Category Archives: Middle East

السيناريوهات الزراعية في منطقة الشرق الأوسط

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الزراعة تلعب دورا هاما في اقتصادات معظم الدول في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا . مساهمة القطاع الزراعي في الاقتصاد الكلي يختلف اختلافا كبيرا بين الدول في المنطقة، بدءا من حوالي 3.2 في المئة في المملكة العربية السعودية إلى 13.4 في المئة في مصر. يعتبر الري على نطاق واسع هو توسع ، تمكين الإنتاج المكثف من النقد و تصدير المحاصيل عالية القيمة، بما في ذلك الفواكه والخضراوات والحبوب، والسكر . تحتل مصر المركز الرابع عشر كأكبر منتج للأرز  والمركز الثامن كأكبر منتج للقطن  عالميا . أنتجت مصر ما يقارب  5670000 طن من الأرز و635000 طن من القطن في عام  2011 . … Continue reading →

Environmental Awareness in Arab Countries: A Survey

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A public opinion survey carried out by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development in 22 Arab countries revealed that a vast majority, exceeding 60 percent, believes that the environment has deteriorated in their countries over the last 10 years. An even bigger majority of 95 percent thinks that their country is not doing enough to tackle environmental challenges. The questionnaire, circulated via internet in cooperation with Arab media outlets and conducted on a self-completion basis, attracted 20,460 responses from across the Arab region. Respondents who thought that the environmental situation has worsened comprised 60 percent, reflecting findings of a … Continue reading →

Gaza Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Platform (GUPAP): Driving Agriculture in Gaza

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The Gaza Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Platform- GUPAP, launched in 2013, consists of a multi-stakeholder, interactive and participatory forum that brings together all key actors involved in the development of a resilient Palestinian agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip. GUPAP is currently made up of about 80 members, including national and local government Institutions; Non-Governmental Civil Institutions; the Private Sector; Research and Educational Institutions; Agricultural Value Chain Platforms and Agricultural Micro-Finance Institutions. Over the past years, GUPAP, by building institutional capacity and collaboration among GUPAP members this resulted in the design and adaptation of 5 policies relating to local market-oriented … Continue reading →

قصص ملهمة – القصة الثانية: ربى الزعبي – ملهمة الابتكار الأخضر والريادة في العمل المجتمعي

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المهندسة ربى الزعبي، قيادية وخبيرةٌ معروفة في السياسات البيئية والحوكمة والتخطيط في مجال التنمية المستدامة وتعتبرُ مصدرَ إلهامٍ حقيقيٍّ للشبابِ في الأردن وخارجه. تشغل الزعبي حاليا منصب المدير التنفيذي لجمعية إدامة (EDAMA) وهي منظمة غير ربحية اردنية تمثل إحدى أوائل جمعياتِ الأعمالِ المعنية  بإيجاد حلولٍ مبتكرةٍ في قطاعات الطاقة والمياه والبيئة وتحفيز الاقتصاد الاخضر. ربى الزعبي سفيرة  (قرارات عالمية Global Resolutions) في الأردن وعضوة في شبكة النفع المجتمعي (Plus Social Good) التي تحاول تعزيزِ الوعي ونشرِ قصصِ النجاحَ المتعلقة بالأهداف العالمية للتنمية المستدامة في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا MENA. وتعتبرُ المهندسة ربى الزعبي من الناشطين في العمل التطوعي وهي … Continue reading →

Freshwater Management Outlook for UAE

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Per capita water consumption of freshwater in the United Arab Emirates is the highest in the world. Over the last several decades, the demand on municipal water supply has increased significantly in the UAE. This is mainly due to increase in population growth, economic development and changes in lifestyle of the people. Though water is used by many sectors such as manufacturing industries, agriculture and domestic purposes, residential  and commercial uses of water during the operational phase of the building is one of the biggest contributing factors that puts a strain on freshwater supply in the country. Desalination and Sustainability … Continue reading →

Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Gaza: Perspectives

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There are multiple constraints which limit the development of more sustainable and resilient urban agriculture in the Gaza Strip (and the West Bank). Current urban development policies, land use classification systems and planning have ignored to recognise urban agriculture as a land use category and urban development strategy. Furthermore, there is still a lack of research on participatory urban agricultural development, improved production techniques, urban policies and strategies related to agricultural land use. Policy and institutional reform initiatives will be significant to enhance the potential of urban agriculture for food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable urbanisation. Agricultural Land Availability and … Continue reading →

Waste Management in Jeddah

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Jeddah, a major commercial hub in the Middle East, is the second largest city in Saudi Arabia. Solid waste management is a big problem in Jeddah as the city’s population is increasing at a rapid pace and has now touched 3.5 million. More than 5,000 tons of solid waste is produced every day and Jeddah municipal authorities are finding it increasingly hard to cope with the problem of urban waste. The management of solid waste in Jeddah begins with collection of wastes from bins scattered across residential and commercial areas. Wastes is collected and sent to transfer stations from where it … Continue reading →

Ecotourism Industry in the Middle East

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Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing segments in the global tourism industry and the Middle East is no exception. The ecotourism industry, catalyzed by advancements in transportation and information technology, has brought hitherto unknown geographical landscapes into public limelight, thus bringing tourists to pristine natural locations across the Middle East. Middle East has also been witnessing growing popularity of ecotourism among native and expatriate populations. Some of the Middle East nations popular with ecotourists include Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, Oman and Tunisia. Due to its sunny climate, unique landscape, distinct culture and rich history, the region offers wealth of … Continue reading →

Environmental Research in Arab World: Perspectives

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The Arab world is facing many environmental pressures ranging from challenges in resource management and water scarcity to air pollution and climate change, which all require serious scientific environmental research. Arab nations contribute 1.7 percent of the total value of budgets embarked for environmental research worldwide. Leaders in Environmental Research Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Tunisia are the most active research countries in general science and environmental research. Scientific research has increased in the last ten years, with Egypt leading the Arab world, followed by Saudi Arabia for both the number and rate of publications produced. Egypt has contributed at … Continue reading →

Environmental Best Practices in the Cement Industry

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Worldwide, cement production  has almost tripled during the last 15 years, mainly on account of high population growth rate, rapid urbanization, increasing industrialization and large-scale infrastructural development. The growth of cement industry in MENA is marked by factors that are directly connected with sustainability, energy efficiency and raw material supply. Although the factors differ from country to country and cannot be generalized, there are major concerns regarding shortage of raw materials, GHG emissions, dependence on fossil fuels and lack of investment in technological innovations. For the cement sector, key points for an environment-friendly industry are use of alternative raw materials … Continue reading →

Jordan’s Journey Towards Climate Action

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Jordan has the distinction of being the third Arab country to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) prior to Paris COP21, in addition to being the first Arab country to address climate change and its implications on vital sectors through a national policy (2013 – 2020). Moreover, Jordan is taking serious steps to mainstream climate change into development policies and strategies starting with the National Women Strategy (2012) and the National Poverty Reduction strategy (2013), the Jordan Vision 2025 which is considered to be the overall developmental blueprint for the country (2015) to the recently launched National Water Strategy … Continue reading →

Protecting Iraq’s Southern Marshlands

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In mid-January 2021, Iraqi President Barham Salih approved the country’s decision to join the Paris Climate agreement. Iraq signed on to the international climate accords in 2016 but has spent the past few years negotiating its ratification through its parliament. The Paris Climate agreement encourages signatory countries to cut their carbon emissions and invest in the sustainable energy sector. Such a move might prove difficult for Iraq, a country in which oil provides 90% of government revenue and amounts to 99% of national exports. Despite these challenges, Iraq has now committed to modernizing and decarbonizing its energy sector for its … Continue reading →