The online ‘zine Foreign Policy posted its “worst countries for journalism” with the Middle East grabbing three of the Top Ten slots. As we scour the media, we already see how this fares for environmental reporting which is practically non-existent in the Middle East.
Bahrain is looking to overhaul its energy management system and announced this week that it was to implement a new “radical” IT system that would help boost energy efficiency in the Gulf Kingdom.
Water scarcity has already become a fact of daily life for Egyptians The world’s driest region, the Middle East* and North Africa (MENA), is getting drier at an alarming rate. And yet, despite massive population growth (the Middle East’s population grew 61 percent from 1990 to 2010 to 205 million people) predictions of so-called “water [...]
Live export controversy hits Middle East with full force: Australia may be merciful when raising its cattle at home. That all changes once they head to the Middle East market. Animals and animal rights are not top on any agenda in the Middle East, but in 2012, a number of incidents brought the controversial live [...]
Despite the many stereotypes about residents of Gulf countries, many people prefer creative, sustainable boutiques to shopping in big glitzy malls, though their options are typically fairly limited. Which might explain why Bahrain’s Market 338 has become such a popular destination. Inaugurated by Al Riwaq Art Space, the temporary souq in Manama’s Adliya district started with [...]
Whether your sandy reminiscences are wet or dry, two artists have devised ways to make your memories tangible. My brain inextricably links sand to sea thanks to 25 summers spent on a New Jersey barrier island. Middle East experiences have me now connecting the grainy stuff to locations and memories largely devoid of water, such [...]
The newly formed Arab Youth Climate Movement held a successful ‘Day Of Action’ which called on the Arab world to take the lead at the upcoming climate negotiations On Saturday, members of the Arab Youth Climate Movement united in a day of action aimed at encouraging the Arab world to take the lead on climate [...]
Bahrain, a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf, has lagged behind other Gulf region countries in developing its clean energy sector. But the ministry of electricity and water affairs is looking to change all of that with the announcement of a new solar energy project in the capital, Manama. The [...]
Established in the lead up to the COP18 Doha negotiations, the Arab Youth Climate Movement brings together over 20 campaigners from 15 Middle East/North Africa countries As the saying goes, there is power in numbers. So it’s great to see environmental organisations across MENA come together to “create a more sustainable, prosperous, meaningful, just, and [...]
If you can’t afford your own private submarine, or are afraid of diving, there’s always Google: Google has already taken their street view maps to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and many other places in many lands. Now they are venturing out into that other seventy percent of the earth, the sea.
Within 24 hours Jordan may become the latest Arab nation to muzzle media freedom if Parliament passes a bill to censor internet access in Kingdom. New amendments to the Press and Publications Law would require online news sites to register with the government, obtain costly operating licenses from the Ministry of Information, become members of [...]
Laurie escaped from the Trade Towers 11 years ago and as a building expert looks critically at standards in the Middle East. Building codes ensure that a properly constructed building will safely stand up to predictable wear and tear. Codes specify fire-resistant performance for materials and prescribe safe exiting requirements for occupants. But what guides [...]
Only eight percent of our oceans are “shallow seas” (shallower than 100 feet), but these wildly diverse ecosystems harbor most of the world’s marine life. Egypt, Israel, and Jordan (all connected to the Red Sea) and the Gulf states stand to lose enormous tourism revenue if their natural reefs continue to be destroyed by coastal development. Last [...]
Find out how Middle Eastern and North African nations fared in the recent global Ocean Health Index (I’ll give you a clue – not very well) With a recent Greenpeace report urging action to tackle the toxicity of Lebanon’s waters due to trash, now seems the perfect time to look into the health of the [...]
Answering (or at least attempting to answer) what now feels like an age-old question What can Islam do for the environment? That’s a question I have been asking myself for some years now and, in all honestly, I am nowhere near answering it fully. I have definitely enjoyed looking into the green ethics of Islam [...]
Another major fire in the Middle East: this time in a traditional market, souq. Firefighters battled a blaze that erupted last week in Manama, Bahrain’s capital city, destroying hundreds of shops in the popular Isla Town Market. Over 500 stalls and shops were destroyed in the five hours it took to bring the blaze under [...]
Bahrain’s health authority has established four directives to regulate the sale and prescription of traditional, alternative medicines. This step was taken in response to concern about the credibility of some businesses. Now the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) will establish guidelines for the sale, use, and advertising of alternative medicines, including services and practices such as [...]
On Tuesday thousands of Turkish women and activists sent government ministries a petition protesting the bill proposed by the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) that would ban abortions not taking place between the fourth and sixth week of pregnancy. Turkish law currently allows abortion until the tenth week. With dwindling environmental resources and rampant [...]
Green Prophet’s reports on happenings in the Gulf region have increasingly been using the acronym GCC, which stands for Gulf Cooperation Council. Perhaps a bit of an explanation is in order. GCC is a political and economic alliance between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Saudi Arabia (KSA). It was formed in 1981 following [...]
I know I know, the proposed federation of six gulf countries has nothing to do with anything remotely green. I also realize that the ulterior motive is to gain political strength and stability in the region and it is possible that this may even escalate the unrest, given that not everyone is happy with this [...]
Sudan’s Mohammad Baloola says his invention can eradicate an emerging Gulf disease: diabetes. As a biomedical engineering student at Ajman University of Science and Technology, Mohammad Baloola found homegrown inspiration for his final year project. Four members of his family are diabetic, a collective muse for his ingenious artificial pancreas. The pancreas is the body’s sole [...]
What the Middle East will look like with a 9 meter raise. Play God with the online map to see what we’ll lose. When you click around NASA’s online flood maps you can instantly view impacts on the world’s coastal communities. A single meter increase soaks Alexandria and Basra, and rattles the nerves of eastern Saudi [...]
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) fast food market is expected to reach $4.5 billion in gross sales by 2015, driven by growing demand from its young, western-influenced population, higher disposable incomes, and new financing arrangements, according to a report by Euromonitor, a leading analyst of global markets.Western coffee chains are less about catching a [...]
A new pavilion by A-Bureau takes back an area of downtown Bahrain overrun by traffic – even if only temporarily. Right in the midst of the worst government crackdowns in Bahrain last year, we interviewed Camille Zakharia – a talented photographer whose work has been shown all over the world. Recently he sent us images [...]
America joins Jordan in a celebration of green, but Laura’s not sold on the deal. The USA and Jordan recently entered into environmental partnership, cosigning a plan to promote four distinct Jordanian initiatives: ecosystem conservation; increased education; improved private sector performance; and stronger environmental law. This agreement wrapped up a one-day forum on Environmental Technical Cooperation involving [...]
The wonderful thing about living in the Middle East is that we have so many holidays each year. But we like to celebrate the earth-friendly way, so check out our suggestions for good places to buy sustainable gifts. We know most of our readers are unlikely to buy into the mad consumer rush that Christmas [...]
Green Bar makes local, natural beauty products in an industry pumped with chemicals and toxic preservatives. It’s tough enough being a woman without having to worry about nasty preservatives in cosmetics, or the loads of other bad things pumped into beauty products. The natural world is filled with plants and flowers that have been used [...]
UN scientists say rapid coastal development, booming populations and the fossil fuel industry is wreaking havoc in the Arabian Gulf The Arabian Gulf, which is also known as the Persian Gulf, is a semi-enclosed area of sea in the Middle East region that has eight bordering countries from Iraq down to Oman. As a major [...]
Gulf States have been drilling oil for decades now. Can we really get them to co-operate at the upcoming climate summit in Durban and re-think oil? Climate negotiations to get world leaders to agree to a fair and binding agreement that will keep climate change in check have been ticking away in the background for [...]
Akko in Israel is just one important World Heritage Site in the Middle East region that could suffer from the United States’ decision to withhold funding to UNESCO following the admittance of Palestine as a member state. Department of State spokesperson Victoria Nuland said that the United States will “refrain from making contributions to UNESCO” [...]
Catch up on the green stories from Middle East you may have missed this week It’s certainly been a busy week of green news and our team of Green Prophet reporters have been working hard to get the latest to you. From Lebanon’s embrace of the car to the continuing water problems for Egypt’s Nile, [...]
Energy subsidies keeping petrol and electricity prices low in the Middle East are jeopardizing the chances of renewable energy projects The Middle East may be unique for many reason- the stunning souks, the hospitality of the people and explosive political mentality- but they are probably known for just one thing: oil. Indeed, Gulf nations have [...]
Over the last thirty years, carbon emissions in North Africa and the Middle East (MENA) have doubled with citizens in the Gulf states producing up to 10 times the amount of CO2 as the average global citizen Awareness of the dangers of climate change may be on the increase in the Middle East but action [...]
Although Ramadan is now officially over, Bahrain’s Information Affairs Agency (IAA) raised $4 million for famine-struck Somalis in keeping with their “religious, moral, and patriotic duty.” The Horn of Africa famine has already claimed 29,000 children under the age of five and shows no signs of abating. The images of emaciated babies with bones piercing [...]
Carboun, an organisation which promotes sustainability in the Middle East, has produced its first infographic which does a great job of mapping out the region’s carbon emissions I am huge fan of infographics – information as graphics – for the simple reason that they are a great way to get a handle on lots of [...]
Outside temperatures often reach into the mid-fifties (celsius!) during Middle East summers. Construction workers feel the heat. Behind every glamorous building in Dubai are hundreds of mostly South Asian workers. Yesterday, during a ten kilometer city hike from the Burj Khalifa to Bur Dubai, the quality of life for nearly half of the Emirate’s population [...]
The three winners from the Middle East/MENA region are Tunisia, Bahrain and Qatar in new survey on tourism trends. The recently released 2011 “Travel and Tourism Competitiveness”report by the World Economic Forum, in co-operation with Booz & Company, reveals some interesting dynamics in the global tourism industry, including a shift to the East, with Central and [...]
Six Gulf states hook up for profit A few years late, phase two of the long-planned GCC Grid was inaugurated this week. When all four sections are complete it will unite the six Gulf nations on one unified electric grid, making it much easier to build and share power from renewable energy sources, and realize [...]
Car parts, scrap metal, fish and produce from Japan won’t enter Egyptian ports. Traces of radiation, likely from Japan, have been clocked at Israel’s nuclear research station, and Bahrain is building a contingency plan should radiation levels spiral further out of control in Japan. Now, Egypt has declared that it will halt all import of [...]
Bahrain (A) will screen Japanese travelers (B) at airport if radiation levels rise. It goes without saying that radiation, like air and water pollution knows no borders. Countries close to Japan, and even those farther away like Israel and the United States have already measured radiation from Japan’s troubled nuclear reactors. Now Bahrain authorities, a [...]