I have been on a low blogging diet for the past two weeks. I have been focusing all my time on finishing my current employment as a national coordinator for a GEF/ UNDP project called National Capacity Self Assessment for Global Environmental Manageent (NCSA) which aims at defining national capacity constraints for the implementation of global environmental conventions for biodiversity, desertification... [read more]

The IUCN WESCANA Regional Office has just published the full proceedings of the conference it had hosted in Amman 26-27 June 2006 under the title :"Dryland's Hidden Wealth: Integrating Drylands Ecosystem Services Into National Development Planning". The conference was organized by IUCN WESCANA Office, IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management, UNESCO and the UNESCO Chair for Desert Studies in Yarmouk... [read more]

ALGIERS: The UN International Year of Deserts and Desertification has ended with stark warnings from experts about the expansion of uninhabitable zones and an increase in climate-driven migration. Desertification -- the expansion of desert areas, caused by growing populations and climate changes -- is one of the most important global issues, UN Under Secretary-General Hans Van Ginkel said at the... [read more]

Tunisia has joined the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), making it the 34th country to become a partner of the REEEP. The Agence Nationale pour la Maitrise de l'Energie (ANME) will represent Tunisia in the international partnership. The Tunisian Secretary of State in charge of Renewable Energy and Agri-Business, Mr. Ridha Ben Mosbah said, "Our REEEP membership reinforces... [read more]

JAYYOUS, West Bank - Jayyous's farmers are used to surveying their land from their commanding hilltop village in the northern West Bank. But for many, gazing is now all they can do. Israel’s West Bank barrier has separated the village of Jayyous from 9,500 of its 13,600 dunums (a dunum is 1,000 square metres) of land, and the Israeli authorities have denied them permits to access it. “In the... [read more]

Source: Middle East Online   RABAT - Morocco's parliament has ratified an agreement with the European Union that radically reduces the number of European boats allowed to fish in Moroccan waters, a parliamentary source said. The fishing accord was signed in Brussels between Morocco and the EU on July 28, 2005, but needed to go through parliament, the source said. The deal cuts the number... [read more]

Poor sewage systems face greater damage due to Israeli bombardment causing serious health risks in south Lebanon.  BEIRUT - There have been up to 30 suspected cases of seasonal typhoid fever in Lebanon over the past six to eight weeks and more are expected, health experts said. “Of these, only 11 have been confirmed, but all are being closely monitored in hospital,” said Assaad Khoury, a department... [read more]

Source: Middle East Online   AMMAN - Once known to Jordanians as a beautiful town set in green mountains and with a pleasant climate, Fuheis is quickly losing its renown as it reels under clouds of dust and chemicals emanating from the town's cement factory. The problem is most visible during the dry months of summer, from April to September, as surrounding orchards become coated with layers... [read more]

Source: Arab News   Manal Quota, Arab News JEDDAH, 15 December 2006 — The Second Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers drew up a twelve-point plan and decided to establish an environment institution and an Islamic media information network specialized in the environment. The conference approved the setting up of the Executive Islamic Environment Office and the Islamic Network for the... [read more]

  By Arvind Nair- Gulf News Published in 4-12-2006   WATER crisis in Qatar, as indeed in the Gulf and the rest of the world, threatens future progress and impedes efforts to alleviate poverty. To drive this point home, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s Doha office has brought out a book called Policy Perspectives for Ecosystem and Water Management... [read more]

The Mediterranean Network of Basin Organisations (MENBO) and GWP-Med organised a Cooperation Session on the Mediterranean Basin, together with MENBO’s 4th General Assembly preceding the Euro-Mediterranean Water Directors Conference. During the Session, which took place in Athens on the 5th of November, several projects (TWINBASIN, MELIA, GEWAMED, SPI-Water), organisations (IME, GWP-Med and EMWIS)... [read more]

By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff ReporterGulf News   Dubai: Peace and sustainable development were the themes yesterday at the Global Environmental Youth Convention which was attended by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Shaikh Mohammad was greeted upon his arrival by more than 600 students from 34 countries. He was... [read more]

Egypt hosted the 3rd Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on the Environment on 20 November 2006. The Ministerial Conference was organised by the Egyptian Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs and the European Commission. The main topic of the Ministerial conference was "Horizon 2020 Initiative" to de-pollute the Mediterranean Sea from the main polluting sources. A ministerial declaration... [read more]

This is an opinion article published in the Jordan Times by Dr Dureid Mahasneh the former Secretary General of the Jordan Valley Authority and a former leading water negotiator in the Jordanian-Israeli water negotiations associated with the Jordan-Israel peace treaty. This article is about the Red-Dead Seas canal.   By Dureid Mahasneh Finally a concrete step towards starting the Red Sea Dead... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times   By Hana Namroqa AMMAN — Jordan and the World Bank on Tuesday held a meeting to discuss how to proceed with the Red-Dead Canal feasibility study, a World Bank official said.  Jordan, the Palestinians and Israel agreed on Sunday to proceed with the study of a $2-4 billion project to top up the Dead Sea with water from the Red Sea through a 180km pipeline. During yesterday’s... [read more]

Last week I have been in Cairo participating in the regional workshop on the impacts of Free Trade Agreements on Sustainable Development in the Arab World. The workshop was organized by the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) based in Beirut and the Third World Network (TWN) based in Malaysia. In the workshop I presented a paper on the social and environmental impacts of the QIZs in Jordan. This... [read more]

This is a new publication from the Arab Water Council, UNDP and CEDARE focusing on the detailed evaluation and comparative analysis of the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) plans in Arab countries. The study can be downloaded from here  http://www.empowers.info/page/911  It states that most Arab countries have started to recognize the importance of IWRM but there is still more need... [read more]

Article by: Yusuf Mansur Published at the Jordan Times 28-11-2006 Several investors, lured by the stability and safety of Jordan, seek approvals for mega real estate projects in forest areas of the country. By granting such approvals, the Kingdom could be sacrificing long-term benefits for short-term gains. Investors should prove to Jordanians that the short-term benefits of the proposed ventures... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times   By Mahmoud Al Abed  AMMAN — Jordan, which tops the list of the world’s 10 thirstiest countries and imports 97 per cent of its energy, cannot work single-handedly to address these twin problems, speakers at an annual scientific event said on Monday. In his remarks at the opening of the 12th Jordanian Scientific Week yesterday, HRH Prince Hassan said the approach to... [read more]