The Arab Forum for Environment & Development (AFED) announced the launching of its work program during a press conference organized on the occasion of Environment 2007 conference and exhibition held in Abu Dhabi. The conference, addressed by AFED’s Secretary General Najib Saab, has been the first public proclamation of the regional Forum, after it gained the status of regional non-governmental... [read more]

Source: Al Maghrebeieh Network     A national energy plan aimed at improving Moroccans' quality of life through access to quality energy at lower costs is being prepared by the Moroccan Energy Ministry, Energy Minister Mohamed Boutaleb said at the Ministerial Council session last week. The main highlights of the plan include encouraging the rationalisation of energy consumption and promoting... [read more]

A new Waqf Fund Initiative for Water has recently been created by the IUCN West Central Asia & North Africa Regional Office (WESCANA) to finance water conservation activities. Waqf is an inalienable religious endowment in Islam by which an asset is used for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. It is conceptually similar to the common law trust. The Waqf Fund initiative is seen as a more flexible... [read more]

The Urban Poverty and Environment Program Initiative (UPE) of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) announced the selection of the three cities in the Focus Cities Research Initiative in North Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.   The strategy of the Focus Cities Research Initiative is to advance awareness, policy options, and best practices for the reduction of environmental... [read more]

In the Mediterranean basin, man has had close ties with groundwater since prehistoric times, which magnifies the need to investigate and manage this resource in an appropriate way, to plan water use, protect it from pollution and to keep it in good condition for forthcoming generations. The Declaration on Groundwater in the Mediterranean is the result from two international congresses organised in... [read more]

The first recommendations resulting from the feasibility study of a Mediterranean water observation mechanism were approved by the Euromed Water Directors in Athens (November 2006). On this basis the 2nd phase will be carried out in 2007 focusing on the potential development of a Mediterranean Water Information Partnership –MedWIP- with existing regional/international initiatives and complementary... [read more]

Gulf Daily News By Rebecca Torr   Children as young as three may soon learn how to protect the environment in their kindergartens if a group of educationalists get their way. "For years we have been looking to have environmental education in kindergartens, it's so essential," Environment Friends Society (EFS) president Khawla Al Muhannadi told the GDN. "The earlier you can instil environmental... [read more]

By Thuria Ghaleb Yemen Observer   Pesticides banned in the rest of the world are finding their way across Yemen’s borders and into its shops, said the Yemen Society for Consumer Protection, a non-governmental organization in Sana’a.  The statements came as a warning to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation on Jan. 13. It’s not enough for the General Department for Plant Protection, which... [read more]

The editorial of the UAE newspaper "Gulf News" for today was focused on the environment. This is the editorial: The recent inauguration of the Environment 2007 conference in Abu Dhabi highlights an issue of importance to the UAE as a developing country. Development on any scale should encompass protecting the environment at all levels. Hence laws and programmes should go hand in hand with the rate... [read more]

By Hakim Almasmari Yemen Observer   Yemen has been ranked among the worst countries in the world in regards to the availability of clean drinking water to the country’s people, according to the World Health Organization.  Only 26 percent of the Yemeni population has easy access to clean drinking water.  People who live in major cities are much more likely to have access to clean drinking water... [read more]

Raid Qusti, Arab News   RIYADH, 24 January 2007 — Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen said yesterday that new housing projects would not be permitted without water-conservation measures in place. “This is part of a collaborative effort with the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization ... that every new home is built with water-saving kits,” he said without outlining how the measure... [read more]

Source: 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... [read more]

    Berlin, 23 January 2007— Serious and in some cases widespread environmental challenges are confronting the Lebanese authorities as a result of the recent conflict, a report launched today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says.   Many of the bombed and burnt out factories and industrial complexes including the Jiyeh power plant south of Beirut are contaminated with... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times   By Ammar W. Mango  One of the least talked about mega projects in the world media lies beneath the desert in Libya.  Termed the “Great Man Made River,” it consists of a network of underground pipe systems that draw water from the deep aquifers beneath the Libyan desert, and pumps it all the way to the population centres of Libya’s Mediterranean coast. The project, started... [read more]

Source: Gulf News   By Scott Shuey, Chief Business Reporter   Dubai: When it comes to kicking Mother Earth, a recent report by the World Wildlife Fund said the UAE is leaving the biggest footprint. According to the WWF report, the UAE's "Ecological Footprint," which is a measurement of human demand on the environment, is the world's largest, per capita. The 2006 study was the third report... [read more]

Source: Gilf Times   By Arvind Nair THE Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture has issued a severe warning to boat owners, fishermen and others against polluting the waters and coastal areas. The Beaches and Islands Monitoring Unit at the ministry said strict action would be taken against those flouting the rules on sanitation and environment. Rules pertaining to marine and coastal protection... [read more]

By Hani M. Bathish and Maher Zeineddine Daily Star staff BEIRUT: The numerous unregulated sand and rock quarries dotting Lebanon's picturesque landscape make up the single largest local source of income for many political parties, according to Habib Maalouf, head of the Lebanese Environmental Party. Many politicians themselves own quarries, he says. Maalouf told The Daily Star that, aside from... [read more]

Source: Middle East Online   SANAA - Health officials in Yemen say illegal pesticides used in the cultivation of khat [a mild narcotic popular in Yemen and the Horn of Africa], fruit and vegetables cause 16,000-17,000 cancer cases each year. Nadeem Mohammed Sa’eed, director of the National Cancer Centre in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, said several pesticides were toxic and their prolonged use... [read more]

Source: Middle East Online   AMMAN - Pollution, over-fishing 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, environmentalists and fishermen said on Sunday. “Immediate action must be taken to stop the ongoing depletion of fish stocks and damage to the eco-system,” said Fadi Sharaiha of the Royal... [read more]

Source: Middle East Online   BAGHDAD - Residents of Iraq's capital, Baghdad, are at risk of contracting a range of waterborne diseases as the city’s sewage system has collapsed after four days of heavy rain, the country’s health ministry said on Monday. For nearly a week now, 45-year-old teacher Jassim Abdullah has been forced to buy bottled water for his family’s daily use at an expense... [read more]

Source: Arab News   JEDDAH, 4 January 2007 — The city of Jeddah has seen massive construction in the last five years with an abundance of buildings mushrooming across the city due to an economic boom in the Kingdom. However, many construction companies have a tendency to dump their construction waste on empty pieces of land across the city. The problem has been exacerbated lately and environment... [read more]

Source: Arab News   MAKKAH, 5 January 2007 — Experts have warned of an emerging threat of vast environmental pollution at the holy sites during the Haj season unless precautionary measures are taken. They urged the authorities to pay attention to the protection of the environment as assiduously as they do to the security, comfort, accommodation and movements of the pilgrims, Al-Riyadh newspaper... [read more]

 Source: Al Bawaba Nakheel, the UAE’s leading real estate developer, has taken another significant step forward in ensuring the long-term sustainability of its offshore developments following the signing of a strategic agreement with the United Nations University (UNU). The agreement on Marine Ecosystem Management engages a team of leading coastal management experts and includes a review of Nakheel’s... [read more]

This is hot news I just discovered. In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz today, King Abdullah II declared that Jordan is seeking to develop a nuclear programme. The King said to Akiva Eldar, one of Israel's few progressive and real peace advocates in a comprehensive interview which contained the following statements: " The rules have changed on the nuclear subject throughout the whole... [read more]

Dubai hosted the Global Environmental Youth Convention in December 2006. The details of the convention can be accessed at www.geyc.ae One of the major initiatives of the convention was to launch the Global Youth Reporters programme. The programme is part of a long-term project to teach basic news gathering and news writing skills to students from around the globe. Reuters Foundation consultants... [read more]

A regional workshop on information and communication improvement for environmental management in the Mediterranean region was held in Rome in October 2006.   This link provides all the documents and presentations of the workshop  [read more]

The first EWS-WWF Marine Conservation Forum took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on September 11-14, 2006. The Forum provided an opportunity for the region’s environmentalists to share concerns about the region’s coral reef and marine turtle populations and collaborate on potential solutions. Representatives from Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and... [read more]

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... [read more]

UNEP Regional Consultation Meetings in preparation for the 2007 Global Civil Society Forum (GCSF) and Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF) have successfully concluded.  In Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and West Asia, civil society representatives met to discuss pressing environmental issues of relevance to their regions... [read more]

This is a very important article written by Dr. Dureid Mahasneh one of Jordan main water experts on the proposed project to bring water from the fossil aquifer of Disi to meet the domestic water demands in Amman. He requests another approach of bringing the people to the south of Jordan and establishing development activities supported by the Disi aquifer. The article was published in Jordan Business... [read more]

Source: Id 21   In many cases, poor governance of international transboundary water resources results in water conflicts of varying intensities. Can cooperation over water replace competition and conflict? Transboundary water resources are those which cross one or more international borders. Research from Kings College London in the UK focuses on transboundary water conflicts in the Middle... [read more]

Abu Dhabi will host the Environment 2007 exhibition and conference between 28th-31st of January 2007.   The focus of this prestigious event will be on Air, Energy, Water, and Waste, providing an ideal platform to promote products and services that relate to these very important elements. Official bodies pertaining to environmental matters from the MENA countries (Middle East and North Africa)... [read more]

The Regional Centre on Urban Water Management - Tehran (RCUWM - Tehran); Islamic Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (ISESCO); United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Power and Water University of Technology (PWUT) are organizing the International Conference on Water Resources Management in the Islamic Countries in Tehran during the period 19-21 February... [read more]

If you happen to be a gifted photographer prepare your equipment to participate in this year's photo contest on health and environment organized by the World Health organization (WHO).   The contest is closes 9th March 2007.   This is an initiative to raise awareness of the importance of ensuring healthier environments (incl. for children and adolescents) through powerful images, illustrations,... [read more]

ESCWA is currently implementing an impressive and ambitious programme to explore links between trade and environment in West Asia. A number of events and workshops were conducted within the framework of this programme with the latest one being in Amman. The procedures and presentations of the Amman national roundtable can be viewed from this link http://www.escwa.org.lb/divisions/events/11Dec06... [read more]

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in November between IUCN WESCANA Regional Office and its state member in Iran, Department of Environment (DOE) to hold The 6th Regional Conservation Forum (RCF) in Tehran during the period of May 22-25, 2007. This forum will provide a platform for all the experts, NGOs and governments in the region to participate and exchange knowledge to provide a secure living... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times January 10th 2007   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... [read more]

Another interesting article from the Jordanian economic expert Yousef Mansour published by the Jordan Times on January 9th   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... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times: January 5th 2007   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... [read more]