Last week we heard about the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna) going into private homes in Amman and installing water conservation devices, but now they’ve gone straight to Jordan’s youth. Aiming to raise children’s awareness of the importance of water conservation, the Jordan Water Company held its first ever children’s water festival in Amman last Tuesday. […]
Jordan opened 15 lower-cost vegetable markets Saturday in several cities in honor of Ramadan, the month-long Muslim fasting holiday that began Friday. According to the Jordan Times, the government began the market program last Ramadan. In exchange for a free stall, water and electricity, farmers agree to mark their produce down 30 percent. The program […]
Last week we had news that Gaza and Israel are smoking a peace pipe for water. Now this is more news that should bring a smile to the face of every leader in the Middle East: A true regional partnership, brokered by three peace foundations – that is about to reduce biomass pollution for Israelis, […]
Farmers in northeastern Turkey are furious at the government’s plans to flood the verdant region with eight hydroelectric dams. According to the Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey is scrambling to meet its energy needs, and the Macahel basin is one of 550 sites in the Black Sea area marked for dams. The Macahel Basin was declared […]
Yalla Nwaffer Mai, or Let’s Save Water is a water conservation campaign launched in July by the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna), HSBC Bank, and USAID to fight water waste and create awareness about the need to conservate water in Jordan. Jordan is categorized as the fourth water-poorest country in the world. The target of the […]
The NATO Science for Peace Program and the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) recently awarded grants to researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev to continue working on a novel desalination method. In a region where potable water sources are so scarce, these methods are crucial to water independence and reducing reliance upon […]
After reviewing Jordan’s current environmental laws and discovering that there were many loopholes that enabled violators to avoid punishment, the Jordanian Ministry of Environment has decided to amend their laws. And they’ve decided to do it fast, within the next five months. Jordan currently has 21 legislations protecting the environment, but since they often contradict […]
A recent article in Israel’s Globes financial newspaper, explores how Israel’s valuable exports of Dead Sea mined potash to India will be reduced this year due to the weakest monsoon season in India in five years. The article Weak Monsoon Dries up Israel Chemicals Ltd (ICL) Potash Exports may result in a reduction of Israeli potash exports […]
Representatives of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority met last week to study ways to undertake a project known as the “Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program, according to Globes. The meeting, hosted by Jordan, was headed by representatives of the World Bank, with the purpose of forming a committee to study ways in […]
Feynan Eco Lodge, one of several eco tourist destinations in Jordan, has been rated by National Geographic as one of the top 50 eco lodges in the world and one of the top 10 eco lodges located in deserts, jungles, mountains, and savannas. Part of the reason that National Geographic considers Feynan to be so […]
Billionaire entrepreneur Yitzhak Tshuva, a man whose parents couldn’t afford to buy him a watch for his Bar Mitzvah, is now planning to undertake an even greater project on himself. The self-made Real Estate and business wheeler dealer is now planning to become fully involved in the construction of the proposed “Red-Dead” canal, that is […]
Jordan, a country with both an acute energy and water scarcity problem, is on the verge of building its first nuclear power plant, in a barren desert region in the eastern part of the country. According to a recent article in Ynet News, the plant will be built by Russia’s Rosatom Nuclear Corporation, and follows […]
A team of researchers from the University of Haifa have stumbled upon a rare desert plant living in Israel’s mountainous Negev desert, which can irrigate itself. The plant, the desert rhubarb, Rheum palaestinum, was first classified by a local Israeli botanist about 70 years ago. It has adapted to harsh desert climates by developing specially […]
The global contest for the Seven New Wonders of the World is not the only reason the Dead Sea is making news this week. Last Saturday, Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom announced that the World Bank agreed to finance a $1.25 billion feasibility study on the Red-Dead Canal plan. The plan, a joint venture supported […]
Although the Palestinian Authority had previously opposed nominating the salty lake that borders the West Bank, Israel and Jordan as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World, Haaretz reports that as of today, the PA is on board. The New Seven Wonders is an international Internet voting competition that seeks to raise environmental […]