Jordan Times
By Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment has instructed 16 farms in the Ghor to
relocate to areas removed from residential neighbourhoods after repeated
complaints of foul odours being emitted from their premises, a ministry
official said on Saturday.
Continue reading "16 dairy farms asked to relocate away from residential areas" »
Jordan Times
August 3, 2007
By Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The Cabinet last week approved awarding a tender for the sale of carbon
dioxide generated from the Rihab electricity generating plant in Mafraq to a US
company.
Continue reading "Carbon dioxide sale tender awarded to US firm" »
Jordan Times
Aug. 5, 2007
Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN -- The emergence of 11 diarrhoea cases over the weekend in the Rihab District of Mafraq does not constitute another water pollution crisis in the governorate, a district official said on Saturday.
Continue reading "'Rihab diarrhoea cases do not signal new water crisis' -- district official" »
6 August 2007
MEDIA RELEASE
WORLD BANK TO HOLD FIRST SET OF PUBLIC HEARINGS ON "RED DEAD" CANAL PROJECT
On Sunday, August 12th, the World Bank will hold its first public hearing on the
Terms of Reference of the Feasibility Study for the "Red Dead Conduit" project.
Continue reading "World Bank to hold public hearing on Red Dead Canal" »
Haaretz
By Michael J. Caduto
News from the Middle East usually describes conflicts and their root causes in
politics, religious fundamentalism and the struggle between Israelis and
Palestinians for a homeland. Threats to peace and security are indeed a
backdrop for daily existence, but that is only part of the story.
Jordan Times
July 30, 2007
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN --The Ayla Oasis Development Company is on track with its plans for the
mega-lagoon resort project in Aqaba, with evaluation underway of seven
international contractors who have submitted their tenders for the project.
Jordan Times
July 30, 2007
King urges speedy work on "King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz Al Saud Residential
City" designed to ensure citizens reasonably-priced housing
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN -- King Abdullah on Monday issued instructions to the government to
accelerate efforts to build the King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Residential City In Zarqa.
Continue reading "Zarqa residential city project to start in August" »
Jordan Times
July 30, 2007
King urges speedy work on "King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz Al Saud Residential
City" designed to ensure citizens reasonably-priced housing
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN -- King Abdullah on Monday issued instructions to the government to
accelerate efforts to build the King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Residential City In Zarqa.
Continue reading "Zarqa residential city project to start in August" »
Jordan Times
Jul. 30, 2007
Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN -- The Water Authority on Sunday resumed pumping drinking water from 20 artesian wells to citizens in the northern governorates after lab tests indicated they were free of pollutants, a Water Ministry official said on Sunday.
Continue reading "Water Authority resumes pumping drinking water from 20 artesian wells" »
August 12, 2007
see http://www.foeme.org/events.php?ind=42 for hot links below.
On August 12, 2007, The World Bank has scheduled a public hearing on the issue
of the Terms of Reference for the Feasibility Study of the "Red Dead Canal".
Continue reading "Red Dead Canal / World Bank Public Hearing" »
Jerusalem Post
Jul. 24, 2007
RORY KRESS
Gidon Bromberg, founder and Israel director of Friends of the Earth Middle East, loves his job not just because it allows him to fight for the environment, but because it gives him an opportunity to build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians.
Continue reading "Cross-border efforts focus on greening Wadi Abu Nar" »
Haaretz
July 25, 2007
By Eli Ashkenazi
A tiny wasp that has ravaged eucalyptus groves in the Mediterranean Basin, Africa and the Far East, and which arrived in Israel a few years ago, has proven anew that no organism is eternally dominant. Israeli researchers have found a predator one millimeter in length called Closterocerus, which thwarts the wasp's advance.
Continue reading "Israelis discover bug that saves eucalyptus groves" »
Jordan Times
July 18, 2007
Yusuf Mansur
The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is planning to build a water treatment plant less than two miles from the Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA). In spite of its perfect knowledge of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) plan, the planned and already approved expansion of the airport and the opposition of the Ministry of Environment, the ministry seems adamant. Maybe there should be more communication among the government’s various branches.
Jordan Times
Jul. 17, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The government will introduce new regulations this month to regulate the practice of sandblasting to clean buildings, a government official said on Monday.
Continue reading " Sandblasting harmful to citizens' health, says government" »
Jordan Times
Jul. 18, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment on Tuesday announced plans to establish a treatment plant for medical and hazardous waste in the Zarqa area.
The plan was announced during a workshop to discuss the ministry's 2007-2009 strategic plan.
Continue reading "Gov't to establish waste treatment plant in Zarqa" »
Jordan Times
Jul. 19, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The winning bidder of the $600 million Disi Water Conveyance Project will be announced in two weeks, Ministry of Water and Irrigation sources said on Wednesday.
Continue reading "Gov't to name winning Disi project bidder" »
Jordan Times
July 16, 2007
By BEN WINOGRAD, Associated Press Writer
SHEIK HUSSEIN VILLAGE Jordan
For years, Ibrahim Alayyan watched in frustration as rats ravaged the date crop at his lush family farm.
Having no luck with pesticides, the retired Jordanian heart surgeon was only too eager to try a pest control agent widely used in fields just across the Jordan River in Israel owls.
Arab Environment Monitor
Saturday, July 14, 2007
By: Batir Wardam
With a water per capita share of 160 cubic meters per year, Jordan is among the world's top 10 water scarce countries. The struggle to provide adequate and clean water resources is one of the biggest developmental challenges in Jordan. At the center of the debate about water management is the issue of water pricing and valuation.
Jordan Times
Jul. 12, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Jordan Environment Society (JES) to implement a comprehensive awareness programme aimed at reducing the use of plastics and encouraging the segregation of waste materials.
Continue reading "New strategy warns of dangers plastics pose to environment" »
Jordan Times
June 13, 2007
Feynan Eco-lodge gets commendation as Best Overseas Tourism Project
The lodge at Wadi Feynan sits deep in the mountains of Jordan’s southern Rift Valley (Photo courtesy of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature)
By Linda Hindi
AMMAN — As Jordan advances in the global ecotourism sector, the Feynan Eco-lodge in the Dana Reserve has received an international commendation under the title “Best Overseas Tourism Project”.
Al-Hayat
July 14, 2007
Ibrahim Muhammad
Visiting Amman, Doha, Dubai, Algeria, Damascus and other capitals of the Arab world, the Arab visitor's eye first catches the cities' breathtaking horizontal expansion. The most notable aspect of this development is probably the underdevelopment of the basic infrastructure that should accompany it. Furthermore, in countries such as Egypt, the Syrian coast and northern Africa, this expansion goes on at the expense of fertile agricultural lands that are rare in most Arab countries.
Continue reading "Urban development in the Arab world: disrespectful of elements of life" »
Jordan Times
July 2, 2007
Family planning saves women’s and children’s lives and improves the quality
of life for the family as a whole, according to the Population Reference
Bureau.
It is one of the most effective investments for helping to ensure the health
and well-being of women, children and communities, and is a key component of
quality reproductive health services.
Continue reading "Family planning as part of life planning" »
Jordan Times
July 1, 2007
Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN -- The government has issued instructions to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) to improve the quality of its diesel, which contains a high ratio of lead that is harmful to the environment, Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said on Sunday.
"The Cabinet recently took a decision to commit the JPRC to set a clear and time-specific schedule for improving the quality of its diesel, which contains lead levels that are much higher than international and local standards," Irani told The Jordan Times.
Continue reading "Gov't instructs JPRC to improve diesel quality" »
Jordan Times
Jul. 1, 2007
AMMAN -- Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit on Saturday said the government will pursue efforts to solve environmental problems in Fuheis, mainly caused by the presence of the Jordan Cement Factories Company (JCFC) in the city.
During a meeting yesterday with Vice Chairman of the French La Farge Company Eric Meuriot, the premier voiced hope that La Farge would work out drastic solutions for the environmental problems and stabilise cement prices.
Continue reading "Gov't to pursue efforts to solve environment problems in Fuheis" »
Jordan Times
2 Jul 2007
By Samir Ghawi
Jul. 2--AMMAN -- Technical and economic studies conducted on 20 establishments showed that there is a possibility of conserving 20 per cent of their energy consumption, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Khalid Shraideh told an executive club lunch on Sunday.
Shraideh spoke about the future strategy of Jordan's energy sector saying that the National Petroleum Company (NPC) is seeking a joint venture partner to explore and develop the Risha gas field and the necessary infrastructure.
Continue reading "Studies on 20 establishments show possibility to conserve 20% of their" »
Jordan Times
3 Jul 2007
The country’s 105 olive mills annually produce 200,000 cubic metres of olive vegetable water, which pollute the soil and water resources (Al Rai file photo)
By Mohammad Ghazal and Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN — The Environment Ministry will establish a pilot plant by the end of this year to treat the liquid residue of the olive-pressing process, as it pollutes the soil and water resources.
Continue reading "Pilot plant to treat olive vegetable water" »
Arab Environmental Monitor
Monday, July 02, 2007
By: Batir Wardam
You will have to search several locations in the World to find a situation similar to Aqaba’s: Jordan’s only outlet to the sea. This is a unique case of a confined, fragile and exquisite ecosystem subject to the cumulative effect of the “triangle of environmental threats”: Industry, tourism and transport.
Continue reading "Aqaba's Environmental Prospects 2007-2010" »
Jordan Times
July 8, 2007
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN - Jordan will begin supplying the West Bank city of Jericho with all electricity needs at preferential prices before the end of this year, an official said on Saturday.
Jordan Times
July 7, 2007
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — A total of 2,591 environmental violations have been registered since the beginning of 2007, including littering, cutting trees, gas emissions and violations of public health safety, according to the Environment Ministry.
Continue reading "2,591 environmental violations registered this year" »
Jordan Times
Jul. 6, 2007
BYLINE: Mohammad Ghazal and Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment has called on Jordan Valley farmers to stop using untreated organic fertilisers, which attract domestic flies, a nuisance for picnickers and harmful to the environment.
Continue reading "Environment officials warn against use of untreated organic fertilisers" »
Israel 21c
July 08, 2007
DEMOCRACY
By Michelle Levine
They may come from worlds apart, but leading political and environmental figures from Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority have found a common theme to bring them together - the Great Rift Valley.
The Great Rift Valley is a series of geological rifts stretching 4,000 miles, from southern Turkey to Zimbabwe, running through Syria and Lebanon, along the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea until Kenya, at which point it splits into two branches. Five hundred million birds use the valley route to migrate twice a year from Europe to Asia.
Continue reading "Environmental concerns bring Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians together" »
The Palestine Center
Edited transcript of a presentation by members of the Negotiation Support Unit of the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department on Water
“For the Record” No. 280 (27 June 2007)
At a 14 June 2007 Palestine Center briefing, Dr. Shaddad Attili, Mr. Fuad Bateh and Mr. John Murray of the Negotiations Support Unit of the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department, proposed a positive-sum approach for the resolution of the water crisis in the Middle East. As for the allocation of water, both on the political and topographical level, they maintained that an equitable allocation of water is not only essential for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state but will also help restore relations with Israel and its neighboring countries. They also emphasized the dire need for clean water in Gaza and the creation of a much needed desalinization plant. Ultimately, the question of a viable and sustainable Palestinian state and the long-term interests of all the water-sharing parties—Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syrian and Palestine—depends on a sound and just resolution to the water conflict.
Continue reading ""Palestinian Water Crisis: Bilateral and Regional Perspectives"" »
Jordan Times
June 27, 2007
AMMAN (Petra) — Energy specialists reiterated on Thursday the need to rely on local energy resources to increase electrical power generation and reduce the country’s oil bill.
Continue reading "Experts underline local resources to raise electrical power generation" »
Jordan Times
June 27, 2007
Multimillion-dinar residential city named after Saudi Monarch
AMMAN (Petra) — A multimillion-dinar residential city will be built near Zarqa to tackle overcrowding and help citizens on low and limited incomes buy suitable housing.
The 70,000-unit project, to be built on 21,000 state-owned dunums, was announced at a Royal Court meeting attended by King Abdullah and Saudi King Abdullah, who concluded yesterday a key two-day visit to Jordan.
Jordan Times
June 27, 2007
AMMAN (JT) — The 2007 State of the World Population report, entitled
Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth, will be officially launched worldwide today.
“In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of world population, 3.3 billion people, will be living in urban areas. By 2030, this is expected to swell to almost 5 billion. Most of the new urbanities will be poor… most cities will struggle to meet current needs,” according to the report, released by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.
Continue reading "2007 population report to be launched today" »
Jordan Times
June 28, 2007
By Linda Hindi, Jordan Times, Amman
AMMAN -- Jordan and other developing countries need to acknowledge and prepare for the inevitable surge in urban growth, which is expected to double by the year 2030, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The 2007 State of the World Population Report released on Wednesday warns governments to take immediate action before negative consequences outweigh positive potentials.
Continue reading "Speed, scale of urban growth unprecedented -- UNFPA" »
Jordan Times
June 27, 2007
ByHani Hazaimeh, Jordan Times, Amman
AMMAN -- American Ambassador to Jordan David Hale on Tuesday awarded a total of JD133,000 in grants to 19 community-based organisations (CBOs) in Amman and Madaba in support of their water conservation efforts.
Funded by US Agency for International Development (USAID), the grants are part of the Community-Based Initiatives for Water Demand Management.
Continue reading " US supports water conservation efforts" »
Jordan Times
June 25, 2007
AMMAN (AFP) --
Eleven firms have qualified to submit a feasibility study to build a canal which would save the slowly evaporating Dead Sea by replenishing it with water from the Red Sea, an official said Monday.
The 25-year project to build a canal linking the two seas would also solve a severe water shortage in the region of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, officials said.
Jordan Times
By Khalid Neimat
AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) on Monday announced the second
phase of its Master Plan, termed the “Corridor Intensification Strategy.”
The Master Plan provides clear direction for the sustainable development of
the capital over the next 20 years, in accordance with new planning legislation.
Continue reading "GAM launches second phase of Master Plan" »
Arab Environmental Monitor
Source: Jordan Business
June 2007
By: Nina Robertson
When Khaled Bushnaq decided 16 years ago to set up a firm that would provide technical consultancy in the field of energy conservation, most people were more than a bit skeptical. Energy conservation was almost entirely unheard of in the Middle East, and businesses were certainly not factoring energy-saving measures into their budgets.
Ignoring the cynics, Mr. Bushnaq, along with a business associate, established Energy Management Services (EMS) in Jordan in 1991, with a paid-up capital of JD30,000. Two years later, the company received the Special Recognition Award at the 16th World Energy Congress in the U.S. Today, EMS capital is JD2 million and is the leading energy service company (ESCO) in the Middle East, providing its services to over 500 companies in Jordan and the region.
Continue reading "Turning Business Green: The experience of EMS Company in the Arab World" »
Jordan Times
Listing Jordan River among the top most endangered cultural heritage sites
in the world comes as no surprise.
The Friends of the Earth Middle East Society and the World Monument Fund,
the renowned international watchdog of cultural heritages worldwide, have
sounded the alarm about the inevitable demise of the river and showed what
protecting it from becoming altogether extinct entails.
Jordan Times
June 18, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- Jordan's 1 per cent of green cover is expected to disappear in the coming few years, unless serious measures are taken, the Jordanian Society for Desertification Control and Badia Development (JSDCBD) warned on Sunday.
"The Kingdom's forests are decreasing as a result of illegal logging and random grazing of livestock by ranchers. People are uprooting trees for constructing investment projects and houses, instead of planting trees," JSDCBD President Abdul Latif Arabiyat told The Jordan Times yesterday.
Continue reading "Jordan's forest areas threatened by desertification, logging" »
Jordan Times
June 17, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment will set up special task forces to address Zarqa Governorate's environmental problems.
"Zarqa Governorate poses major environmental challenges as it is home to several environmental hotspots, which require exceptional efforts to improve the situation there," Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said during a recent meeting of the ministry's planning committee.
Continue reading " Environmental task forces to tackle Zarqa pollution" »
Jordan Times
Jun. 18, 2007
Paul Tate
AMMAN -- A lack of cooperation and political will among regional states is hampering efforts to address the worsening ecological condition of the Jordan River, environmentalists said on Sunday.
According to Friends of the Earth Middle East, a regional environmental organisation of Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians, poor regional water management has led to the complete demise of one of the world's most famous rivers.
Continue reading "Jordan River among world's 100 most endangered sites" »
Jordan Times
June 7, 2007
By Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- Demographic changes and migrations have created an imbalance between available water resources and demand, Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem said on Wednesday.
In his remarks at the opening session of a regional forum on local water governance entitled "Water is everybody's business," Alem said per capita water supply in 1943 totalled 3,400 million cubic metres annually, but following demographic changes as a result of regional wars and crises, an individual's share of water is now 146 cubic metres.
Continue reading "Pilot water-harvesting techniques to be adopted" »
Jordan Times
June 8, 2007
By Dalya Dajani, Jordan Times, Amman
AQABA -- Beneath the pristine waters of this Red Sea resort, a concrete paradise is giving Mother Nature and the local fishing community a helping hand.
Emerging from a featureless sandy bed in the northernmost tip of the Aqaba coast, an artificial reef has been steadily thriving over the past two years as a safe haven for the fragile marine species of this ecosystem.
Continue reading "Aqaba's artificial reef safe haven to fragile marine species" »
Jordan Times
June 8, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
ZARQA -- The Jordan Biogas Company in Ruseifa is currently conducting negotiations with the government of Finland to sell biogas generated from the Ruseifa landfill, the company's director, Hatem Ababneh, said on Thursday.
"Selling the biogas to Finland is an outcome of Jordan signing the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol, which allow industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment to invest in emission-reducing projects in developing countries," Ababneh told reporters, during a tour of the company's headquarters yesterday organised by the Ministry of Environment.
Continue reading " Negotiations under way to sell biogas to Finland" »
Haaretz
June 5, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
A disaster not covered by any law or security framework and unrecognized by everyone - that is how a recent government policy paper described sinkholes in the Dead Sea basin. And according to a recently released report by the Geophysical Institute of Israel, the problem is only getting worse.
Continue reading "New sinkholes threaten roads around the Dead Sea" »
Haaretz
June 5, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
A disaster not covered by any law or security framework and unrecognized by everyone - that is how a recent government policy paper described sinkholes in the Dead Sea basin. And according to a recently released report by the Geophysical Institute of Israel, the problem is only getting worse.
Continue reading "New sinkholes threaten roads around the Dead Sea" »
The Jerusalem Post
Jun. 6, 2007
Talia Dekel
The European Union is working to promote more efficient usage of energy in the Middle East, which will in turn strengthen ties between Israel, Jordan and the EU, Ambassador Ramiro Cibrian said Tuesday.
The ambassador, who heads a permanent delegation of the European Commission in Israel, spoke at a conference aimed at turning sustainable energy into "a catalyst for regional economic development."
Continue reading "EU urges regional cooperation on energy use" »
Jordan Times
June 6, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- Jordan will continue implementing programmes and projects seeking to address environmental hotspots in the country, Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said on Tuesday in a statement marking World Environment Day (WED).
Celebrated annually on June 5, WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.
Continue reading " Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions a top priority -- Irani" »
Jordan Times
June 4, 2007
Aqaba’s diving sites contain some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs
By Dalya Dajani
AQABA — This city’s unique marine habitat is beginning to lose its appeal among several tourist diving groups, who cite serious coral reef damage as a result of littering and other issues compromising their safety.
Continue reading "Aqaba divers concerned about coral damage, safety" »
Jordan Times
June 6, 2007
AMMAN -- A regional forum on local water governance entitled, "Water is everybody's business" opens today.
The Euro-Med Participatory Water Resources Scenarios (EMPOWERS) Partnership, supported by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, is holding the forum under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah.
Jordan Times
June 1, 2007
Samir Ghawi
AMMAN -- The environmental pollution worsened so much at the Himmeh tourist resort that the company operating the site had no choice but to demolish the whole facility.
"The Himmeh facility was operated intermittently during 2006 as the site was closed several times by the official health and environment authorities because the water at the resort was contaminated by wastewater leaking from cesspools of private houses adjacent to the tourist area," the Jordan Himmeh Mineral Company said in its 42nd annual report.
Continue reading "Water pollution leads to Himmeh demolition" »
YNET
March 30, 2007
Joint venture could help save the environment while forging stronger collaborative ties in Middle East
IEICI
Published: 05.30.07, 18:07 / Israel Money
An Israeli-Jordanian automotive project is taking a big leap forward. Executives from Renault and Toyota have been speaking to officials from both sides, in an attempt to launch a joint venture for a factory specializing in
environmentally-friendly electric cars. According to the plan, the location of this factory would be near the border between Israel and Jordan, in an area called Peace Valley.
The Jerusalem
May. 30, 2007
YORAM DORI
It is said of Israel that she is a mini-cosmos. A country of immigrants hailing from more than 120 countries: fair-skinned and dark-skinned, Chinese and Indian, haredim and atheists. An 80 percent Jewish majority that lives alongside an Arab minority, mostly Muslims, an island in an Islamic sea in the throes of a power struggle between Shi'ite and Sunni hegemony, and counting a population of 7 million spread over an area (sovereign Israel) that measures a mere 20,770 kilometers.
Avoiding a Water Crisis
asharq alawsat
May 19, 2007
Hussein Shobokshi
With the growing number of reports and books confirming the words of political experts and strategic analysts that the next war in the Middle East will be fought over water and water resources, it is extraordinary that another type of war is actually being fought now.
Jordan Times
May 23, 2007
Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN -- A four-year project implemented by Jordan in cooperation with CARE International, has been educating citizens since 2003 on the best practices in water management to provide sustainable livelihoods for Jordan Valley communities.
The Euro-Med Participatory Water Resources Scenarios Project (EMPOWERS), which concludes next month, also worked to bridge the communication gap between government officials and local citizens on key issues of concern, such as poverty and unemployment.
Continue reading " 'EMPOWERS' qualifies citizens for better water management" »
Jordan Times
May 26, 2007
Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit and members of the Cabinet attend a meeting at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Thursday (Petra photo)
AMMAN (Petra) — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is exerting efforts to reduce the ratio of lost water in the Kingdom, which currently stands at 42 per cent, by 3 per cent each year.
Continue reading "Ministry working to reduce ratio of lost water" »
Jordan Times
May 26, 2007
AMMAN (JT) — The UNESCO Amman office, in collaboration with the Swedish-based NGO Life-Link Friendship-Schools (www.life-link.org), brought together school teachers from different countries in the region in a two-day workshop this week.
Continue reading "Conference involves schools in environmental programmes" »
Jordan Times
May 27, 2007
WADI RUM (JT) — Representatives from seven Arab countries convened in Wadi Rum last week to look into the reintroduction of the Arabian Oryx into countries of the Arabian Peninsula, which are considered its original habitat.
During the two-day meeting, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner Nader Dahabi briefed members of the coordination committee entrusted with the preservation of the endangered animal on Jordan’s experience, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) established the country’s first nature reserve of Shaumari in 1975, mainly to reintroduce species that had been extinct, including the Arabian Oryx, one of the most endangered animals in the world.
Jordan Times
March 9, 2007
Khalid Neimat
AMMAN -- The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Jordan has called on the private sector to support the Amman Master Plan, announced by the Greater Amman Municipality's (GAM) last month.
"We will prop up the plan internally and globally to attract foreign investments," AmCham-Jordan Chairman Azzam Shweihat said.
Jordan Times
March 1, 2007
Mohammad Ghazal, , Amman
AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment on Wednesday proposed an alternate location for the construction of the JD100 million tourist complex in Dibbeen.
"The ministry suggested the new site due to many reasons, mainly because it believes that implementing the project in the new site will cause no environmental damage to Dibbeen Forest," Minister of Environment Khalid Irani told The Jordan Times yesterday.
Continue reading " Environment Ministry proposes alternate location for Dibbeen tourism complex" »
Jordan Times
Feb. 28, 2007
AMMAN -- The Greek government is to contribute $1 million for the feasibility study of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project.
Ambassador of Greece to Jordan Troyphon Parakevopolos on Tuesday submitted a letter from Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Evripidis Stylianidis to Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair Al-Ali, affirming his government's commitment in this regard.
Continue reading "Greece to co-finance feasibility study for Dead-Red project" »
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).
Continue reading "King reiterates importance of land use plan" »
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.
Continue reading "History of Environmental Policies in Jordan" »
Jordan Times
By Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN — The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) has transformed an old British military field hospital in Azraq into an eco-lodge.
Continue reading "Azraq eco-lodge offers history and local flavours" »
Arab Environment Monitor
February 20, 2007
Press Release from EMPOWERS
The EMPOWERS Partnership has now available the 'Guidelines for Improved Local Water Governance'
The Guidelines consolidate the experience gained over the past 4 years in developing and testing a range of participatory planning tools for local water development. These have been developed through action research with a wide range of stakeholders in Egypt, Palestine, and Jordan.
Continue reading "Guidelines for Improved Local Water Governance in 3 Arab Countries" »
Haaretz / Jordan Times
February 15, 2007
By Margaret Beckett
[listserve note: published in both Jordan Times and Haaretz, unusual for the region]
All too often the news is dominated by conflict and disagreement. Then a threat of such magnitude comes along that it forcefully reminds us of our common humanity - in other words just how much all of us, whatever our background, creed or colour hold in common. For our generation that threat is climate change.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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.”
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.
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.”
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
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
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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
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
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
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
Jordan Times
By Stephanie Berrong
AMMAN — An NGO that focuses on educating people about the environment wants to
help Jordanians come clean.
The Friends of the Environment society (FoE), in partnership with the Greater
Amman Municipality, the Ministry of Environment, the World Conservation Union
and the Swiss embassy, on Wednesday announced the launch of a national contest
to encourage recycling.
The “Smart Use of Recyclable Solid Waste” competition asks participants to
create useful objects from waste material like paper, plastic and cans.
Submissions should be easy to make from readily available trash. They should be
practical and able to be reproduced by an environment-friendly process.
“We need to make more people aware of the concept of recycling to reduce waste,”
said Sanaa Al Abbadi, the Environment Ministry outreach director.
FoE President Ramzi Kawar said some examples of the types of projects he hopes
to see are plastic bags woven into waste paper baskets or old window shutters
used to build public benches.
Submissions will be divided into three categories: Students aged between 13 and
18, professional designers and people with special needs. Participants can work
individually or in a group.
First, second and third place winners will receive cash and other prizes. The
group will also try to match the winning projects with manufacturers, Kawar
said, while winners will keep the rights to their creations.
Swiss Ambassador Paul Widmer presented a cheque for JD2,500 at the announcement
yesterday. The Swiss embassy has pledged JD10,000 to promote the recycling
contest.
Other partners have provided help planning the contest, donated facilities and
will judge the entries.
Raouf Dabbas, adviser to the environment minister, said working with NGOs is
something the ministry would like to do more of. One of its goals, he said, is
to increase awareness and education on the environment.
“And this is a very good way to put these words into action,” Dabbas added.
The contest is an extension of an initiative funded by the Canada Fund for Local
Initiatives in 2004, which created the cartoon character Abu Tadweer, the father
of recycling.
“The idea,” Kawar said, “is to maintain awareness in a fun way. We are trying
to make him as loveable a character as possible.”
Abbadi said she thinks recycling will catch on with Jordanians.
“If the Greater Amman Municipality is ready to collect the waste separately, the
people will be aware of it,” she said. “It’s possible. Why not?”
The deadline for submitting a project is January 18, 2007.
(From: Stuart Schoenfeld)
Subject: Jordan Times
Amman’s ‘Green Lung’ nearly complete Jordan Times
By Cheryl Haines
AMMAN — The long-awaited Children’s Museum will be the latest and last
instalment at the widely popular King Hussein Park.
The museum, an initiative of Her Majesty Queen Rania, is the first interactive
and educational institution of its kind in the country, seeking to encourage
exploration and understanding of local culture, science, technology and
industry, through innovative and educational multimedia resources and
programmes through its 150 hands-on exhibits.
Set to open in December, the Children’s Museum lives up to the original vision
of the park, when it opened in 2001.
“The facilities at the park were created through five different goals...
cultural, sport, educational, recreational and environmental,” Munther Al
Saleh, the project director, told The Jordan Times.
Noting that the majority of the park’s visitors on weekends are families, Saleh
said it was “important for people in Amman to have a ‘green space,’ and an
unobstructed area to enjoy with their children.”
Many of the families hail from east Amman, where outdoor areas conducive to
child’s play are few and far between, according to Saleh.
The project director envisions the park as the “Green Lung of Amman.”
“The park is open year-round and children are free to enjoy all of our
facilities. Here children can play and run free. There are no hazards of cars,”
said Saleh, who estimated that the park receives 15,000 visitors on summer
weekends.
Once the museum opens, children who enjoy the park’s open spaces will be able to
benefit from its educational and entertainment displays, including interactive
astronomy and anatomy exhibits.
The park also features security personnel and the Children’s Museum will employ
supervisory staff to help monitor the large groups of children from nearby
schools expected to visit when it opens.
Raja Gargour, director of the Royal Automobile Museum, which is located in the
western part of the facility, sees the museum’s popularity as testament to how
much open areas and parks for children are needed in Amman.
“Spaces of educational impact for youth are in much demand in Jordan,” Gargour
explained.
The Royal Automobile Museum, he added, strives to be a centre of both
educational and cultural significance, combining the late King Hussein’s
much-loved car collection with interactive media presentations and historical
displays.
An American Cadillac, currently on loan to the US, was a gift to King Hussein
from US president Eisenhower. The exhibits tell of “the longevity of King
Hussein’s reign and the good relations he had with many presidents in that
period,” Gargour explained.
Every summer the Royal Automobile Museums puts on a Wire Car Competition where
local youths are placed in teams and encouraged to construct the body of an
actual car using only basic materials.
Gargour emphasised the importance of the annual competitions, noting the skills
the young people must employ as they construct their cars: Teamwork,
leadership, and critical analysis.
While the younger generation gravitate towards the playgrounds and football
fields, the park also offers a variety of facilities for all ages.
Saleh noted that Friday afternoon visitors tend to be families and younger
people, while on weekdays older visitors come to experience the park’s cultural
centres.
The Cultural Village, the first structure to greet visitors entering the park,
highlights Jordan’s heritage.
Exhibits include studios for Arab calligraphy, stone inscriptions, natural dyes,
local ceramics and handicrafts.
The centre overlooks the city to the east and includes a restaurant and outdoor
terraces.
The “Theme Gardens” located in the centre of the park present a collection of
flora and water fountains. The gardens are reminiscent of historical phases of
the country’s history and its geographical landscapes. Cutting through the
gardens is the 400-metre “Promenade of Jordan,” where works of art and
historical representations display the country’s history.
Throughout the facility, water reservoirs were engineered in keeping with the
importance of rationing water consumption in Jordan.
Various basins were constructed to collect and divert rainwater, which are
connected to groundwater reservoirs, and are used for irrigation.
The 5,200-square-metre park is open year-round and is accessible to visitors
with special needs.
(From: Stuart Schoenfeld)
Jordan Times 06ssep22
By Cheryl Haines
AMMAN — The German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) launched a new water
programme on Wednesday at a ceremony celebrating more than 30 years of
partnership between Jordan and the GTZ.
Under the slogan, “Knowledge Powers Development,” the programme marks an
important step in resource development between the government and the GTZ.
“The management of scarce resources in a sustainable matter,” German Ambassador
Klaus Burkhardt told the 300-strong audience, is the focal point of the new
programme. Praising the country’s impressive modernisation and knowledge-based
economy as a model in the Middle East, Burkhardt emphasised the GTZ’s support in
the areas of social and economic development, and, since 2001, in water
management.
In her keynote address, HRH Princess Basma commended the GTZ’s important
contribution to Jordan’s social and economic development through the past 30
years, pointing out that long-term development requires consistency and the
application of lesson learning.
“Their approach throughout their operations has been that they design their
projects based on local level realities, according to local needs... in order
to achieve this, they listen to local voices. They work with local institutions
to ensure sustainability after project support has phased out,” the Princess
told dignitaries and businesspeople gathered at the Citadel.
Adding that the GTZ’s institutional memory is a unique resource among
development agencies in Jordan, Princess Basma lauded GTZ’s longstanding
commitment within Jordan, and continued emphasis on social and economic
development.
The GTZ “works directly with consumers” she noted, “helping poor and
marginalised farmers in the Jordan Valley have control over the ways they use
water. By helping set up water-user groups and then creating opportunities for
them to engage with bodies such as the Jordan Valley Authority... farmers are
taking more responsibility for operating and maintaining irrigation systems...
they are protecting and conserving this scarce and valuable resource for
generations to come.”
Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem also commended the GTZ,
illustrating the various milestones reached thus far in Jordan’s water sector
in his speech.
During Wednesday evening’s event, GTZ Country Director in Jordan Joachim Prey
gave a presentation of the agency’s work and services through the Middle East
and Mediterranean regions. He outlined the role of the GTZ in Jordan together
with its national partners in promoting and working together towards
sustainable development in the country.
Incorporating what Prey called a “multifaceted approach,” GTZ aims to work with
both governmental and private sectors to offer greater synergies and the
unification of current projects in maximising positive impact in Jordan’s water
infrastructure.
He added that incorporating sustainable methods of resource management was a
focal point of the programme, necessitating the protection of the country’s
“precious natural resource” as an important part of corporate social
responsibility.
In addition, Uwe Stoll, head of the GTZ Water Programme in Jordan, presented the
programme’s main areas of concentration. Developing and promoting infrastructure
efficiency, resource protection, institutional restructuring of the water sector
and private sector participation constitute the programme’s focal points.
The event included a photo exhibition in the Citadel’s Umayyad Palace displaying
the GTZ’s achievements in Jordan over the past 30 years and a traditional
musical performance.
Germany is one of Jordan’s main cooperation partners in various development
programmes, with total aid amounting to more than 1.0 billion euros, according
to a German embassy statement.
Since 1975, more than 200 million euros have been spent on technical assistance.
The GTZ is now focusing its efforts on promoting sustainable use and integrated
management of water resources in the country.
Other current projects are financial management reform, and poverty alleviation
through municipal development.
==== Message forwarded from Arisha Ashraf
The First Regional Scientific Conference on Traditional Arabic and
Islamic Medicine
Amman, Jordan August 8-10, 2007
Call for Papers:
We would like to invite all bodies and institutions, research centers,
and interested parties working on Arabic medicinal plants to
participate in The First Regional Scientific Conference on Traditional
Arabic and Islamic Medicine to be held in Amman, Jordan. The
conference will discuss historical and cultural aspects of Arabic and
Islamic medicine, and its contributions to modern medicine and human
well-being. The global scientific research on medicinal and aromatic
plants, pharmaceutical research, clinical trials, and international
legislation and intellectual property rights on Arabic and Islamic
medicinal plants of the region will also be reviewed.
Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts to be considered for oral presentation (or posters) should
include an outline of 1,000 words (2 A4 pages including Tables,
Figures and References if needed ). The Abstracts should be prepared
in a MS Word compatible format, on A4 size paper with margins of 2.5
cm. Only black and white colours are allowed. Abstracts should be
prepared in Times New Roman font using single spacing throughout the
text. The title should in bold-face type using 14 point font, while
the body of the abstract should be in plain text in 12 point font.
Please underline the presenting author. Insert one line between the
title and author name(s), one line between author name(s) and their
affiliation(s), and one line between the affiliation(s) and
the beginning of the text. The total size of the document must be
less than 4.5 megabytes. Abstracts should be sent via e-mail in an
attached file to medplantamman@gmail.com by 31 January 2007.
Papers to be considered for publication should be submitted in full
text in Microsoft Word format not more than 4,500 words (8 A4 pages)
conforming to eCAM guidelines for authors (www.ecam.oupjournals.org ).
The deadline for submission of a full manuscript for review by the
Scientific Committee is 28 February 2007 . Manuscripts should be sent
via e-mail in an attached file to medplantamman@gmail.com.
Our conference website will be active by the end of October:
www.arabic-islamic-medicine.com