The creation of the man-made Suez Canal that links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean has made it easier to ship goods from Asia and Africa to Europe, but it has caused a number of environmental problems. One is invasive species like jellyfish multiplying with no end in sight in the Mediterranean Sea.
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Tunisia and Turkey were among the representatives at the SafeMed course on the environmental risk of ballast water last month. The course was offered in Malta and is designed to emphasize the effective implementation of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water […]
Four years ago Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) schemed a plan to eradicate the blue-leafed wattle (acacia saligna), an invasive species native to Australia that threatened to overrun the native plant species in Nahal Sorek National Park. Just a few years ago the blue-leafed wattle spread beyond the park’s boundaries to eight spots along the […]
Despite recent beach cleanup efforts, much more needs to be done to protect the Mediterranean. Meet Dr. Ruth Yahel, a marine ecologist for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, who specializes in studying and protecting Israel’s Mediterranean marine environment. She said that the Med is “going through an enormous change, and that 50% of the […]