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| September 2009 |
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FoEME is delighted to report on an exceptional honor and opportunity during the recent visit of THE ELDERS to the region. The  Elders, a group of eminent global leaders, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and others, asked to see on-the-ground peacemaking efforts and chose to learn - amongst other grass roots initiatives - about our Good Water Neighbors project. They toured the Palestinian GWN community of Wadi Fukin and then joined a discussion on the issue of 'Why Cooperate?' with the neighboring Israeli community of Tzur Hadassah.
Ten residents from each side participated in the 1½ hour discussion sharing their very personal reasons of why they have chosen to work together and how they believe that their achievement is a model that can encourage other Palestinian and Israeli communities to problem solve together.
The Elders learned about the concrete successes and benefits resulting from the 2 communities working together over the years, such as stopping the Separation Barrier from being built, the cross border marketing of agricultural produce and the advancement of sanitation solutions to Wadi Fukin. | |
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In the framework of the Good Water Neighbors project, FoEME organized an Israeli / Palestinian cross border meeting between Tour  Guides and other adult residents from Jericho, Auja and Bethlehem, to visit their counterparts in their partnering community in the Tamar Regional Council (Ein Gedi). This visit came at the request of both the Palestinians and Israelis who spent 2 days together this past June, visiting the Neighbors Paths of their partnering Jordanian communities.
The tour explored the western shores of the Dead Sea, explaining the ecological degradation occurring and was followed by a discussion on cross-border water issues in the region.
At the closing discussion of the day, one Palestinian Tour Guide noted how he “lives only 30 kilometers from the Dead Sea, and had no idea how complicated the environmental issues were” and that this was “extremely important for his work as a tour guide to be more knowledgeable on both the Dead Sea and critical water issues”. | |
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This month, 35 youth from the GWN communities of Baka Gharbia, Baka Sharkia and Tulkarem met together to continue their joint  campaign calling for the protection of their shared water resource, the Mountain Aquifer.
The day began with discussions on the role of youth in their communities, encouraging them to be ‘ambassadors for change’ on local water conservation efforts. They continued with a tour of Baka Gharbia’s Neighbors Path, this time on bicycles, concluding the day on the beach at Caesarea.
The Good Water Neighbors project is supported by USAID, SIDA and the Belgium Foreign Ministry’s Peace Building Desk. | |
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FoEME Jordanian Director, Munqeth Mehyar was invited to be a keynote speaker at World Water Week in Stockholm, the premier  meeting place for exchanging water-related views, knowledge, and experience between scientific, business, policy and civic sectors from around the globe.
Mr. Mehyar’s participation was supported by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). The Jordan River Rehabilitation Project is supported by USAID, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, the Green Environment Fund and the Global Nature Fund/ Ursula Merz Foundation. | |
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Teachers leading the Community GIS project participated in a seminar on August 19 in order to prepare for the new school year.  The seminar included an open discussion on lessons to be learnt from the first year, on types of hazards that were collected & mapped by the students and presentations of project outcomes to date.
A hands-on session followed, refreshing the memory of the use of GIS software in mapping environmental hazards. Lastly, the seminar was dedicated to organizing a local campaign based on the students findings, and presenting them at the upcoming CGIS regional youth camp in October and the regional mayor's conference in November.
The Community GIS project is supported by the European Union's Partnership for Peace program.
FoEME is recruiting an intern with GIS training to be based in our Bethlehem office beginning January 2010. Please see our internship page for details. | |
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As part of FoEME's efforts to advance the establishment of the Jordan River Peace Park, FoEME is leading critical rehabilitation  projects to protect sites of shared cultural heritage located in the area of the proposed park beginning with the historic train station.
The German Foundation Studiosus has partnered with FoEME to rehabilitate the historic train station at the site and install information boards for visitors. This Bauhaus train station, which served the Hejaz Railroad line over the Jordan River, provides a unique tourism attraction and a central point of interest for visitors to the area.
The Jordan River Peace Park project is presently being supported by the Studiosus Foundation and the Blaustein Foundation. | |
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FoEME extends our condolences to the family of Mr. Yosef Tamir, who passed away on August 10th at the age of 94. Mr. Tamir was not only the father of the environmental movement in Israel receiving the Knesset Prize for "Achievements in the Area of Environmental Quality" but he was also recognized in the International community, being awarded the United Nations Environmental Prize.
He was a dear friend and supporter of FoEME. | |
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