 19, 2007

By Sharon Kedmi

The incompetence surrounding the plans to construct a highway connecting Modiin to Rishon Lezion just can't seem to stop. Now it appears that the cost of building the segment of Highway 431 inside the city of Modiin will be double the original budget, or around NIS 280 million, instead of NIS 147 million.

.

Construction of the segment will end about two years after the intersection
to which it connects is completed, in another coup for the road planners.
Meanwhile, the NIS 100 million intersection will stand there uselessly.

One reason the costs have spiraled so high is Israel Railways works in the
area. Also, the road was budgeted based on 2003 prices, not 2007 prices.

Netivei Hayovel, which belongs jointly to Danya Cebus (TASE: DNYA) and
Africa Israel (TASE: AFIL) , is presently doing the actual construction work on
Highway 431, which as said will connect between Modiin to Rishon Lezion, at
a total cost of NIS 1.7 billion. The works include building a huge
intersection with Highway 1, which connects Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Netivei Hayovel
expects to complete construction towards year-end.

The "urban" section of Highway 431 connects the city of Modiin to Highway
431 and to Highway 1. This section is inside the city limits of Modiin, and it's
the state's responsibility to have it built. But this section will not only
cost double the original budget, its construction won't be done before 2009.

Ergo, the NIS 100 million intersection that Netivei Hayovel is building
won't be able to serve people traveling on Highway 1 from Modiin to Jerusalem, or
travelers from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to Modiin.

The ultimate responsibility for Highway 431 belongs to the Housing,
Transport, and Finance ministries, the city of Modiin, and recently, the Ayalon
Highways corporation, which undertook the responsibility for planning and
construction.

Sources in government commented that no extra budgets will be made available
for the road. "The ministries that forgot to update the figures have to find the
funding from within their own budgets, or the road won't be built," one said

Posted by MEEF at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Green Star of David isn't backed by solid criteria

Haaretz

February 18, 2007

By Ronny Linder-Ganz

The green Star of David stamped on products to indicate that the product is environmentally friendly does not appear to be backed up by any environmental criteria, testing or supervision, an investigation by TheMarker, in conjunction with consumer law expert Dr. Shmuel Becher, has found.

Indeed, it appears that all you have to do to get the sticker, which sports the words "Environmental Protection" in Hebrew and "Guardians of the Environment" in English, is pay a fee.

"This fact does not keep many respected and well-known companies from posting [the sign] on their products with pride, thereby giving their products validity as being 'green' and environmentally friendly, without the matter being looked into at all," said Moti Sela, head of the industry and business licensing department in the Environment Ministry. "Thus, for instance, you can find the symbol on Zuriel soy milk packages, Sano toilet paper and paper towels, Aqua Nova water bottles, and even Yes satellite dishes and that's just a partial list.

"There is nothing behind this non-profit organization," said Sela. "It has no connection with or right to represent the Environment Ministry or the Israel Standards Institute, and it has no authority to grant any kind of symbol or approval that indicates environmental friendliness. The only symbol that is legal and accepted by the State of Israel is the green mark of the Standards Institute."

Fighting the green star

Sela said the Environment Ministry, the Israel Standards Institute and the merchants association have recently decided to fight the green Star of David and that the ministry's legal advisers and the Standards Institute are looking into the matter. He said members of the merchants association will soon receive a letter stating that "the mark is not recognized by any authority."

Becher, who teaches law at the Peres Academic Center in Rehovot, said products are not allowed to bear unapproved signs liable to create the impression that they meet a specific standard. "The findings demonstrate that consumers cannot take everything written on products seriously," he said. "Companies and interest groups apparently make cynical and manipulative use of the natural confidence consumers place in symbols and inspection or supervisory groups considered to be objective."

The group behind the green Star of David stamp is a non-profit organization called Efronim ("Larks") Guardians of the Environment. It is involved in bird-watching and environmental issues as well as commercial activity, including marketing the green Star of David to companies. For NIS 2,000, companies can purchase the right to use the symbol for two years, starting on the date they sign an agreement. The benefit the companies derive is spelled out: "Receiving the 'green Star of David' allows your company to be among the select ones that use the symbol... to promote the image of your business and your company." So far, more than 200 companies have signed up for the symbol, according to Efronim publicity materials.

Efronim's marketing brochure even states that the association commits to establishing a public council comprised of a wide range of public figures, which will appoint a professional committee to set criteria for use of the green Star of David symbol. The brochure lists 10 such criteria, and states that an inspection committee will be established to allow for complaints against companies that use the symbol but damage the environment. However, TheMarker's investigation has shown that none of these statements appears to have been put into practice.

"This misleads the public, which sees the symbol and feels it can rely on such a statement," said Dr. Nitzan Eyal, environment coordinator for the Israel Standards Institute. "When they write 'Environmental Protection' beneath the symbol and link it to protection in connection with bird-watching activity, that is very improper."

A product itself

Eyal said the green Star of David symbol was a product in its own right.

"Essentially, this symbol is a product that is sold to whoever is prepared to pay," he said. "I do not know of any tests carried out on behalf of the group on the organizations or products that receive the symbol. Actually, a manager of a company that had received an offer to join the green Star of David came to me ? his company is the blackest of black from the environmental perspective and only because he is an honest man, he refused."

The Efronim association clearly could not have grown without the cooperation of the factories and companies it had dealings with. We contacted the customer service numbers of some of the companies whose products we found on store shelves, bearing the green Star of David, and asked about its significance; but the customer service employees said they had no idea. In some cases, company representatives called back and said the symbol indicates that the manufacturing process was environmentally friendly.?

We contacted the companies Sano, Tempo (Aqua Nova), Yes, Zuriel Dairy Farm, Iscar and Egged and asked them whether they had undergone any tests to receive the green Star of David symbol, what those tests were, how much they paid for use of the symbol and if they are still being supervised.

Sano and Zuriel chose not to respond, and two other companies did not directly answer the questions. Yes said, "No payment was required for the symbol, and the Yes [satellite] dishes are dishes that only absorb with radiation equal to that of a dish of soup."

Tempo (Aqua Nova) said, "We are proud to display the environmental protection [symbol] on our bottle labels, due to the fact that we use the state's central drinking water reservoir, while other water brands use and damage natural treasures to produce the product. The second reason is the fact that we are the only company among the bottled water brands to use a clear bottle and not a blue one [with the blue ones being more difficult to use after recycling]."

We received only a partial response to our questions from Efronim, which said that companies did not pay for the green Star of David symbol, but rather donated money to the organization.

"The green Star of David symbol is comparable to the green mark of the Standards Institute," Efronim said in a statement. The association said that all the companies receiving the symbol must have a valid business license and must comply with the ISO 14000 international environmental management standards.

The association said that when the Efronim founder was still alive, "He would check every business on his own before giving it the symbol." However, the founder and guiding spirit of the group, Danny Montag, died some 18 months ago, and it is now headed by his widow, Aviva Montag, and another member of the organization, Ami Shidlovitzky. Haim Lahat is in charge of marketing for the group.

"We are a non-profit organization run in accordance with the law," Efronim said. "Every agora goes toward the environment. We give the symbol to those who contribute to the organization. The companies don't pay us, but donate to us, and not a single shekel goes into the pocket of anyone in the association. Everyone here is a volunteer. This is not a Standards Institute symbol. All in all, it shows that the factory supports the environment."

Efronim said it had received a certificate and symbol from the Environment Ministry for the association's bird-watching activity, but that it was not using that symbol for the green Star of David project. The association said individual companies, not Efronim, were responsible for any deception of the public, saying, "If someone is misleading the consumer, it is the company that prints the logo when it knows exactly what purpose it got it for."

Efronim also sent TheMarker documents detailing its environmental activity, almost all from the mid-90s.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/827265.html

Posted by MEEF at 05:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Green Star of David isn't backed by solid criteria

Haaretz

February 7, 2007