Defying the Iraqi central government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has begun selling gas directly to Turkey. Crude oil sales will also begin soon. Five tankers crossed the border from the KRG into Turkey in July, marking the first exchange of oil or gas between the two governments. The trade was just a harbinger of […]
Nearly seven percent of adolescent Iraqis have smoked shisha, and more than three percent have smoked tobacco, raising concerns among health officials about future diseases that could arise as a result. This was one of the findings of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey carried out recently by Iraq’s Ministry of Health. Shisha, also known as […]
Paris art exhibit tackles Islamic taboos in a show aimed at broadening Western views of Mid East culture. Oooh la la…The Body Uncovered, at Paris’ Arab World Institute (AWI), presents two hundred controversial paintings, photographs, sculptures and videos that tackle variations of a provocative theme: the naked body. A mix of art forms created by […]
Award-winning architect Salma Samar Damluji speaks to GreenProphet about her mud architecture work in Yemen and why Dubai’s property development mentality is ruining the Middle East The Middle East may be a fascinating place politically but architecturally, it’s on its last legs. Years of corruption and poor governance mean it’s slowly becoming one of the […]
Iraqi architect Salma Samar Damluji has won the ‘Global Award for Sustainable Architecture’ for her mud-brick renovation work in Yemen Mud. Muck. Dirt. Clay. Earth. Call it what you like – it’s the stuff of life and also of sustainable architecture. From the stunning mud mosque of Djenne in Mali to the clay tower homes […]
Who would have thought that Iraqis and Kurds could start a green music and art event? Two non-profits, Nature Iraq and Development Now are holding the first Green Music and Arts Festival in Iraq tomorrow to honor Earth Day the day after. To be held in Sulaimani’s Azadi Park in Sulaimani, it will be the […]
Green Prophet’s Karin meeting Jordan’s prince in 2010 in Switzerland. Way back in 2010 a group of high profile water researchers and dignitaries from the Middle East met in Switzerland to find ways of making liquid peace. Diplomacy works through slow channels, but a new group of ministers and VIPs from around the region have agreed […]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q4YTpa3Bwg] Who would have known 50 years ago that Angel Falls can be experienced like this? Flying in a motorized paraglider over one of the most diverse continents in the world I find it absolutely awe inspiringly mind blowingly beautiful that nowadays we have the technology to provides us with new perspectives on this spherical […]
Country data reveals that Syria, Lebanon and Iraq are potentially the only virtual water exporting countries in the Middle East. Get in the know about blue, green and grey water footprints. Following the previous article on measuring your Ecological Footprint, here we will focus on the Water Footprint. Let’s start with understanding the Virtual Water […]
Iraqi historical sites are many, but the security situation is still risky Middle East Eco Tourism has been written about a lot on Green Prophet, including upscale Five Star Eco-Tourism in locations like Abu Dhabi and Jordan, hiking holiday tours in Lebanon, and even how to travel through parts of the Middle East by bike. […]
Imagine a rapidly growing tourist paradise, but set in the path of a "freeway" line of oil tankers constantly moving through the Gulf region, shipping out a third of the world's oil, polluting the coastline, and you can begin to imagine the scope of the problem assessed by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health in Toronto.
Azzam Alwash (left), director of the environmental organisation Nature Iraq, talks with a Marsh Arab who lives in the Mesopotamian Marshlands of Iraq In the first part of this two-piece feature, Azzam Alwash the director of Nature Iraq, spoke to us about his warm memories as a child visiting the Mesopotamian Marshlands of Iraq with […]
Iraq is rife with environmental woes, as Arwa points out in her survey. And some of the most endangered animals are migratory birds: the Basra Reed Warbler (found in the southern Marshlands) and the Egyptian Vulture (found in the Kurdistan-Iraq Mountains) are especially at risk. To honor World Migratory Bird Day May 14-15 this year, […]
Middle East NGOs must cross social, political and religious barriers to achieve long-term solutions to solve their regional complex environmental problems. While changes in political landscape across the Middle East and North Africa continue to pose immediate security and economic challenges for the region, can the environmental movement find a voice through wider political participation […]
“Szzzzz, c’mon, honey; just take a little bitty bite of this delicious fruit” This question has been asked by much of Mankind ever since the dawn of the Creation: was the snake that enticed Eve and Adam to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge really environmentally unfriendly? And is it fair to blame the […]