Nearly nine years have passed since since Green Prophet joined a media tour sponsored by Eco Peace head Gideon Bromberg to see what has happened to the lower Jordan River. At that time, Bromberg showed us the current situation of a once free-flowing stream that had now become nothing more than a trickle of brackish and diverted sewage […]
Saudi Arabia and climate change do not mix well as this photo indicates As Earth Day 2013 approaches on April 22, issues of water options in arid countries like Saudi Arabia will be high on the agenda. Countries in the Middle East that face increasing water shortages, especially those situated on the Arabian Peninsula, have to […]
With the region getting drier ‘at an alarming rate’, what is there to celebrate this World Water Day? In the lead up to World Water Day which will take place next Friday, I have gathered some interesting water-based facts on the issue. The Middle East and North Africa region is famously one of the driest […]
Sound the alarms? Where has Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq’s underground freshwater sea gone? NASA’s imaging technology recently brought some bad news about Mideast air pollution. Now NASA brings more bad news about the Mideast water supply. We already knew that the Dead Sea is shrinking. Some people are even trying to do something about […]
It’s all bad news for Gazans – a UN report reveals that that region is under immense environmental stress which looks set to worsen unless dramatic action is taken A comprehensive report released by the UN this week has warned that Gaza will no longer be ‘liveable’ by 2020 unless dramatic action is taken to […]
According to scientists from Canada and the Netherlands, the world is depleting underground water reserves faster than they can be replenished In the Middle East, water shortages are a widely accepted reality which many countries are trying to fight head on. Worldwide, however, the issue is not so pressing with environmental issues such as energy […]
Israel’s national water company, Mekorot (who we’ve interviewed here), is expanding with projects across the globe. It will build and operate two desalination plants in Cyprus to supply almost half of the country’s drinking water. Also on the horizon is a $180 million deal to build a water filtering facility along the La Plata River […]
Although water scarcity is unlikely to lead to water waters, it is still devastating for the development and survival of any nation The latest report by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), “The Green Economy in a Changing Arab World”, definitely doesn’t make for happy reading. In fact, it is positively terrifying. According […]
Launched by 7iberINC, Once Upon A Water aims to tell the story of Jordan’s vanishing water supply and how they can have a ‘happily ever after’ According to the WHO, Jordan has one of the lowest water resource availability per capita in the world. By the year 2025, if current trends continue, per capita water […]
High water demand is putting pressure on scarce water resources and destroying the agricultural sector in Gaza Water shortages are a widespread and common problem for the people of the Gaza Strip, between Israel and Egypt. There just isn’t enough water for the growing population and an Israeli blockade which limits imports and exports means […]
Water murals in the Gaza Strip explore the daily struggle with water shortage and water contamination The Gaza Strip is known to indulge in political murals but water murals are definitely a new thing. Over the summer months, US activists along with local artists, teachers and school children got together to paint 8 murals exploring […]
Yemen may be water poor but the country has a rich heritage of managing scare water resources effectively through community co-operation The arid and water scarce environment of Yemen makes life very difficult for the average Yemeni. Malnutrition and poverty are real problems which are only exacerbated by a widespread addiction to the narcotic, qat, […]
Water rich or water poor? Doomed by desalination or dealing with the problem? Get the facts on Israel’s water situation. Following my latest post on water recycling and desalination in Israel, some commentators have raised questions about the seemingly contradictory facts on Israel and water. Whilst the Israeli water authority constantly warns of a water […]
Desalination is an expensive and energy-intensive way of removing salt from water to make it potable – Israel hopes it will provide 75% of its drinkable water by 2013 Despite several problems with the use of desalination (such as high costs and energy usage) and calls from experts to consider other options first, the Middle […]
A mental health hospital in Bethlehem is completely without water, and the mayor has been buying his own. Can Israel, Jordan and the PA make hydro peace? A Palestinian water and environmental engineer from Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), Nader al-Khateeb recently discovered that the mayor is among many in Bethlehem who have […]
Libya’s government forces could use their control over enormous water reserves as a weapon in the current conflict between Gaddafi and rebels trying to overthrow his regime The ‘Great Man-Made River’, a great civil water works project dubbed by Gaddafi as the 8th wonder of the world, was built to resolve Libya’s severe water scarcity […]
Artist Sigalit Landau swims naked amongst watermelons in Dead Sea to dramatize its plight. The Dead Sea is situated at the lowest point on earth and has been the subject a number of projects aimed at reversing the salt lake’s declining water levels. These projects include the controversial Red – Dead Sea Conduit Project, which […]
Too little or too much water is a sad result of climate change When the Green Prophet article about road trains in Australia was posted back in April 2010, the Down Under continent looked a lot different than it does presently. After suffering one of its worst droughts in recent times, large portions on Australia’s […]
An unprecedented absence of rain in the Middle East has Jordanians praying in Amman As the water crisis in Jordan deepens, the country’s ministry of religious affairs is urging citizens to hold special prayers for rain. The move comes after a significant delay in the rainy season and five successive years of limited rainfall which […]
Divided by politics and now water: Turkey to take care of its occupied half of Northern Cyprus by diverting fresh water in a 48 mile undersea pipeline. Turkey seems to be serious about carrying out a project to bring fresh water to northern Cyprus by means of an undersea pipeline, according to Turkey’s Environment Minister […]
At a time when sane people are looking for ways to scale back their use of precious resources, Abu Dhabi continues to move full speed ahead. More than once I’ve flattened the gas pedal on long country roads: trees whoosh by, road lines blur, and for those few moments of abandonment, I had not a […]
Israeli fashion show attempts to go “au naturale” with a natural-landmark-themed garment contest. Fashion and the natural world don’t always go hand in hand (unless you’re lucky enough to come across some whimsical banana-shaped pumps by designers such as Kobi Levi). Usually haute couture is the anti-natural, with silhouettes that combat the shapes that we […]
In Tunisia last week, Islamic ministers meet to set a precedent on tackling water scarcity in home countries. In the Middle East and across the Muslim world, water scarcity is becoming one of the most pressing issues related to climate change- but what is actually been done to tackle these problems? Last week, the conference […]
Karen provides some water-saving tips in praise of International Water Day, Monday. [image via: RonAlmog] This coming Monday, March 22nd will be International Water Day, a time (almost like New Years) for countries to reflect upon their last year of water usage and make resolutions for the year to come. This is especially important in […]
Could this “dry” setting be the entire Middle East one day if we don’t take environment issues seriously? Business concerns in the Middle East, especially real estate developers in countries like the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are not being concerned enough about the environment, according to a study just released by the UAE […]