These sick baby turtles covered in barnacles are two of many turtles received for treatment in Dubai. Scientists are puzzled over the record number of mostly endangered Hawksbill turtles being admitted to the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project. The 210 turtles that have been brought in for treatment significantly exceeds the numbers received in previous years. […]
Cycling holidays are tempting travellers to eco-friendly ways of seeing the Middle East In recent months Green Prophet has reported on all aspects of cycling in the Middle East, from new resources for visitors wanting to visit the Middle East by bicycle, to calls for a Critical Mass-style ‘cycling revolution’ in Cairo. In line with […]
Despite the popular notion that sharks are a threat to human life, the reality is that we as humans form a bigger threat to the survival of sharks. In the Middle East, the growth of shark fishing and shark fining is becoming a serous threat to the shark population in Arabian waters. Although the UAE […]
Treehugger blogger Jennifer Hattam writes about environmental issues in Turkey and the greater Middle East. Following a long career with Sierra magazine, Jennifer Hattam packed her bags and moved to Turkey. There she writes about environmental issues for Treehugger (including Turkey’s plans to install nuclear power plants despite the Fukushima disaster in Japan) and the […]
A five-metre-long female shark and its litter of forty-five hammerhead pups was found dead at the Deira Fish Market in Dubai The Arabian Gulf marine ecosystem took a devastating hit this week after a pregnant great hammerhead shark was landed and forty-five pups gutted out of it in a Dubai fish market. Despite a shark […]
Though an uncomfortable notion for some, scholarship reveals that God had a wife. Scholars have known since the late 1960s that the ancient Israelites worshiped both Yahweh and his wife Asherah. Despite efforts by some editors to translate Asherah’s name to mean ‘Sacred Tree,’ archaeological findings and excerpts from the Book of Kings depict God’s […]
Turkey’s Environment & Forestry minister has demanded that the state highway construction agency build “green bridge” crossings for wildlife. Although the country’s environmental policy is rather bleak overall, with the prime minister vowing to continue building a nuclear reactor on a fault line in the southern region of Akkuyu, and the country’s clean energy program […]
In the last 30 years, 110 Iranian park rangers have been killed. Environmental bloggers pay tribute. Despite certain joint environmental initiatives between its government and that of Qatar, Iran really needs its nature lovers and advocates. Twenty-seven people die a day as a result of the Tehran’s pollution, its national parks are strewn with rubbish, […]
These young boys are sorting out recyclables in order to provide for their families. Children as young as ten are making a living by sorting through rubbish on the outskirts of the West Bank city Hebron. Following the second intifada in 2000, hundreds of Palestinians previously employed in Israel found themselves without work. By sorting […]
Souvenirs of the recent revolution are already on sale in Tahrir Square In recent weeks, Green Prophet has reported on concerns for MENA regional eco-tourism after visitor numbers slumped over concerns about safety, and on worries that the conflict in Libya could damage the country’s stunning historical remains. But plans to promote Middle East and […]
Meidad poses with Prince Charles at the Clarence House in London, where they discussed the progress of the Albatross Task Force. Like David de Rothschild, Meidad Goren has spent considerable time at sea working toward nature conservation. His most recent project focused on saving albatrosses. These sea birds become entangled with commercial fishing lines and […]
Land Rover has demonstrated its commitment to Arabian Leopard Conservation for the sixth year by supporting the Biosphere Expeditions research project. Wildlife conservation is rife with challenges, yet concerned organizations often battle to overcome them as a result of underfunding. Corporate assistance goes a long way to filling those financial gaps. In the Middle East, […]
The Middle East has become one of the most popular tourist destinations, and is expected to become even more so, but the current unrest has taken its toll. Even though Dubai has been spared the awful drama that has gripped many countries in the Middle East – most dramatically Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya – the […]
Along with 70 other environmental advocates, journalists, scientists, and other concerned citizens, Dana Al Hammadi is en route to Antarctica on an awareness-raising mission. Dana Al Hammadi is an inspiration to women everywhere. Thirty-seven years old and a mother to five children, she has embarked on one of the most important trips of her lifetime […]
This desolate part of Libya contains some of the world’s most unique primitive rock art The civil war now in progress in Libya is threatening everything there – especially the country’s historical sites that go back more than 3,000 years. The somber news of what is happening there was conveyed by what was the last […]
Increased flooding and temperatures could increase our exposure to chemicals kept in check according to the terms of the Stockholm Treaty. In 2004, the Stockholm Treaty was established to manage exposure to 21 dangerous chemicals. The Jerusalem Post reports that a recently-published United Nations document shows that climate change could undermine the ability of 172 […]
The Iraqi Marshlands, which were pushed to the brink of extinction under the Saddam era, are slowly being restored to their former glory For over 7,000 years the Iraqi Marshland- also known as the Mesopotamian Marshlands- played an important role in global ecosystems by supporting rare wildlife and rich biodiversity. Located in south Iraq, the […]
This female Bald Eagle may be saved – but what about others? Bald Eagles, longtime American symbols of strength and independence, are now fighting for their very survival in Canada due to their main food source, chum salmon, being scarce due to pollution and over fishing. Chum salmon are salmon which after fighting the river […]
National Geographic “isn’t just about animals”: that’s the message the Editor-in-Chief of the Arabic version intends to convey. National Geographic Magazine is one of the most exciting magazines on the planet. With 50 million monthly readers, its commitment to conservation, culture, and science is virtually unparalleled. To date, the National Geographic Society has awarded 9,000 […]
Thanks to a recent decision by Israel’s National Infrastructure Minister, Tourists heading for Ramon Crater won’t have to compete with unsightly transmission lines. As we push to exploit the Negev desert’s ubiquitous solar energy, we inevitably have to deal with evacuating said energy. Typically that involves unsightly transmission infrastructure: towers, lines, transformers, and more. Israel […]
Eco-tourism in Lebanon can do a lot to bolster local communities, if it gets off the ground. While attempting to move away from its scarred past, Lebanon has created a not-so-sustainable tourism industry with its focus on Beirut’s bars and beaches. The formerly lethargic tourism ministry is now trying to re-focus the market’s interest elsewhere […]
A new US report demonstrates that climate change and a variety of other factors could destroy all of the world’s coral reefs by 2050. Coral reefs are more than just a pretty place for divers to pass their time. They are absolutely essential to the proper functioning of international marine ecosystems, and to the communities […]
Leopards in Egypt are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. During certain periods of ancient Egyptian history it was illegal to kill cats, any cats. The punishment for said infraction? Death. Cats were considered so sacred that only the Pharaoh was permitted to own them. Now, not only […]
Around 3,000 horses have faced hardship and even starvation during the protests which rocked Egypt and toppled a 30-year dictatorship It’s been over ten days since Egyptians managed to unchain themselves from a 30-year old dictatorship after weeks of gathering in Tahrir Square to tell Mubarak to leave. According to Human Rights Watch just under […]
Speakers from Israel, Jordan, and Palestinian Territories will converge to make enviro-peace in this Ted-inspired event. The Guardian emphasizes the importance of cross-boundary cooperation in order to solve the pending water calamity that could grip the Middle East in a near-permanent state of discontent and suffering. No stranger to such challenges, Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians […]