Friends of the Earth Middle East
Encyclopedia
Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) is an organization active in environmental peacemaking
in the Middle East.
, Bethlehem
, and Tel-Aviv, employs 40 paid staff and actively involves hundreds of volunteers. It is a member of Friends of the Earth International, the largest grassroots environmental organization in the world.
The people and wildlife of the region are dependent on many of the same natural resources. Shared surface and sub-surface freshwater basins, shared seas, common flora and fauna species and a shared air-shed are some of the characteristics that necessitate regional cooperation. FoEME's efforts are thus focused on the rehabilitation of the Jordan River, Dead Sea
, Mountain and Coastal Aquifers and fostering awareness about the regional impact of climate change
. FoEME advances these projects by publishing scientific and social research, spearheading national-level advocacy campaigns and engaging in grassroots community development. FoEME's focal program, the Good Water Neighbors project, engages residents of all ages, mayors and municipal representatives in seventeen communities throughout Israel
, Palestine
and Jordan
in a united effort to rehabilitate the regions' shared water resources.
(Israel), Munqeth Mehyar
(Jordan) and Nader Al-Khateeb
(Palestine) -- were honored by Time
magazine as Environmental Heroes of 2008 and the organization was granted the prestigious Skoll Award in 2009. FoEME also received a 2008 SEED Finalist Award.
FOEME has taken a leading role in calling for action to save the Dead Sea, which may be in danger of drying up due to some environmental factors. Various groups and government officials from several countries say that a pipeline from the Red Sea is needed to save the Dead Sea. In June 2009, after a meeting with World Bank President Robert Zoellick, the Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister, Silvan Shalom
, announced a pilot project to build a "pilot" pipe 180 km long from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. The pipe would pump 200 million cubic meters per year. Half of this would be desalinated for Jordanian consumption and half put into the Dead Sea. Some experts questioned this project. Hebrew University of Jerusalem Prof. Avner Adin said more studies were needed on the potential environmental impact.
For more, see Publications tab on FoEME website
Good Water Neighbors and youth - "Green Mideast Peace"
Gidon Bromberg on the Jordan River Peace Park
Gidon Bromberg - Peace through environmental activism
Gidon Bromberg on the Good Water Neighbors Project
Environmental peacebuilding
Peacebuilding is both the theory and practice of identifying the conditions that can lead to a sustainable peace between those who have previously been adversaries, and assisting adversaries to move towards a sustainable peace. Environmental peacebuilding examines and advocates environmental...
in the Middle East.
Group focus and efforts
As a tri-lateral organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists, its primary objective is the promotion of cooperative efforts to protect a shared environmental heritage. In so doing, it seeks to advance both sustainable regional development and the creation of necessary conditions for lasting peace in the region. FoEME has offices in AmmanAmman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
, and Tel-Aviv, employs 40 paid staff and actively involves hundreds of volunteers. It is a member of Friends of the Earth International, the largest grassroots environmental organization in the world.
The people and wildlife of the region are dependent on many of the same natural resources. Shared surface and sub-surface freshwater basins, shared seas, common flora and fauna species and a shared air-shed are some of the characteristics that necessitate regional cooperation. FoEME's efforts are thus focused on the rehabilitation of the Jordan River, Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
, Mountain and Coastal Aquifers and fostering awareness about the regional impact of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. FoEME advances these projects by publishing scientific and social research, spearheading national-level advocacy campaigns and engaging in grassroots community development. FoEME's focal program, the Good Water Neighbors project, engages residents of all ages, mayors and municipal representatives in seventeen communities throughout Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
in a united effort to rehabilitate the regions' shared water resources.
Awards
FoEME's three co-directors -- Gidon BrombergGidon Bromberg
Gidon Bromberg is the Israeli Director of EcoPeace / Friends of the Earth Middle East . FoEME is a regional organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists to promote sustainable development and advance peace efforts in the Middle East...
(Israel), Munqeth Mehyar
Munqeth Mehyar
Munqeth Mehyar serves as Chairman and Jordanian Director of EcoPeace/ Friends of the Earth Middle East . FoEME is a unique regional organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists to promote sustainable development and advance peace efforts in the Middle East...
(Jordan) and Nader Al-Khateeb
Nader Al-Khateeb
Nader Al-Khateeb is the General Director of the Water and Environmental Development Organization , a non-profit Palestinian organization that promotes a number of environmental programs and projects centered around water quality control, water conservation, wastewater treatment and reuse, as well...
(Palestine) -- were honored by Time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
magazine as Environmental Heroes of 2008 and the organization was granted the prestigious Skoll Award in 2009. FoEME also received a 2008 SEED Finalist Award.
Group issues and actions
One of FOEME's major efforts is a regional advocacy project to promote discussion and sharing of water resources.FOEME has taken a leading role in calling for action to save the Dead Sea, which may be in danger of drying up due to some environmental factors. Various groups and government officials from several countries say that a pipeline from the Red Sea is needed to save the Dead Sea. In June 2009, after a meeting with World Bank President Robert Zoellick, the Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister, Silvan Shalom
Silvan Shalom
' , born 4 October 1958) is an Israeli politician, member of the Knesset for Likud and the country's Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development. He previously served as the country's Foreign Minister and Finance Minister.-Biography:...
, announced a pilot project to build a "pilot" pipe 180 km long from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. The pipe would pump 200 million cubic meters per year. Half of this would be desalinated for Jordanian consumption and half put into the Dead Sea. Some experts questioned this project. Hebrew University of Jerusalem Prof. Avner Adin said more studies were needed on the potential environmental impact.
Reports
- Environmental Peacebuilding Theory and Practice
- Identifying Common Environmental Problems and Shared Solutions
- Good Water Neighbors
- Municipal Cooperation across Conflict Divides - A Preliminary Study
- Nature, Agriculture and the Price of Water in Israel
- Economic Valuation of Resuscitating the Dead Sea
- Advancing Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Dead Sea Basin - Broadening the Debate on Economic and Management Issues
- Let the Dead Sea Live
- Dead Sea Challenges
- One Basin - One Strategy
- Jordan River Peace Park Pre Feasibility Study
- How Past Trans-boundary Security Arrangements Can Change the Future of Peace Parks in the Tri-partite Region
- FoEME Report on the Proposed Red Dead Conduit
- Red Sea-Dead Sea Conduit - Geo-Environmental Study Along the Arava Valley
- A Seeping Time Bomb: Pollution of the Mountain Aquifer by Solid Waste
For more, see Publications tab on FoEME website
Video
FoEME Eco-Park in the Zeiglab Basin, Jordan ValleyGood Water Neighbors and youth - "Green Mideast Peace"
Gidon Bromberg on the Jordan River Peace Park
Gidon Bromberg - Peace through environmental activism
Gidon Bromberg on the Good Water Neighbors Project