This is one of he most inspiring innovations involving local communities I have read lately. A good example of how determination can help to overcome social barriers for acheiving environmental protection. The story has been published in Islam Online   By  Nehal Lasheen Translated By  Aisha El-Awady   Armed with few resources but with a very strong will, 13 villages in Al-Buhairah... [read more]

Source: IRIN news   DUBAI - Ahmad Issa, 41, has been fishing in Lake Maryut [also spelt Maryout or Marriout] near the port city of Alexandria for the last 30 years. Like thousands of other fishermen, Issa said he was constantly getting skin diseases caused by the polluted water. "I can't hold anything in my hands when my skin is infected. Doctors prescribe ointments, but even with them... [read more]

Faced with many anthropogenic and natural threats, the majestic isalnd of Socotra is in big need for conservation and sustainable use. UNESCO is being asked by the EU to consider the island as an environmental heritage, but where is the official position of the Yemeni government?   Source: Yemen Observer Mohammed al-Kibsi   The European Union called on the United Nations Education... [read more]

Source: The National Vesela Todorova   Abu Dhabi, which has the highest water consumption rate in the world, is planning to slash consumption and focus on conservation. Residents used an average of 550 litres of water a day compared with 85 litres in Jordan, a country with a similar climate, said Dr Mohammed Dawoud, manager of the water resources department at the Environment Agency – Abu... [read more]

It has been a week since I returned from Bibliotheca Alexandrina after I participated in the "Future of Sustainability in the Arab World" debate held in Alexandria and organised by the IUCN Regional Office for West Asia and Middle East (WAME). It has been a thrilling forum. Participants were relaxed outside the official frameworks they represent, and that was a recepie for good and open discussions... [read more]

  Tomorrow I will be flying to the beautiful Alexandria to participate and act as a rapporteur in a debate conference entitled "Future of Sustainability in the Arab World" which will jointly organized by IUCN and Bibliotheca Alexandrina. This will be a great chance for me to be back to the massive scientific and cultural icon of Bibliotheca Alexandrina and get another dose of firm belief of the... [read more]

How disappointing and sad it is to see a country that is rich in water resources having two rivers (Tigris-Euphrates) passing through the country and being the cradle of irrigation face water shortage. Another drastic impact of the chaos caused by the US invasion of Iraq. This is a report from IRIN news   Iraq is suffering from water shortages that could lead to widespread drought as a result... [read more]

I have to say this must be the most difficult roadmap to achive after the Middle East peace Roadmap. This Article published Yemen Observer provides a roadmap to launch a full-fledged remediation effort to tackle the water scarcity problem linked to Qat cultivatioin and consumption based on 24 recommendations. Good luck to all the good intentions there, as they will need it badly. Here is the article... [read more]

As an indicator of the EU's disappointment with the slow rate of economic integration and reform resulting from its current aid programme to MENA countries, a new aid plan will be developed that will focus on environment and energy. In a press release by the EU published by the Associated Press last week, the Union proposed a revamp of its multibillion-euro aid program toArab countries and Israel,... [read more]

After two days of deliberation on the various scenarios proposed by the World Economic Forum for the Middle East in 2025, this is the summary of the conclusions as presented in a special session in the final day   • Adam Bly • Lord Carey of Clifton • Nabila Freidji • Yuriko Koike Scenario Champions: •Ayman Haddad • Ismail Serageldin Facilitated by: Nik Gowing  Participants in this WorkSpace... [read more]

This is the summary of scenario session on water scarcity in relation to food (in)security which was held in WEF MENA 2008.   Fahd Bin Abdulrahman Bin Sulaiman Balghunaim • E. Neville Isdell • Mahmoud Safwat Mohieldin •Raed Abu Al Saud • Mahmoud Abu Zeid Opening Remarks: • H.R.H. Prince Turki Bin Talal Al Saud Moderator: • Margaret Catley-Carlson    In the Sustainable World, water scarcity,... [read more]

This is the summary of the scenario session on energy perspective in WEF MENA 2008 as posted on the WEF website.   Juan G. Aguiriano• Connie Hedegaard • Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber • Sauat Mynbayev Scenario Champion: • Tony Hayward Moderator: • Nic Frances    The world faces a huge challenge to satisfy the ever-rising global demand for energy and also cut emissions of greenhouse gases... [read more]

The series of sustainability debates in WEF MENA 2008 kicked off today with an interactive session about unblocking the supply chain for green development. This is the summary of this session as posted on WEF's website. More session summaries will be posted later   Connie Hedegaard • Khaled Irani Facilitators: • Andrew Critchlow •Ralph R. Peterson    Participants in this highly... [read more]

This is exciting news emerging from the planners of Masdar city, the first zero carbon city in the world. In a report published in UAE's the National newspaper, a big carbon neutral city will be built outskirts of Amman that will accomodate 700,000 people. This is the text of the report, which I will be debating later.   Chris Stanton May 15. 2008 The National http://www.thenational... [read more]

By: Batir Wardam   Simple questions do not always have simple answers. If we want to ask "what is the best country in the world in environmental performance?" it will need a laborious effort in analyzing and comparing various environmental indicators and still end up with vagueness.   To this end, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) was introduced by researchers from Yale University to... [read more]

For the first time in its long history of debates in the cold mountains of Davos and the scorching heat of the Middle East, the World Economic Forum will finally tackle the issue of sustainability and environmental challenges at length in its forthcoming meeting in Sharm El Sheik from 18-20 May. The forum will be held under the theme "Learning from the Future" where participants from business, government,... [read more]

The EU commission has published its assessment report of Jordan's political and socio-economic developments in 2007. The report entitled "Implementation of the EU neighborhood policy in 2007: Jordan progress report" contained some critical evaluations of Jordan's economic performance. However it was noted that the report placed a lot of praise for Jordan's environmental reform initiatives. As an appreciation... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times By: Hana Namrouqa   The Kingdom’s underground water situation is alarming, a prominent water expert said on Wednesday. Elias Salameh, a professor specialised in the topic at the University of Jordan, said both the quality and quantity of the Kingdom’s water in aquifers are declining, pinning blame on overpumping and the meagre rainfall during the winter. Excessive... [read more]

AEW- compiled from different news   In an amazing example of privatization of natural resources, news leaked from Uganda state that the source of the Nile River has fallen into the hand on an investor. According to a news article published at Allafrica website the Jinja District Land Board has given away the ownership of the land in the source of Nile to investment. Details are still scanty but... [read more]

By: Hana Namrouqa Jordan Times   Jordan has become an eco-tourism leader in the Mediterranean region and many of its nature reserves are currently on the world tourism map, demonstrating a model of sustainable development, according to Wild Jordan Director Chris Johnson. Johnson told The Jordan Times in a recent interview that he spoke about Jordan’s 14-year journey in ecotourism at the... [read more]

The World Bank has published its annual global monitoring report which aims to shed light on the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. This year's report had a focus on MDG 7 about environmental sustainability.   Regarding the MENA region the World bank report states that the Middle East & North Africa region is off track on an important environment-related target – to halve... [read more]

A new online community where young people can have their say on the environment by uploading videos, pictures and comments is being launched today. The site, www.connect2earth.org, will also allow people to rank other entries, discuss the issues that matter most to them, and share smart ideas and solutions from their own communities. Each month users will vote on a winner who will be rewarded with... [read more]

By: Batir Wardam   It has became a common conclusion for both environmentalists and "green economists" alike that any breakthrough in commitment to environmental remediation will only be economically feasible when the evidence is conclusive that the cost of remediation is less than the cost of inaction, and that economic benefits can arise from investing in environmental management options. It... [read more]

The relationship between the banking sector and environmental protection is really vague. In fact, for a lot of environmentalists and bankers these are two completely isolated worlds. However, thanks to the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) banks have became real pioneers in financing carbon trading deals. A senior executive of Doha Bank, a major Qatari private commercial bank, sought... [read more]

By: Batir Wardam   Few Arab cities, including Amman and Dubai took part in the symbolic initiative done two weeks ago to turn off lights in cities for one hour in an activity called Earth Hour advocated by the World Wide Fund (WWF). For many of the still evolving species of Arab environmentalists, this was a much celebrated step.    All Arab environmentalists know for certain that when it came... [read more]

IRIN news wire has published this story about Jordan's recent switch to unleaded fuel. Worthy of reading and documentation. The link to this story is here   Many petrol stations across Jordan no longer sell leaded petrol after a government decision to switch to unleaded fuel in a bid to improve public health. Emissions from vehicles which use leaded petrol are believed to be harmful - especially... [read more]

This is a nice video illustrating the technology and vision to be used in Masdar City, the first zero carbon and zero waste city in the world to be built in Abu Dhabi   In addition, this is an insightful analysis of the Masdar city from a technological point of view http://www.dinarstandard.com/innovation/Masdar040608.htm      [read more]

Three Gulf states - Qatar, Kuwait and Oman - are expected to sign up soon to a World Bank programme aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by finding commercial uses for natural gas that is still burned, or flared, as a by-product of oil production. Amid growing awareness of climate change and the need to conserve resources for their expanding water and power needs, the Gulf states are seeking... [read more]

A recent report published by the High Representative and the European Commission to the European Council stated that climate change poses a real security threat for the EU and international stability. This report focuses on the impact of climate change on international security and considers the impact of these international security consequences for Europe's own security, and how the EU should respond... [read more]

The first conference on green buildings will be held in Amman between 22-23 April 2008 under the title "Think Green". The Conference aims to bring together key stakeholders to promote environmentally-responsible design and construction methods and solutions that foster sustainable economic development. The Conference is supported by the World Green Building Council, Ministry of Public Works and Housing,... [read more]