| February 2009 |
 |
With the ceasefire for the moment just holding, FoEME is concerned that insufficient measures are taking place to avoid a recurrence of violence. In the midst of the fighting FoEME issued a press release calling for a UN Environment Programme mission to assess the environmental impacts of the war.
FoEME believes that in addition to measures of international diplomacy required to reach a just peace, community level peace building is essential. FoEME, as a member of the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), is advocating the creation of an International Fund for Middle East Peace, modeled on the community peace building lessons learned from the Northern Ireland experience. See Age article and ALLMEP event in March in Washington DC. | |
 |
|
FoEME was honored to be selected to receive the SEED Finalist Award for our Jordan River Peace Park initiative for  “entrepreneurship and outstanding potential to contribute to sustainable development”.
The SEED Initiative will provide project support to FoEME through expert advice to be given through IUCN, UNEP and UNDP. | |
|
|
Further on the Peace Park, this month FoEME released the pre-feasibility study of the Jordan River Peace Park. The study identified the main benefits and challenges in establishing the park including estimated costs, development phasing and the quantity of water necessary to support eco-tourism initiatives at the site. The full text of the study is available on our Jordan River Peace Park publications page.
The pre-feasibility study was sponsored by the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, Green Cross France and the Blaustein Foundation. | |
|
|
FoEME Jordanian Director Munqeth Mehyar was a guest speaker at the conference “Transboundary Water Crisis: Learning from our  Neighbors in the Rio Grande and Jordan River Watersheds” held at the New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Munqeth presented FoEME's Jordan River Rehabilitation project which is identifying the means by which water transfers to the Lower Jordan River can take place while at the same fostering the political will in support of water transfers back to the river. The conference compared similar characteristics between the Rio Grande and Jordan River Watersheds.
FoEME this month signed a contract with USAID to support the Jordan River Rehabilitation Project, joining the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, the Global Nature Fund and the Green Environment Fund in support of this important work. | |
|
|
This month, FoEME launched its Community GIS Project a new component of the Good Water Neighbors project. Community GIS is an educational project designed to give high school students the ability to identify environmental hazards in and around their community and document them on a GIS mapping program. Paired cross-border communities will then see how hazards are impacting shared water resources and the school kids involved in the project will launch a common campaign to influence decision makers to remove those hazards to shared water. The GIS hazard maps will be uploaded on Google Earth where they will be available for the wider public. For recent media about the GWN project from the Melbourne AGE, Walla, a Washington Post Blog, Current Video and the Australian Jewish News, please visit our GWN press coverage page
The GWN project is supported by USAID and the European Union’s Partnership for Peace program. | |
|
|
The World Bank Red Dead Conduit project attracted more controversy this month, with high level statements made that building of the conduit proceed immediately. The Jordan Times editorial adopted many of the positions of FoEME, not only stating the need for a proper feasibility study, but that the rehabilitation of the Jordan River must be linked to saving the Dead Sea. To read the full article, click here.
FoEME's work concerning the Red Dead Conduit is supported by the Green Environment Fund. | |
|
|
Gidon Bromberg, Israeli Director of FoEME, will be give a public lecture entitled “Water and Peace in the Middle East – crisis and  opportunity” as part of the Amy Adina Schulman Memorial Fund Lecture series. The evening lecture will take place on March 6, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. at the Princeton Jewish Center located at 435 Nassau Street, Princeton, New Jersey. The public is invited. No registration is required. Please contact Ruth Schulman for more details. [email protected] | |
|
|
FoEME welcomes qualified internship applicants at our Amman, Bethlehem and Tel Aviv offices. For more information please visit our website. | |
|
