Category Archives: Middle East

An Ecological Model for Wadi Arabah

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The Wadi Arabah region is an extremely arid valley in Jordan characterized by hot climate, meager annual rainfall, high evaporation rate and limited water resources. The arid desert creates several challenges to extracting and managing water in this region thus hampering the development of agricultural, domestic, and industrial sectors in the valley. The casual attitude towards water management in the region highlights the need for additional consideration to the hydrological and geographical realities of the area. Agriculture accounts for the largest water consumption, especially in summer. In arid land with high evaporation rates, negative agricultural practices may lead to reduced … Continue reading →

How MENA is Rediscovering its Vegan Heritage

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Keen followers of green-related news will have noticed an increased trend in veganism when it comes to the GCC and MENA. Gulf News highlighted the 250% increase in vegan supermarket options across the region in one November analysis, and more and more families are looking at options for their families to enjoy a more environmentally friendly and health conscious diet. This is, of course, not news to the region. Veganism has been around longer in the MENA than perhaps in any other part of the world, and eco-friendly eaters and businesses across the Gulf are taking note and helping natives to rediscover that … Continue reading →

Water Security in the Arab World

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Water availability in the Arab region is a critical issue as the region has 5 percent of the world’s population having access to merely 1 percent of the world’s total water resources. According to United Nations estimates, around 12 Arab countries suffer from severe water shortages. The per capita availability of renewable water resources is less than 500 m3 per year. In order to resolve this critical situation, many projects in the Arab Strategy for Water Security (2010-2030) support efficient management and sustainable use of water resources. Regional Water Scenario Agriculture accounts for 85 percent of total fresh water consumption in the … Continue reading →

7 Ways to Tackle Litter Problem in Jordan

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In the recent past, Amman was among the cleanest cities in the world. These days, like many other countries, Jordan experiences littering of all waste types in its public areas, which has serious impacts on the environment, the economy, the aesthetic appearance of the regions that experience littering, and the public health. The “Invisible Trash” Littering which has become a national scourge is omnipresent in Jordan. Drive along any road in Jordan and you will see all types of  litter, including cans, cigarette butts, plastic bags, tissues, sandwich wrappers, and old tyres. To outline the problem, an observational study was carried … Continue reading →

تونس: التهديد المناخي على الأبواب

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ألقت التغيرات المناخية بظلالها على تونس التي تعرف منذ منتصف شهر يونيو موجة حر غير مسبوقة وصلت خلالها درجات الحرارة إلى مستويات قياسية. تبدو ولاية تطاوين في أقصى الجنوب إحدى أكثر المناطق تضررا من ارتفاع  معدلات الحرارة، إذ تصل نسبة الصحراء فيها إلى أكثر من تسعين بالمائة وتتميز بمناخ قاحل يكاد أن يكون الغطاء النباتي فيها معدوماً، باستثناء بعض النباتات الصحراوية القليلة مثل النباتات التي تنتمي لعائلة الصباريات، والشيح، والقيصوم، وبعض النباتات الحوليّة الصحراوية  وهو ما يجعل تأثير الحرارة في هذه المنطقة الجافة أشد وطأة . في هذا الإطار، نشرت جمعية حماية البيئة بذهيبة صورا مفزعة لنفوق عدد من الغزلان … Continue reading →

مستقبل تحلية المياة لمنطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا

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تحلية المياه هي عملية معالجة للمياه يتم فيها فصل الأملاح من المياه المالحة لانتاج مياه صالحة للشرب. عملية التحلية تستهلك كمية كبيرة من الطاقة لانتاج الماء العذب من مصادر المياة المالحة. يتم ضخ الماء المالح في عملية التحلية وتكون المخرجات عبارة عن خط ماء عذب بالاضافة لخط أخر من المياة عالية الملوحه جداً. يوجد أكثر من 15000 وحدة تنقية مياه على المستوى الصناعي في العالم، بطاقة اجمالية تزيد على 8.5 مليار جالون يومياً. يتفوق أسلوب الترشيح بالأغشية في هذا المجال حيث تبلغ نسبته حوالي 44% من اجمالي الطاقة الاجمالية، يليه التحلية بالتسخين MSF بنسبة حوالي 40 %. وبالنسبة للمصادر، تمثل … Continue reading →

The Blue Belt Initiative: Promising Ambition To Transform Challenges Into Opportunities That Protect The Oceans

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It is good for the African continent to wrap itself with the belt of sustainability and the protection of marine biodiversity. What’s even better is for the ‘Blue Belt Initiative’ to launch from the furthest northwest point of the African continent (Marrakech, Morocco), a Mediterranean and African region, and in a global forum where the international community discusses a crucial issue for our planet’s security, the issue of climate. The “Blue Belt Initiative” started during the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP22), hosted by Morocco in 2016. The initiative serves as an international … Continue reading →

All You Need to Know About Renewable Energy in Jordan

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Renewable energy systems have been used in Jordan since early 1970s. Infact, Jordan has been a pioneer in renewable energy promotion in the Middle East with its first wind power pilot project in Al-Ibrahemiya as early as 1988. In the recent past, Jordan has witnessed a surge in initiatives to generate power from renewable resources with financial and technical backing from the government, international agencies and foreign donors. However, renewable energy in Jordan remains largely untapped due to high cost associated with non-conventional energy resources and relatively cheap availability of oil and natural gas. Wind energy is feasible mainly in … Continue reading →

Storm Alexa – Positive Aspects for MENA

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The year 2013 saw history being made when Storm Alexa swept across the Middle East and North Africa bringing blizzards, torrential rain and icy winds to a region that hasn’t experienced such a storm in over 100 years. Storm Alexa caused devastating floods in Arab cities, such as Gaza, and power cuts in certain areas of Jordan. Heavy snowfall in Jordan covered the streets, hindering mobility and forcing people into their homes for several days. The storm has also brought hardship and misery upon the Syrian refugees enduring the bitter cold in fragile tents and makeshift shelters. Positive Aspects However, … Continue reading →

The Significance of Domestic Water Conservation

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The Middle East region is plagued by water scarcity and water management issues. Despite heavy investment in the water sector, water management remains a serious economic and environmental issue throughout the region. Overconsumption of water is a serious issue as per capita use of water in most of the Middle Eastern countries is several times more water than the global average. For example, on an average each UAE and Saudi Arabian resident consume 550 liters and 250 liters of water per day respectively. On the other hand, per capita water consumption in United Kingdom and Germany is 150 liters and … Continue reading →

Waste-to-Energy in Jordan: Potential and Challenges

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Effective sustainable solid waste management is of great importance both for people’s health and for environmental protection. In Jordan, insufficient financial resources, growing population, rapid urbanization, inadequate management and lacking of technical skills represent a serious environmental challenge confronting local government. At the same time, energy remains Jordan’s top challenge for development. The energy needs to be produced in a sustainable way, preferably from renewable sources which have a minimum environmental impact. To face the future problems in waste management, as well as securing the demand of renewable energy, it is necessary to reuse the wasted resources in energy production. … Continue reading →

حماية البيئة هدف إستراتيجي في رؤية السعودية 2030

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لعقود مضت وصمت أنماط الإستهلاك السائدة آنذاك بغير المستدامة (الإستهلاك المفرط في إنتاج وإستهلاك السلع والخدمات على حساب الإستنزاف الجائر للموارد الطبيعية و حقوق الأجيال القادمة)، فقد فرضت التحولات الاقتصادية والاجتماعية و البيئية ضغطا على الدول لإعتماد أنظمة تنموية وإقتصادية حديثة تراعي تحقيق التوازن بين الحفاظ على الموارد الطبيعية و تعزيز النمو الاقتصادي على نحو مستدام. ولذلك تعمل المملكة العربية السعودية في تشكيل سياساتها على النحو الذي يحمي ثروتها النفطية، ويحسن من كفاءة إستهلاكها للطاقة ويدعم إستخدم المزيج الأمثل للطاقة الذي يشمل الإستفادة من الموارد الطبيعية المتجددة (تذكر الرؤيا إمكانية السعودية في توليد الطاقة من الطاقة الشمسية وطاقة الرياح بحوالي … Continue reading →