Posted: April 28 2005,02:54 |
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
Friends
of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) works in a region of mistrust and
ongoing violence, however, we believe we have seen progress – at least
in our work - toward a culture of peace and nonviolence during the
first half of the decade.
A good example is where in
2001, in the midst of the current hostilities in the region, FoEME
launched a new project called "Good Water Makes Good Neighbors".
This project was created to advance a reconciliation initiative
based on the fact that Israeli and Palestinian neighboring communities
share a common water resource, being either a stream/river or shared
groundwater. The communities involved included both the
Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel and both Gaza and West Bank
Palestinian communities. In the four years since the launch of the
project, concrete and practical reconciliation actions on the ground
took place implemented by volunteer youth water trustees created by the
project in each community based on the common water and environment
issues that they share.
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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The
Middle East has been a region of conflict for many years, but the last
4 years of violence has been unprecedented. With the use of
suicide bombers on the one side and military action on the other, there
is no question that these hostilities have prevented progress towards
peace and stability, have severely damaged any trust that might have
been built up in previous years and have hampered peace efforts in
general.
Friends of the Earth Middle East has managed to work
together in this region despite the violence, but we have had our own
setbacks as well. The problem of advertising our work with
Palestinian partners is very problematic. Although we are very
proud of the dialogue that we have created between Israelis,
Palestinians and Jordanians, especially in this time of regional
unrest, we are often wary of publicity of these successes for fear of
our Palestinian partners being viewed as "collaborators". This is
most unfortunate since the media seems to be more interested in the
region's violence and bombings while we would prefer to highlight the
fact that there does exist dialogue, cooperation and joint activities
between Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians. In addition, FoEME
often needs to gather people together for meetings, conferences and
activities from the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Israel.
This requires issuance of permits for the Palestinians and visas
for the Jordanians, neither of which should be taken for granted.
There are occasional refusals to grant permits for Palestinians
and visas for Jordanians and this obstacle unfortunately impacts our
degree of success in our work.
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ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
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Friends
of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), is a unique organization that brings
together Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli environmentalists.
Our primary objective is the promotion of cooperative efforts to
protect our shared environmental heritage. In so doing, we seek to
advance both sustainable regional development and the creation of
necessary conditions for lasting peace in our region.
All of
Friends of the Earth Middle East's activities deal with trans-boundary
environmental issues that necessitates the cooperation of all parties
involved, as described in our activities below:
a. GOOD WATER NEIGHBORS PROJECT The
key purpose of the Good Water Neighbors project is to identify pilot
communities in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority to raise
awareness through youth activities at the community level as to their
own water reality and promote more sustainable water management at the
municipal/household level; advance trans-boundary cooperation between
the neighboring Israeli/Jordanian/Palestinian water trustees created in
order to exchange information concerning each other’s water reality and
seek to advance specific cooperation on common water problem solving
issues; and to utilize the results and experience gained at the pilot
community and partnering community level for a region-wide public
awareness program on wise water use and water equity issues.
FoEME
established a group of Water Trustees in each pilot community as the
local advocates/activists for change. A public building in each
community was transformed to a model water wise building, with
thousands of additional water wise devices employed community wide.
15,000 signatures were collected for a common petition on local water
issues presented by youth to their respective water authorities and
workshops were held on the community level about wise water use
targeting different stakeholders. Site visits for dignitaries and
media are constantly being undertaken and significant public interest
has been obtained in the partnering community program.
FoEME is
the lead organization in the project, consisting of three FoEME project
coordinators and 11 field researchers based in each community. The
project is managed by a FoEME project director, with support from an
international advisory committee of European and American water
experts.
b. PROTECTING THE MOUNTAIN AQUIFER The
Mountain Aquifer is an underground trans-boundary water reservoir,
providing a primary source of drinking water for Israelis and
Palestinians alike. However, poor environmental practices, such as raw
sewage and seepage from unsanitary landfills, which take place above
the Mountain Aquifer by both Palestinian villages and Israeli
settlements, directly threaten the aquifer’s water quality. The main
object of the project is to detail the sources of pollution to the
Mountain Aquifer through: interviews with all stakeholders; roundtable
discussions with Israeli, Palestinian and international decision-makers
and experts; and publishing a report and utilizing it as the basis of
an advocacy campaign.
FoEME has developed strong relationships
with Israeli and Palestinian municipalities, water authorities and
donor states where common sewage and solid waste issues are concerned.
Since the start of this project all sides publicly declared this issue
to be a priority and moved forward on both Tulkarem and Hebron
facilities. FoEME is conducting a second phase of the project to focus
on solid waste issues and the need to continue to keep pressure on each
individual commitment made to ensure project fruition takes place in a
timely manner. The expected result is a declared timetable agreed upon
by the joint Israeli-Palestinian Water Committee, with the support of
donor countries, for the building of sewage treatment facilities above
the Mountain Aquifer.
c. MIDDLE EAST ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS PROGRAMME: THE GULF OF AQABA AND THE DEAD SEA BASIN The
overall objective was to promote peace through environmental awareness
by focusing on the shared ecosystems of the Dead Sea and the Gulf of
Aqaba. For the Dead Sea, the main focus was to raise awareness of the
unique environment and current threats facing the Dead Sea and educate
decision makers to adopt a regional strategy for the sustainable
management of the Dead Sea basin. For the Gulf of Aqaba, the main focus
was to educate the tourism industry to adopt sustainable tourism
practices and raise awareness for tourists (foreign and local) and the
local communities of the need to protect together the Gulf of Aqaba.
FoEME's
activities at the Dead Sea Basin brought: the Palestinian Minister of
the Environment to formally express their support in writing for Dead
Sea World Heritage registration; an inter-ministerial committee
established in Israel in March 2001 (including informally a
representative from FoEME) to consider the future of the Dead Sea; an
announcement by the King of Jordan in December 2001 that the Dead Sea
is of national interest to Jordan; Israeli and Jordanian governments
jointly declare at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
the need to implement a joint strategy to protect the Dead Sea; and the
Israeli Government passes a decision in January 2003 to prepare a
government policy on the future of the Dead Sea allocating 2 million
NIS for the purpose. At the public level, hundreds of Jordanians,
Palestinians and Israelis participated in public awareness activities
concerning the Dead Sea, and a photo competition of the Dead Sea
launched in Jordan and Israel received extensive media coverage
highlighting the importance of the Dead Sea as a natural resource and
not a wasteland.
For the Gulf of Aqaba, the project resulted
in a Jordanian law in Aqaba banning the sale of plastic bags less then
a certain thickness in order to protect the coral reefs and general
environment; the Eilat Port Authority purchased equipment for safe
feeding of phosphate into ships at Eilat port; a proposed airport
terminal originally designed for the border area of Aqaba and Eilat at
the spot of a declared nature reserve was moved north of the reserve;
thousands of residents and local tourists in Aqaba and Eilat
participated in public awareness activities of various sorts to protect
the shared Gulf of Aqaba; the planning authorities in Israel refused to
accept fish cages as part of the coastal master plan of Eilat; and both
the Jordanian and Israel media recognized the issue of fish cages in
open waters and the pollution that they cause as an international issue
of common concern.
d. RAISING AWARENESS FOR THE RIVER JORDAN'S SHARED HERITAGE AND PROTECTION Despite
its historical, geographic and cultural importance, the Lower River
Jordan has been turned into little more than an open sewer. The sewage
of all the communities along the Jordan River Valley, Israeli,
Jordanian and Palestinian, are directed untreated towards the River.
Fresh water coming from the Sea of Galilee or the Yarmouk River have
been diverted or dammed so that the Jordan River’s flow is today less
then ten percent of its historic volume and that volume constitutes
mostly of sewage and diverted saline springs from the Sea of Galilee.
The
objective of this new project was to prepare a concept document for
potential UNESCO biosphere and or World Heritage Registration of the
River Jordan by the three parties, Palestine, Jordan and Israel, and
use this document to launch an advocacy campaign to rehabilitate this
important river, promoting pride and prosperity to the people that live
along its banks. A large, international conference took place
this spring, where we brought our ideas for rehabilitation and
sustainable development out to the public. These include plans for
eco-tourism, sustainable agriculture, and reviving cultural events in
the area.
We hope to raise the awareness of this mostly unknown
environmental crisis to the residents of the 3 countries residing along
the river, the general public and the stakeholders in the region.
We can then progress towards suggesting viable solutions to bring
water and life back to the Jordan Valley, directly benefiting the
inhabitants of the area.
FoEME is a leading organization in this
project, utilizing Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli researches and
planners to gather information about the ecological and cultural
uniqueness as well as the challenges facing the Jordan River today.
e. RED SEA – DEAD SEA CONDUIT Friends
of the Earth Middle East received a $500,000 USAID research project to
be undertaken by 3 co-partners: WEDO (Water and Environment
Development Organization – a Palestinian NGO), the Geological Society
of Israel and the Jordanian Royal Scientific Society. The aim is
to study the ecological, geological, hydrological and economic impact
that this proposed conduit would have on the region.
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ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
FoEME
has many recommendations mostly relating to the little tapped potential
of environmental peacemaking particularly as regards transboundary
water issues. These include: • Because of interdependence water can be a bridge towards peace building. • On water supply issues generally good government to government cooperation often due to immediate benefits seen. • On pollution prevention and habitat protection benefits are long term – therefore cooperation requires 3rd party support. •
Donor states and organizations such as the UN should support an
integrated approach - water supply, sewage treatment and habitat
protection. • Intervention needed at national level but no less at community level. • In conflict areas different model required to contribute to both development and peace building. •
Assistance should incorporate conflict prevention / peace building
(CP/PB) & identify peace dividend for all interventions made. • Call for proposals should encourage and help identify CP/PB opportunities • Donors need to coordinate closely with all sides in a given conflict • Donor and UN aid staff need specific training on how to support CP/PB . • Donors need to recognize that conflict related costs are legitimate and can be minimized by better coordination
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
- Friends of the Earth International - Paths to Sustainability - Life and Environment - Global Nature Fund
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
- continuation of "Good Water Neighbors" project with new activities - promoting eco-tourism in the Jordan River Valley - promoting organic agriculture in the Jordan River Valley - work towards empowering local residents & civil society in the Jordan River Valley -
check the feasibility of the IJC model for the shared lakes
between US & Canada for use as a Dead Sea management body - assess results of the Red Sea Dead Sea conduit research outcomes - continue cooperation on Mountain Aquifer research and suggestions for action
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Postal address of organization
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Friends of the Earth Middle East 85 Nahalat Binyamin Street Tel Aviv, 66102 ISRAEL
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E-mail address of organization
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info@foeme.org
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Website address of organization
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www.foeme.org
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Sustainable Development
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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International Peace and Security
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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Regional – Middle East
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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Israel, Palestine and Jordan
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