Prince Hasan should be blogging - Jordan Environment Watch

I have always admired the encyclopedic knowledge of HRH Prince Hasan bin Talal and I always feel encaptivated while listening to his speeches or reading his articles. I think, however that the Prince may increase the penetration of his ideas to the general Arab public by engaging directly with the public opinion through initiating a blog that may act as a platform between the Prince and the people so that his highly articulated opinions may be discussed in a wider scope that the usual elitist discussions.

On this occasion, this is a news feature from the Jordan Times about his latest speech in Amman.

'Regional water cooperation key to development'

Jordan Times 5 November 2009

The region must establish a supranational commission on water and energy issues in order to overcome development challenges, HRH Prince Hassan said on Wednesday.

Addressing the “Third Convening of the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention and Human Security” yesterday, Prince Hassan said the region faces a major challenge in "carrying capacity for human, natural and economic resources".

He added that the West Asia North Africa region is one of “the principal regions of stateless persons, displaced persons, internally displaced persons, migrants and refugees under different mandates”.

During the conference, which focused on regional water cooperation, Prince Hassan outlined what is required to develop a roadmap to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to reach a new world solidarity concept.

Addressing participants, HRH Princess Sumaya, president of El Hassan Science City and the Royal Scientific Society (RSS), stressed the importance of environmental health and human security.

“Environmental health and security is a topic that deserves our attention in such a changing world, and there is a major role for preventive diplomacy to play. For me at least, preventive diplomacy is via participation, role play and sharing responsibilities as well as the benefits,” Princess Sumaya said.

Underlining the science city’s role in development in Jordan and the greater region, the Princess noted that the RSS monitors water quality and reports the results to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the Ministry of Environment, the Jordan Food and Drug Administration, and the Jordan Institution for Standards and Metrology.

Speaking at the opening yesterday, Vice President of the EastWest Institute Ambassador Günter Overfeld said there is a need for a preventive policy to ensure water security and encourage exchange among experts and specialists.

At the end of the two-day event, participants are expected to submit a report detailing success stories in regional water cooperation and recommendations for boosting parliamentarians’ role in regional cooperation.

The event, which was organised by the EastWest Institute and El Hassan Science City with the support of the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy, gathered 30-40 MPs as well as water specialists and civil society representatives.

Also on Wednesday, Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali met with members of the Parliamentarians Network, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, he stressed the importance of implementing the Dead Sea-Red Sea Canal Project, noting that it will serve not only Jordan but also Palestine and Israel.

Majali also highlighted water harvesting projects in the Kingdom, as well as the Disi Water Conveyance Project.