Archive by category | Environment

Activists in Doha call for action on climate change

The World Wide Fund for Nature was one of the many organization that joined the march.

A sense of partaking in history buoyed many of the hundreds of activists that marched this morning to call on Arab governments and the world at large to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change: after all, this was the very first march of its kind in politically-wary Qatar.  Read more

Negotiating Climate Change in Doha

Negotiating Climate Change in Doha

For nearly 18 years now, governments have been meeting annually to attempt sorting out the pesky little problem of rising temperatures that may eventually destroy civilization. This year, the eighteenth Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) is being held in Qatar — the tiny country with the largest carbon footprint per capita.  Read more

Is drilling in the Red Sea good for science?

Is drilling in the Red Sea good for science?

A Canadian company has started a study to determine whether deep-sea mining in the Red Sea to extract minerals from hydro-thermal basins could be feasible, reports SciDev.Net. But will this provide Saudi Arabia and Sudan, who are interested in this project, an economic boost or will it wreck havoc on the sea’s fragile environmental system?  Read more

KAUST researchers win top places in contest to combat desertification

Two research teams from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) win the first and second place in the international  “Help to Avoid Desertification” idea contest, sponsored by Bayers MaterialScience.  Read more

The 4th Africa Water Week comes to Cairo

Some 24 ministers from across Africa gathered yesterday in Cairo, Egypt, for the 4th Africa Water Week (AWW4). Representatives from all countries were present, including the newest African state South Sudan, to discuss the challenge of securing water for the continent’s increasing population.  Read more

A green revolution for the Arab Spring

Nature Middle East

The Arab world needs to invest in science research that focuses on a shift to green economies, suggests Najib Saab, environmentalist and secretary general of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), in a commentary piece last week on SciDev.Net.  Read more

Syrian ancient sites under threat

As a popular uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria enters its second year, the Syrian Expatriates Organization has voiced concern that the nation’s archaeological treasures are under serious threat from attacks by the Syrian army.  Read more

Egyptians fear a foot-and-mouth disease epidemic

Nature Middle East

The quick spread of foot-and-mouth disease across most of Egypt’s governorates has spread fear among farmers and breeders who are losing more cattle everyday. They have complained the government has been dragging its feet in addressing the problem and worry there might be a widespread epidemic of the disease around the corner, similar to one that hit the country in 2006.  Read more