The waste produced by Arab cities is among the highest in the world. Dubai, United Arab Emirates – “The short version of the story is that we’re not doing a very good job of managing waste,” says John Roosen, Technical Director of AECOM Environment Middle East. “Nowhere in the world does. We are going to […]
The UAE Emirate state of Qatar is planning to launch an environmental program to turn desert areas into usable pasture lands and other green areas by findings ways such as desalination. They also plan on replenishing the country’s rapidly depleting ground water resources, and using scientific innovations for growing of grass and other plant life […]
(Image from the final episode of Stars of Science: Contestants run to Bassam Jalgha after being announced winner. Courtesy of Porter Novelli) Stars of Science, a Pan-Arab television show focusing on innovate project ideas, was launched by the Qatar Foundation and Education City. The program is a competition across Arab borders intended to locate and […]
The Doha based Stars of Science television program got underway May 30 on 17 Arabic speaking TV channels, it was announced by Doha TV. The program originally had more than 5,600 applicants, of which 100 were selected to vie for the 16 positions to be aired on the program. Of these, 3 are environmentally related […]
Jabal Moussa, Jordan So we all know that the Middle East is biospherically fascinating, but at the ongoing meeting of the UN International Coordinating Council of the Man and Biosphere last Tuesday, UNESCO took notice as well, adding more Middle Eastern sites to UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves. In fact, for the first time, […]
Qatar, one of the largest polymer-producing countries in the Middle East region has new ambitions for recycling its plastic waste. Qatar University has paired up with The University of Sheffield, UK, to launch a new centre for the production of environmentally-friendly materials for local industries. Called the Polymer Centre, according to the Sheffield Telegraph it […]
Green building is becoming a fad in Arab countries. We’ve all probably heard of the world’s first carbon neutral city Masdar being built in Abu Dhabi. Now Qatar, another UAE state — this one wealthy from natural gas –– is planning its own eco-city project. A new, specially designed “carbon neutral” office building is being […]
Tonight begins Israel’s Independence Day, and a lot of recent articles on Green Prophet have been about the regional water crisis, and what must be done to alleviate it. Both agronomists and hydrologists in our region have tried to find ways to deal with the increasing lack of water resources, including recycling of sewage and […]
Etihad Airways from the United Arab Emirates has signed an agreement with Masdar (the same group developing the world’s first carbon neutral city), to reduce the carbon footprint of the airline. The company follows in the footsteps (or wings?) of two other Middle East airline projects we know about — one in Israel to green […]
Have those people in the Gulf Emirate state of Qatar gone mad? Or have they simply gotten a case of heat stroke while smoking their nargilas in Qatar’s normally 50+ Celsius heat? Well, it appears that neither is the case as plans are being made to develop a giant refrigerated ski slope on the sand […]
(Palm Island in Dubai) A couple of weeks ago I was in New Orleans with my parents at the annual craziness known as Fat Tuesday during Mardi Gras. Besides the excess of everything I saw there including waste, and the nasty black eye I sustained from a large set of beads being thrown on my […]
(Snapshot of the WWF coral map of Qatar and UAE coral reefs). With worrying reports of coral death globally, with global warming to blame, it’s heartening to hear that Arab nations, who are more known for causing global warming, are now working to protect coral reefs. Mapping the reefs to know where to install underwater […]
Qatar’s environmental goals and ambitions will be discussed at a national seminar organised by the General Secretariat for Development Planning (GSDP) on January 27 at the Four Seasons Hotel, according to the Gulf Times. The seminar’s aims are twofold. The first is to identify and discuss issues and challenges related to achieving the environmental goals […]
Green Prophet loves to find potential everywhere – so how about desert seawater greenhouse construction in Qatar? They are also doing this in Abu Dhabi. What exactly is a desert seawater greenhouse, you might ask? According to the Seawater Greenhouse website: “Seawater Greenhouse is a unique concept which combines natural processes, simple construction techniques and […]
Timna Valley north of Eilat in the Arava Desert, believed to be the ancient site of King Solomon’s mines, is under threat. The pristine valley is in danger of being turned into a Disney-land style hotel complex and spa, and convention hall. Four hotels are planned for the site, Daniel reports in the Jerusalem Post. […]