The Jerusalem Post
Aug. 5, 2007
Shmuley Boteach
Every year my family and I take a summer RV trip out into nature. This year we are in Alaska, where I am filming a family TV show. The beauties of this wondrous land are difficult to describe but are perhaps best captured in the words of a secular Jewish lawyer friend of mine who said that seeing Alaska was like seeing the face of God.
Haaretz
August 5, 2007
By Tzafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
The cabinet on Sunday approved a second five-year term for Israel Nature and Parks Authority Chairman Eli Amitay, despite criticism of his management.
Continue reading "Cabinet extends tenure of parks' authority head despite criticism" »
Haaretz
August 2, 2007
By Haaretz Editorial
The many visitors to the Kinneret this summer are in for a disappointment. Most of the lake's shores are still surrounded by fences and an admission fee is charged. If this was not enough, entering some of the beaches is impossible because of pollution caused by raw sewage flowing into the water.
The Jerusalem Post
Aug. 1, 2007
rory kress
The Kinneret Basin Authority was established this week to protect the soil in the region surrounding Israel's largest freshwater source.
Lake Kinneret has long been an environmental concern due to its receding water level, and most recently, last week's forced closing of its public beaches due to sewage contamination of the water.
Continue reading "Kinneret Basin Authority formed to revive area" »
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.
The Jerusalem Post
Jul. 17, 2007
Etgar Lefkovits
A 5,500-dunam area of natural forest and park land on the periphery of Jerusalem will be designated as Emek Refaim Park and declared a "green area" where construction is forbidden, the municipality said this week.
Continue reading "Jerusalem to declare massive 'green area'" »
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”.
Jordan Times
Agence French Presse
July 5 2007
Laith Abou-Ragheb
Giant islands taking shape off the coast of Dubai are sparking interest not only from celebrities but also from environmental campaigners jittery about the man-made structures so large they can be seen from space.
Continue reading "Green campaigners keep watch on Dubai's man-made isles" »
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 Daily Star
May 28, 2007
An israeli attack caused the disaster, but environmentalists say Lebanese inaction made it worse
By Dona Challita
Special to The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Several forms of pollutants have fouled the sea off Lebanon for decades, including industrial effluents, untreated sewage and runoff from coastal garbage dumps. As though this were not enough, an Israeli attack during the war last summer added another hazardous element to the mix when the destruction of the storage tanks at the jiyyeh power plant south of Beirut released an estimated 15,000 tons of fuel oil into the Mediterranean.
Continue reading "Critics flay official response to Jiyyeh spill" »
Haaretz
May 8, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
Last week the future of the mineral water plant next to the Ein Gedi nature reserve was ensured. The Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority (INNPPA) signed an agreement with Kibbutz Ein Gedi, one of the owners of the plant, to make it possible for the kibbutz to use a large quantity of the water from the springs. In return, the kibbutz will supply the nature reserve with flood water that it pumps from the slopes of the streams in the region.
Haaretz
March 7, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
The coastal plain used to be full of winter ponds that would fill with rainwater and dry up in the summer. After years of construction and agricultural use, most have disappeared, and only three large winter ponds remain in Israel.
One is in western Herzliya, and the municipality is seeking to build a park in its place. Part of the area does indeed suffer from neglect and disuse, but a careful survey found it is a hidden trove of flora and fauna that may disappear along with the pond.
The Jerusalem Post
Feb. 22, 2007
LISA ALCALAY KLUG
In summer, fig trees bear their succulent fruit; in autumn, boughs of olives suggest the impending harvest; by winter, citrons hang heavy with scent.
This is Neot Kedumim, Israel's biblical landscape reserve.
The Daily Star
February 20, 2007
Conflict wiped out ambitious plans of growing industry
By Assem Abi Ali
Special to The Daily Star
RAMLIEH, Aley: Eco-tourism suffered greatly during the summer 2006 war with Israel, and one of the main victims was the Aley village of Ramlieh, where local investors and other stakeholders had been planning an extensive program before hostilities broke out on July 12.
Continue reading "Eco-tourism sector struggles to recover from wounds of war" »
The Daily Star
February 20, 2007
Conflict wiped out ambitious plans of growing industry
By Assem Abi Ali
Special to The Daily Star
RAMLIEH, Aley: Eco-tourism suffered greatly during the summer 2006 war with Israel, and one of the main victims was the Aley village of Ramlieh, where local investors and other stakeholders had been planning an extensive program before hostilities broke out on July 12.
Continue reading "Eco-tourism sector struggles to recover from wounds of war" »
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" »