Karin meets Prince Hassan of Jordan at a water security conference in Switzerland last week. It was a meeting of minds, water minds. Water consultants, ambassadors who’ve built water treaties, and government specialists and negotiators from around the Middle East and Europe gathered in Montreux, Switzerland for a two-day workshop on Water Security in the […]
An Israeli-Egyptian solar project in the Sinai Desert? Not on Egypt’s account. It was the sunniest news to come out of the Eilat Energy conference last week: that Israel and Egypt would be cooperating on solar energy projects in the Sinai Desert, now under Egyptian sovereignty. While Israel and Egypt, thanks to Sadat now have […]
Greening the Desert? A Qatar bank and the UN are now partners. Parts of the Middle East, especially in the Persian Gulf area will get a bigger environmental boost thanks to an alliance between Qatar’s Doha Bank and the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. In an article published in the Eye of Dubai news […]
The Arab world is getting dryer; Bin Laden blames the US and western globalization for climate change. We’ve covered this topic before: the effects of climate change on a region of the world that in even normal weather periods is not exactly flowing with fresh water. In one article we noted acute water crises problems […]
Ira reports on the World Future Energy Summit which he attended this January. The event hosted by Abu Dhabi is arguably the most important environment conference to fuel green change among Arab nations. Israel was not among the 36 countries to officially participate in the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi in January. Some […]
Coyote land or parking space for solar energy? Ask the coyotes first solar energy companies are finding out. Solar energy project promoters may not be paying attention to the ecological impacts of installing large solar panel installations in non-settled desert areas. This issue was brought up recently following the revealing of plans for companies like the […]
The current border wall between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. According to experts, a new underground wall will cause serious damage to Gaza’s Coastal Aquifer. The Coastal Aquifer, the main freshwater resource for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, has been in danger for a long time. The environmental impacts of last year’s war between […]
Following a conference on a proposed nature peace park between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights, Saleem H. Ali, a guest speaker at the conference gives his opinion on the prospects and potential of a peace park. Ali is associate professor of environmental planning at the University of Vermont and the author of Treasures […]
Yemen’s water crisis is worsening as the country struggles with armed conflicts on three fronts. Above: a village well almost runs out of water. As delegates head to the United Kingdom for a key conference on Yemen, experts warn that Sanaa could become the first capital in the world to run out of water within […]
Morocco, still very undeveloped compared to the west, looks to make an environmental plan of action. Morocco is currently consulting with political and environmental groups and activists over the preliminary draft of the country’s environmental charter, which targets preserving the environment and fostering sustainable development. While the first draft was taking shape, the government in […]
Masdar City: What Renewable Energy Should Strive For When the 2010 World Future Energy Summit opened this week in Abu Dhabi, one of the primary goals of this year’s conference was to find more ways to rid the United Arab Emirates and other Middle East countries off their dependence on petroleum as a major energy supplier. The […]
Flowers in Brazil won’t hide leaky pipes forever. Israel already has made great strides in the area of water loss prevention technologies, especially with companies like Arad Technologies (their drone plane that detects leaks) and Leviathan Energy. These kinds of technologies get another push in the market: MIYA, (pronounced me-ya) a municipal water loss prevention […]
In an historic move, for the first time Jerusalem sent an Israeli cabinet minister to Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates. With no diplomatic ties with Israel, National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau said that he did not meet with any Emirati officials while at the newly established International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), reports AP. […]
This interview rounds off our water series of interviews with Israeli water experts. In collaboration with the Strategic Foresight Group we’ve been busy talking with experts and policy makers and shapers from Israel on how it can help achieve water security in the region. Today we speak with Oren Blonder, director of the Agriculture, Water […]
When Jordanian EU Ambassador Ahmad Massadeh’s name was proposed as the new head of the Mediterranean Union Project on Tuesday, everyone applauded. The project has been stalled due to infighting, and other representatives are hopeful about Massaadeh’s ability to make progress. The Mediterranean Union Project, which was launched by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris […]