The 4th World Water Forum held in Mexico in March 2006 included a big number of special thematic and regional sessions. Among these sessions the MENA region was covered by many workshops. Here are the summaries of the sessions involving the MENA region   Public Private Partnership towards IWRM in the MENA Region   Capacity Building in the MENA Region: Ministerial Panel   Water Use... [read more]

The 4th World Water Forum website has posted all the publications and reports of the keystone conference that was held in Mexico in March 2006. The regional document for MENA is available for downloading from here   http://www.worldwaterforum4.org.mx/uploads/TBL_DOCS_109_21.pdf    The 80-page document is very well-designed and articulate and contains a very useful body of updated knowledge... [read more]

The European Commission this week proposed a long-term environmental strategy for cleaning up the Mediterranean Sea. This unique ecosystem is deteriorating as environmental pressures increase. The major oil spill that occurred during the recent conflict in Lebanon has dramatically highlighted the vulnerability of the region's environment. A key pillar of the strategy is 'Horizon 2020', an initiative... [read more]

The European Commission has extended Morocco € 59.7 Millions (USD 70 Millions, 600 Millions dirhams) to reform water sector, said last 29th August the European Commission delegation in Rabat. This amount is the second installment of a USD 115Mn support budget allocated by the EU to water sector in Morocco. Created in 2002, this program is meant to improve water management in Morocco, notably through... [read more]

One of the most promising and high-quality content professional networks and Communities of Practice (CoP) in MENA region is the MENA water network. As it describes itself "MENA Water is an independent community of practice dealing with issues related to water management in the Middle East and North Africa Region. It is not affiliated with any country, organization or institution. It is a forum... [read more]

Source: Middle East Times Derek Sands United Press International September 25, 2006 CAIRO -- At a time of slowing oil production in some Middle Eastern countries, and the growing influence of a nuclear Iran, those states may turn to nuclear power to supplement oil and gas supplies, while balancing Iran's power, analysts told United Press International. Amid declining oil exports, Egypt and... [read more]

From: Daily Star By Iman Azzi TABARJA: Most of the rainbows glimmering on the surface of the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Lebanon are the unfortunate results of the attack by Israeli warplanes on the Jiyyeh power plant on July 12 and again three days later. However, a larger, bolder and more ecologically correct rainbow has now entered Lebanon's harbor, hoping to lend a hand, or a fin,... [read more]

Source: The Star-Jordan   AMMAN (Star)—Under the patronage of HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal, the Citadel witnessed last week a Gala celebrating over 30 years of GTZ (German Technical Cooperation—Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH) in Jordan. Under the motto “Knowledge powers development—sharing experiences, shaping future”, the new GTZ Water Program in Jordan was launched... [read more]

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat    Dubai, Asharq Al-Awsat- Shell announced initiatives it has adopted for mitigating climate change and promoting learning and education in the region, at the third Middle East Corporate Social Responsibility Summit. Dr. Gavin Graham, VP New Business, Middle East, Caspian & South Asia, Shell EP International Ltd said, “Shell has incorporated two key activities... [read more]

Source: Arab Times   KUWAIT (Agencies): The Ministry of Health on Wednesday assured the citizens and residents that fish on the local market is safe and contains no contaminating substances that may threaten human life. The affirmation was made by senior ministry officials during an emergency session, called by the municipal council, to react to remarks made by the council member, Majed Al-Mtairi,... [read more]

Source: Arab News P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News   JEDDAH, 30 September 2006 — Saudi Arabia yesterday announced plans to establish a national water company to carry out water and sewage projects. The state-owned company will take over the groundwater sector, the distribution of drinking water and the collection and treatment of sewage water. The decision to restructure the ground and... [read more]

The National Center for Human Rights (NCHR) in Jordan has released its annual report on the state of human rights in Jordan for the year 2005. Within this report, there was a special section on the state of environmental rights in Jordan. Here is the full text of the section on environmental rights:   A) Solid Waste: Jordan produces huge quantities of household solid waste compared to its population... [read more]

The Center for the Study of the Built Environment (CSBE) in Amman has been implementing a very innovative and important programme on "water conservation landscaping" with some applications in Jordan that have proven to be successful and can be replicated all over water, and vegetation scarce Middle East.     The CSBE project on water conserving landscapes is concerned with the development... [read more]

The Amman Greater Municipality has placed on its website the full text of the draft "Amman Vision Masterplan" that was requested a few months ago by King Abdullah II to plan for a healthier and more organized and green capital. The document is open to comments and feedback from all readers. The vision is based on seven strategic themes:   1-      Land Use and Urban Design 2-      Culture and... [read more]

Apart from begenning with the letter (J) and setting beside each other in international conventions, Jordan and Japan do not have much in common when it comes to environmental education, behaviour and disipline. However, a group of scientists and researchers from the Al-Hussein Bin Talal University in Jordan and Institute of Science and Engineering for Societytried to challenge that perception, in... [read more]

The Earth Policy Institute is publishing specific chapters of its milestone book "Plan B: Rescueing a Plant under atress and a civilization touble". Chapter 3 of this book is focused on water scarcity and has some insight on the water scarcity in the Middle East written by Lester Brown:     "The Middle East and North Africa—from Morocco in the west through Iran in the east—has become... [read more]

The Arab News newspaper has published a moving story on the suffering of some women in Saudi Arabia for fetching drinking water by coupons from tankers in Jeddah. This is the whole text of the story written by Hassna’a Mokhtar & Somayya Jabarti:   JEDDAH, 28 September 2006 — Women, some old and barely standing, others with their children, crowded the six-by-six room at the Aziziya Water... [read more]

Well I think it will be useful at this stage to proviode some information about my current professional job title which is the National Coordinator for the GEF-supported, UNDP-administered Project "National Capacity Self Assessment for Global Environmental Management (NCSA) in Jordan which is being implemented by the Ministry of Environment. You can find all details of this project at this link ... [read more]

As the Arab countries are still reluctant with no particular justification to act full strength on adaptation to climate change, it will be useful to take a look at the Africam approach to adaptation discussed in last week's "African Regional Workshop on Adaptation was held at the M Plaza Hotel in Accra, Ghana" from 21-23 September 2006. The workshop aimed at highlighting African concerns related... [read more]

Saudi Arabia hosted a distinguished conference on CDM applications with special emphasis on Saudi Arabia, bringing the Kingdom to a new and progressive niche in the global efforts to confront Climate Change and to exploit Kyoto options especially the CDM.   The conference was held from Sep 19th-21st 2006, with a very attractive theme. The theme was "The Kyoto Protocol and Saudi Arabia: (from)... [read more]

This is a news release from the "National Water Research Center" in Egypt:   The National Water Research Center (NWRC) in collaboration with the Arab Water Council (AWC) , under the patronage of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of Egypt, is organizing the Third Arab Water Regional Conference 2006 in Cairo, Egypt during the period 9 - 11 December, 2006.   The theme of the conference... [read more]

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Regional Office for West, Central Asia and North Africa (WESCANA) has launched a special website for its water programme. http://www.iucn.org/places/wescana/programs/water/ The WESCANA water programme focuses on the concept of "Water for Nature" that was developed and promoted by IUCN global water programme in many regions in the world and has proven to be... [read more]

The anonymous Jordanian blogger Khalaf who seems to be a very articulate researcher wrote a series of three posts on his blog advocating for the use of nuclear energy in Jordan as a relative substitute to the raising oil prices. Moreover, Khalaf claims that nuclear energy could be environmentally freindly. His analysis is worth a careful read, the three parts are here   Part I: Part II... [read more]

Jordanian blogger Ahmad Humeid has visited the "Renewable Energy Expo" in Amman that was held in association with the 'Renewable Energy Approaches for Desert Ecosystems" conference that wa sheld in Jordan. Mr Humeid's experience with the expo is documented here    [read more]

    This is a remarkable journey to the exquisite flora of Jordan prepared by the innovative and multi-talented Jordanian designer and environmentalist Ammar Khammash. For those of you who have visted the network of protected areas and nature reserves managed by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the great Wild Jordan Center you will have encountered Mr Khammash's... [read more]

As an indication of Saudi Arabia's progressive role in the implementation of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol, the Kingdom is hosting the 1st International conference on CDM that was opened today in Riyadh. The goal of the conference is to provide participants with a conceptual understanding of the financial and economic development benefits that the CDM can provide. You can follow a daily... [read more]

Source: Science Devnet   Sebha University in Libya is organizing the Desert and desertification conferencefrom 30 October to 1 November 2006. The university is inviting research specialists with topics related to desert and desertification to participate with their research, studies and experiences in this conference, according to the following topics: effects of climate changes on desert... [read more]

The story of the village of Dana in southern Jordan is one of the most remarkable examples in sustainable development and biodiversity conservation in the Middle East. The village was the heart of a stunning acheivement in linking biodiversity with sustainable livlihoods and poverty eradication. In an article posted at Islam Online Reem Aslan privides an interesting insight about Dana village  ... [read more]

    The Excellent Egyptian science writer Dr. Nadia Al-Awadi, winner of the first prize of the WASH (Water, sanitation and hygiene for all) media award in 2004 has just written a great article in Islam Online about Al Kabir River, linking the  Syrian- Lebanese borders and the threats the river is facing.   You can read the whole article here      [read more]

Source: Middle East Online   RABAT - Almost the whole of Morocco is threatened by increasing desertification, a senior official said , saying that efforts to combat it are proving inadequate. Abdeladim El Hafi, high commissioner for water and forests, was speaking to AFP.   "Between 90 and 93 percent of Morocco is affected by aridity and other forms of drought," he said, blaming... [read more]

Source: Middle East Online   By Salim Yassin - BEIRUT         At Ramlet el-Baida, Beirut's only public beach, some 40 volunteers in bright blue protective overalls track and scoop residue of the oil slick which for two months has blighted the Lebanese coast. "They are full of goodwill, but they will need to double their numbers and work for months to clean the beach,"... [read more]

An IUCN Press Release:   Málaga, Spain, 14 September 2006 (IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation)– The Mediterranean basin could soon experience significant reptile and amphibian extinctions according to the newMediterranean Red List of Threatened Species – Reptiles and Amphibians published today by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).   The Mediterranean basin is considered a... [read more]

Source: Times of Oman   Organised by the Oman International Trade and Exhibition (OITE), under the patronage of Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment and Water Resources, the exhibition will run until September 14 and provide an important networking platform for professionals related to the environmental sector locally, in the AGCC, the Middle East and internationally. The event... [read more]

A study commissioned by Panos-London to examine media attitudes in reporting about Climate Change in developing countries (Africa, Asia and Latin America) has shown that there is a very little interest in that regard. The study did not cover the Arab World and it could have been such an interesting survey if climate change reporting was investigated in the Arab World especially with very little political... [read more]

The Rwandan news agency has posted a news item stating that a new Nile River accord will be signed as early as the end of September or the begenning of October to replace the current accord that dates back to 1929. The report says that initial opposition by both Egypt and Sudan was eased with new clauses that provide security for both countries. Here is the complete text of the news feature: ... [read more]

The most comprehensive survey of the state of awareness and education of the Arab public vis-a-vis the Environment has been published by the Environment & Development magazine in June 2006. The survey was conducted in all Arab countries, and organized, analysed and edited by Mustapha K. Tolba the former Executive director of UNEP and the father of the Rio earth Summit in 1982, and Mr Najib Saab... [read more]

  During the last 10 years the "Environment & Development" magazine in lebanon proved to be the leading popular environmental publication in the Arab world. The monthy magazine, published by Mr Najib Saab secured its state as a verified and credible source of information, and a source of monitoring and evlauation of the performance of the Arab official environmental institutions. The magazine... [read more]

This blog was created in February 2006 as a virtual platform for updates and analysis of the Jordanian environmental issues and now I have decided to expand it into an Arab platform targeting the Jordanian, Arab and international environmental community.   I am an Ecologist by profession and education, and have worked for 10 years in environmental management with local and international organizations... [read more]

Source: The Jordan Times       By Grace Peacock   AMMAN — Artists and volunteers from Friends of the Earth Middle East  came together for a workshop this week to help children from the Jordan Valley express through art what they think of the degradation of the Jordan River and other water resources in their communities. Held at the Wild Jordan Centre in Jabal Amman on Thursday... [read more]

The most important added value of the Information technology revolution is that it provides access to news that does not make the news in the corporate controlled mainstream media. One of the most important sources of alternative media is the Project Censored organization, that follows and monitors the most important news and features that expose important facts that corporate media does not want... [read more]

In light of the chronically polluted Zarqa River basin, which is considered one of the major environmental hotspots in Jordan, The Ministry of Environment in Jordan has addressed the restoration of this river through organizing a number of multi-stakeholders workshops in collaboration with IUCN WESCANA Regional Office to devise a strategy for river restoration. "The restoration of Zarqa River Basin... [read more]

We Jordanians tend to take the law into our own hands sometimes and that causes some social and political problems. The Minister of Environment Mr Khalid Irani is no exception, but by implementing the law personally he gives an example and leads a process of national enforcement of environmental law through the newsly-established environmental police department. The Jordan Times published an interesting... [read more]

I am calling on every visitor to my blog to read this exciting blog www.terhaal.com dedicated to describing and displaying natural wonders of Jordan through stories on eco-tourism trips in our beloved kingdom. I have to say that I am currently "consuming" this blog as a hungry visitor, and I am enjoying each and every post. This blog is based on a collection of stories and nature adventures... [read more]