[This is a monthly roundup of news articles and other materials related to environmental issues in the Middle East. It does not reflect the views of the Environment Page of Jadaliyya.]
Regional News
Egypt Calls for Arab Support in Ethiopia Dam Dispute Middle East Monitor (9 March 2023)
The Egyptian Foreign Minister is hoping neighboring Arab countries will put pressure on Ethiopia to stop filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Keywords: Water, Infrastructure
Libya Dismisses Tunisian President’s Remarks about Sharing Oilfield Middle East Monitor (20 March 2023)
Tunisian President Kais Saied declares hope to gain greater rights to the Bouri oilfield which is currently controlled by Libya.
Keywords: Natural Resources, Energy
"أكثر المناطق جفافاً في العالم"... ما هو واقع المياه في البلدان العربية؟ Raseef 22 (22 March 2023)
A look at water security in the countries of the Middle East on World Water Day.
Keywords: Water
World Water Day: Mapping Water Stress across the Middle East Al Jazeera (22 March 2023)
Timelapses and infographics depict water stress across the region.
Keywords: Water
Renaissance Dam: Ethiopia Announces 90% Completion, While Egypt Minister Says It Will Harm Economic Stability Middle East Monitor (25 March 2023)
The Egyptian Minister of Irrigation criticizes Ethiopia for continuing to fill the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam without cooperation or proper impact studies.
Keywords: Water, Infrastructure
90% of People in Arab World Suffer from Water Scarcity, Warns UN Official Middle East Monitor (29 March 2023)
An event titled “The Joint Commitment of the Arab Region to Accelerate Water Security Achievement” during the UN Water Conference in New York discussed regional water security as one ambassador reported “the Arab region is the most water-scarce among all regions of the world.”
Keywords: Water
Egypt
Residents of Qalyubiya Agricultural Area Face Eviction To Make Way for State Housing Project Mada Masr (2 March 2023)
Residents of Ezbet Abu Ragab in Qalyubiya have been told they will need to vacate their residences by the end of February in accordance with a 2014 government initiative for developing more low-income housing.
Keywords: Urban Planning
هل تصبح شجرة "اللوسينيا" وصفة سحرية لمشكلات اقتصادية وبيئية في مصر؟ Raseef 22 (4 March 2023)
As livestock fodder prices increase in Egypt, farmers look to alternative feed sources such as planting Leucaena leucocephala, a tree native to the Americas.
Keywords: Food & Agriculture
كفاح العاملات الزراعيّات.. نزيف يومي في القرية المصرية as-Safir al-Arabi (8 March 2023)
Women account for over half of the rural agricultural workforce in Egypt and almost always work without a contract, yet their labor is often forgotten.
Keywords: Food & Agriculture, Labor
A Day in Shakhlouba Island, a Piece of Paradise in Egypt Raseef 22 (8 March 2023)
The small fishing town of Shakhlouba on Lake Manzala in the western Nile Delta has become a popular tourist destination for Egyptians.
Keywords: Tourism, Food & Agriculture
Egypt To Withdraw from UN Grain Treaty To Reduce Dollar Dependency Middle East Eye (10 March 2023)
Egypt has withdrawn from a UN grain treaty in the hopes of dealing more directly with grain producers in local currencies to reduce dependency on the US dollar.
Keywords: Food & Agriculture
Egypt Constructs ‘Largest Man-Made River in World’ Middle East Monitor (13 March 2023)
The New Delta Project will construct the largest man-made river in the world to transport water to the western desert for irrigating 9,200 square kilometers of land.
Keywords: Water, Infrastructure, Food & Agriculture
The Dangers of Noise Pollution in Egypt: The World’s ‘Silent’ Killer Raseef 22 (16 March 2023)
Noise pollution is pervasive in Cairo and other urban centers in Egypt, but is difficult to monitor and control for. While noise is an often overlooked aspect of environmental pollution, it causes damage to many of the body’s systems.
Keywords: Pollution, Urban Planning, Health
شبح التلوث يطارد بوذا في حلوان Raseef 22 (18 March 2023)
Helwan has long been a tourist destination famous for its sulfur hot springs. The promotion of the city and the infiltration of industry after the construction of the High Dam, however, has led to Helwan’s decline.
Keywords: Tourism, Pollution, Urban Planning
"خسائر بالجملة"... كيف يتعامل مزارعو المانغا في مصر مع التغيّرات المناخيّة؟ Raseef 22 (20 March 2023)
Climate change and increasing pest populations are challenging the productivity of the mango harvest in Egypt.
Keywords: Food & Agriculture, Climate Change
Iran
Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake Rattles Northwestern Iran, 82 People Injured Middle East Monitor (24 March 2023)
An earthquake centered in Iran’s northwestern province of West Azerbaijan injured 82 people, and was also felt in Khoy and Salmas is western Türkiye.
Keywords: Natural Disaster
Iraq
Iraq Capital Baghdad Hosts 12th International Flower Festival Middle East Monitor (17 March 2023)
The twelfth annual International Flower Festival has opened in Baghdad, which celebrates “the culture of beauty” and humanitarianism.
What Does the US Owe Iraq for the Military’s Toxic Burn Pits? Al Jazeera (20 March 2023)
The US has drafted legislation to compensate American soldiers for toxic exposure from burn pits during the invasion of Iraq. The legislation fails to address the past and continued impacts of these pits on Iraqi citizens.
Keywords: Health, Pollution, Waste
Jordan, Palestine, And Israel
Greening the Desert: The Architect Regenerating Jordan’s Native Forests The Guardian (9 March 2023)
Tayyun is an Amman-based organization that promotes urban rewilding in Jordan as a tactic to combat drought.
Keywords: Urban Planning, Water, Climate Change
‘they Ransack Our Village for Sport’: One Palestinian Farmer’s Story of Israeli Settler Violence The Guardian (5 March 2023)
Israeli settlers and settlements pose great risk to Palestinian farmers accessing and harvesting their ancestral lands.
Keywords: Food & Agriculture
Lebanon
Un feu maîtrisé dans la journée reprend en soirée à Denniyé L’Orient Le Jour (4 March 2023)
A wild fire broke out in the Dinniyeh region, fueled by strong winds. It is early for the wildfire season to start. High temperatures and low humidity contributed to the early blaze.
Keywords: Natural Disaster, Climate Change
“Dahr El-Moghor” Neighborhood: The Misery and Survival of Riverine Tripoli as-Safir al-Arabi (7 March 2023)
The Dahr El-Moghor neighborhood situated on the Abu Ali River in Tripoli has suffered great decline after the mismanagement of a World Bank tourism project.
Keywords: Urban Planning, Tourism
World Bank Sets Conditions To Fund Lebanon's Electricity Sector L’Orient Le Jour (14 March 2023)
The World Bank will finance the delivery of electricity from Jordan and natural gas from Egypt to Lebanon if the energy sector enacts reform.
Keywords: Energy
Vertical Farming: A Sustainable Solution for Lebanon's Unstable Food Market Raseef 22 (27 March 2023)
Vertical farming presents one solution to the problem of rising food costs, declining land cultivation, and calls for greater self-sufficiency.
Keywords: Food & Agriculture, Land
Morocco
"بات العمل صعباً جدّاً"... نساء المغرب يدفعن الحصة الأكبر من فاتورة التغيّر المناخي Raseef 22 (8 March 2023)
Working conditions for women in Moroccan villages, who are largely responsible for gathering water and working the livestock and land, are growing more difficult as climate change advances drought conditions.
Keywords: Food & Agriculture, Labor, Climate Change
Sudan
Sudan Wheat Import Requirements To Rise to 3.5m Tonnes in 2023 – FAO Middle East Monitor (29 March 2023)
Wheat production this season has fallen in Sudan while production of sorghum and millet has risen.
Keywords: Food & Agriculture
Syria
Low Water Levels Force Halt to North Syria Hydropower Middle East Monitor (1 March 2023)
Flows will be halted at the Tishreen Dam in Aleppo province for a week as waters near deadpool levels.
Keywords: Water, Infrastructure
زلزال تركيا... من مخاطر تصدّع السدود إلى استمرار "تجفيف" سوريا Raseef 22 (1 March 2023)
Last month’s earthquakes structurally damaged multiple Syrian dams. Additionally, some preliminary research indicates there may be a link between dam and reservoir construction with seismic activity.
Keywords: Water, Infrastructure, Natural Disaster
طائر المينا أو "الأميرة ياسمينة"... وافد جديد يغزو سماء دمشق Raseef 22 (6 March 2023)
Mynas, a species of bird native to South and Southeast Asia, pose an ecological, social, and cultural threat to Damascus.
Keywords: Wildlife
سيارات قديمة ووقود سيّئ... كوارث بيئية وصحية في الجزيرة السورية Raseef 22 (13 March 2023)
Old cars and poor quality fuels contribute to air pollution, causing health complications such as increased rates of respiratory diseases, cancers, and fetal abnormalities.
Keywords: Pollution, Waste, Energy, Health
Floods Destroy Homes of Quake Survivors in Northwestern Syria Al Jazeera (15 March 2023)
Heavy rains have flooded Adwan Camp in northwestern Syria. Many of the camp’s residents were recently displaced from the February earthquake centered in Türkiye.
Keywords: Climate & Weather, Natural Disaster
Tunisia
The "Commons," an Age-Old Tradition in Tunisia Inkyfada (15 March 2023)
Amazigh communities in Tunisia collectively manage natural resources and lands, as they have for thousands of years. The sustainability of joint management is threatened, however, as water sources are declining due to climate change.
Keywords: Land, Natural Resources
In Makthar, Kid'Chen Project Is Aiming To Ensure the Food Self-Sufficiency of Schoolchildren Inkyfada (22 March 2023)
A residential school known as “the green school” in Makthar is working to establish food self-sufficiency by cultivating nearby land. By working with members of the community, the farm incorporates sustainable management practices to address concerns of climate change, sustainability, democratic participation, and access to nutritious foods.
Keywords: Food & Agriculture, Land, Climate & Weather, Health
Türkiye
Turkiye Faces Challenge ‘Beyond Comprehension’ To Clear Earthquake Rubble Middle East Monitor (2 March 2023)
In the wake of the February earthquakes, material from at least 156,000 buildings–weighing upwards of 200 million tonnes–needs to be removed. Concerns have been raised over rubble piles containing toxins and environmental contaminants without proper containment.
Keywords: Natural Disaster, Waste, Pollution
How Town at the Epicentre of Turkey’s 1999 Earthquake Was Rebuilt Al Jazeera (6 March 2023)
Golcuk, a town devastated by an earthquake in April 1999, has become one model of how to rebuild in the wake of disaster.
Keywords: Natural Disaster, Urban Planning
Floods Kill Five in Turkiye Earthquake-Affected Provinces Middle East Monitor (15 March 2023)
Flash flooding in southeastern Türkiye has further displaced earthquake survivors.
Keywords: Water, Natural Disaster
United Arab Emirates
SpaceX Launches US, Russia, UAE Astronauts to Space Station Al Jazeera (2 March 2023)
Sultan al-Neyadi became the second Emirati astronaut ever to go to space and the first Arab to go on an extended mission with the launching of a SpaceX mission to the International Space Station.
Keywords: Space
SpaceX Crew Docks at International Space Station Al Jazeera (3 March 2023)
A SpaceX capsule with Emirati astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi has successfully landed at the International Space Station.
Keywords: Space
Yemen
UN Buys Vessel To Remove Oil from Stricken Yemen Tanker Middle East Monitor (14 March 2023)
The UN hopes to remove over a million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker off the coast of Yemen within the next three to four months following their purchase of the vessel to prevent a possible environmental disaster.
Keywords: Pollution, Water, Energy
13,000 People Affected by Heavy Rains in Central Yemeni Province Middle East Monitor (19 March 2023)
Refugees in Marib living in temporary shelters are vulnerable to seasonal heavy rains and flooding.
Keywords: Climate & Weather