Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and more frequent droughts amplify existing disputes. Water scarcity can fuel unrest, as seen in Iran’s Khuzestan protests, and can undermine fragile peace deals in post-conflict states like Libya and Yemen.
In a region long marked by political divides, armed conflict, and environmental degradation, EcoPeace Middle East is quietly advancing the power of peacebuilding. Peace through education. Through its cross-border teacher tours in the Jordan Valley, EcoPeace is bringing together educators from Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories to address critical environmental issues.
This story is about the Dead Sea, why it's shrinking, and what is being done about it. It is also a call for action story to spread awareness on this critical issue.
Imagine creating a garbage dump in the middle of the grand canyon or scaling the top of off Mount Everest? In effect that's what mineral mining is doing at the Dead Sea. And where politics and money can't intervene Ariel Fruchter is hoping art will help.
Our favorite peace-water NGO Friends of the Earth Middle East have just held a conference in Jordan last week and there had faith leaders sign the “Covenant for the Jordan River” to save the Jordan River.
Watch your step, kibbutzniks and spa-mavens! Diminishing water levels in the Dead Sea are causing changes to surrounding groundwater flows. Freshwater moves through the aquifer, dissolving subterranean salt deposits and creating underground voids, which cause surface collapse. Dramatic and unpredictable, sinkholes appear at the alarming rate of nearly one a day. First observed around the […]
The Lower Jordan River, the baptismal river of Jesus, has been dead at its source for some time. For the first time in ages, Israel is releasing native waters via a pump back to the historic waterway.
Five thousand Syrians have died since the uprising started but climate change could kill many more in this dry country. Approximately 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March last year, according to UN estimates, and an additional 600 detainees and political prisoners have died under torture. And yet there is […]
Lead and other pollutants are seeping into Israeli drinking water at alarming levels. Lutra numbers decimated; human health at risk. Water pollution in Israeli lakes, streams and groundwater aquifers is reaching alarming levels. Although the country has regulations in place to prevent discharges, including a comprehensive Water Law, contamination is commonplace. And now scientists are […]
The dire situation of the Dead Sea has recently been dramatized by eco artists like Sigalit Landau The Dead Sea is again in environmental headlines as a project to remove salt accumulations from the lakes southern portions have passed preliminary readings in Israel’s parliament. The salt removal project would be largely paid for by the […]
Spencer Tunick briefing naked participants prior to a photo shoot. Can the Naked Sea stunt be done to save the Jordan River as well? The momentous event staged at the Dead Sea by American photographic art producer Spencer Tunick at the Lowest Point on earth is now over ; and those who participated in this […]
Spencer Tunick’s naked shoot at the Dead Sea in Israel: yes, some women even got covered in Dead Sea mud. Cloaked in secrecy, they wouldn’t know the location until they got into the bus. While politics in the Middle East seems to overshadow environmental issues, some passionate Israelis decided to be a part of history, […]
The Naked Sea installation is intended to draw attention to the declining environmental situation at the Dead Sea. Will you get naked for the Dead Sea? Naked-people-installation-artist Spencer Tunick is still trying to raise funds to create a massive naked art exhibit which he plans on photographing at the Dead Sea – which we covered […]
Palestinian youth learn about water issues at Al-Auja Eco-Centre Green Prophet has featured news about the Friends of the Earth Middle East (FOEME) Eco-Centre at Al-Auja, a Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley, on a number of occasions. Green Prophet writer Rachel Bergstein has reported on the challenges the inhabitants of Al-Auja face because the […]
With input from over 100 Middle Eastern leaders, the Swiss government has produced a positive tool that could transform regional water policies. There are no foregone conclusions. How the next few decades proceed depends on us, on actions that we take today. We know that the Jordan River barely exists six months every year, such […]