Could large solar array farms put these desert animals at risk? Builders of large solar array farms in Israel’s Negev region and in places like California’s Mojave Desert have had ongoing problems with nature lovers , environmentalists, and Native American Tribes . It now appears that the environmentalists in Israel may be winning out on […]
Can Wadi Rum cope with a predicted influx of tourists attracted by its World Heritage status? In June, the Jordanian desert valley of Wadi Rum joined the UNESCO World Heritage List, with a decision which has been much predicted since the end of 2010. According to Green Prophet’s Tafline Laylin, writing in September 2010, UNESCO […]
We speak to conservationist Mindy Baha El Din about the rise of the environmental movement in post-revolution Egypt, tourism and the challenges ahead Mindy Baha El Din was born in the US and came to Egypt in 1988 armed with a degree in Arabic and Economics as well as a passion for birdwatching, to establish […]
An Egyptian real estate developer is planning to build on 650 acres of protected land near Lake Qarun Despite the huge potential for Eco-tourism in the Middle East, the reality is that most tourism development in the region are about one thing: making lots of money. Protecting the environment and preserving important natural habitats are […]
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, […]
After six years of hard work, Friends of the Earth Middle East have opened an eco-park in Jordan dedicated to preserving biodiversity Last week, the Sharhabil Bin Hassneh EcoPark in Jordan was opened after six years of planning which saw the development of several thousand dunams of land in the Jordan Valley. As well as […]
New parks will give relief to Tel Aviv’s crowded beaches, and save the environment! Israel’s announcement that it will create a new network of land and sea parks in order to protect its coastal escarpment is a boon for beach-lovers too. A harbinger of what might happen should the Gaza artificial island project take root, […]
A marine turtle in Florida passed 74 foreign objects over a period of one month. Conference in Honolulu tries to get a grip on plastic pollution. Let’s not mince our words: plastic pollution sucks. The source of David de Rothschild’s inspiration to sail the Pacific on a lumbering catamaran made from 12, 500 plastic bottles, […]
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 […]
Reconciling nature and fashion with a new generation of biodegradable shoes. We’ve seen some pretty interesting shoes on Green Prophet, such as these tongue shoes from Israeli designer Kobi Levi and these nature-friendly vegan shoes, but we would never have thought about sprouting new life from smelly worn shoes. OAT Shoes from the Netherlands did, […]
Violators of the new recreational fishing ban in Southern Sinai will be tracked and prosecuted. At the end of last year, a spate of shark attacks left three tourists injured and one elderly woman dead. What caused the sharks to act so contrary to their nature is still under investigation, though the situation appears to […]
Environmentalists have called for urgent action to save the last 400 argun palm trees, a rare desert palm tree highly valued by the ancient Egyptians In the remote regions of Sudan and Egypt the argun palm tree- a rare desert tree whose fruit was discovered by archaeologists in Pharaoh tombs- grows under a harsh sun. […]
A vulture fitted with Tel Aviv University tags was “arrested” in Saudi Arabia. The charge? Espionage. Fitting migratory birds with tags and GPS transmitters allows ornithologists and other researchers to track their migration. Important questions are answered: where do the birds fly? Where do they rest? How far do they travel. Dubai researchers recently tagged […]
Fitted with a satellite device, this flamingo, Yasmeena, will help Abu Dhabi researchers track the bird’s migratory routes. Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency (EAD) has been busy this year. In addition to rescuing endangered baboons and hyenas from a private home, and caring for coral reefs one disc at a time, they have played a pivotal […]
After giving up the consumer lifestyle, Tafline reflects on how her Christmas list has evolved. It might not be what you’d expect. In four years, I turned my habits around completely: instead of buying the newest, snazziest jeans, I’ve been wearing the same clothes for nearly two years. And if I must get more, I […]
In the alien and isolated landscape of the Socotra Island, just off the coast of Yemen, biodiversity is in a struggle for survival Declared an UNESCO world heritage site in July 2008, the Socotra Archipelago which is located in the northwest Indian Ocean is home to some of the rarest species in the world. According […]
Plants to restore the Carmel forest by planting new trees are misguided, according to a leading researcher. Rushing to the scene of the recent Carmel fire to plant a pile of trees would be a mistake, according to a leading researcher from Israel’s University of Haifa. While Professor Ido Izhaki recognizes the unfortunate toll that […]
Sometimes less is more. WWF creates a brilliant file format that can’t be printed. The Chinese used to write books on silk. Think about that for a second. If you thought you had to produce an entire sheet of silk in order to pass on that really bad joke your father sent you, might you […]
This spiny little creature can help us survive the Middle East water crisis. How do we value nature? Do we value trees for their role as carbon sinks? As hope in hard times, like Anne Frank did? Or must we dangle a giant price tag from a branch – put a number on that sucker […]
Is the Dead Sea one of the top 7 natural wonders of the world? One hundred bikers are coming to show their support. The Seven Wonders of the World is a famous list of impressive ancient constructions, largely centered around the Mediterranean. (We still think that the Mediterranean and the whole Middle East are pretty […]
Though the practice of establishing Himas to protect nature had previously declined, the Middle East is currently witnessing a resurgence of this ancient tradition. Now that Green Prophet has looked into the tradition of ‘Hima’ or environmental preservation in the Middle East, this post will explore some of the most famous examples of Hima and […]
Hima, practised for over 14,000 years in the Arabian Peninsula, is believed to be the most widespread system of traditional conservation in the Middle East, and perhaps the entire earth. In these modern times, it’s easy to think of environmental protection as a new concept which has emerged in response to modern problems linked to […]
These soldiers escort conservationists protecting the lapwing bird in active Al Qaeda territory. The Middle East’s conservation warriors are diving to restore coral and boating to protect sharks in the Red Sea. But in the western Iraqi desert, where Al Qaeada operatives are active in a region called the “triangle of death”, Omar Fadhel and […]
Loving wild places gives us the impetus to protect them Before I started writing about green building and eco-tourism in Israel and the Middle East, I was a tour guide in North America. For three years I taught foreigners about camping, ecology, geography, and history in National Parks throughout the lower 48, Alaska, and Canada. […]
For This Year’s World Environment Day, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Asks the World’s Citizens to Mobilize for Climate Action. [image via flickr] In the first few months of each year, we report on several special days and hours: there’s World Water Day on March 22nd, Earth Hour on the last Saturday of March, […]