Just as ecological crises can divide people and incite regional unrest, they can also unify hostile populations by necessitating collaborative action to address a problem which impacts all sides. In places like Rwanda and Darfur, climate change and environmental decline have been driving conflict for years, exacerbating tension by depleting common resources and rendering people hungry, thirsty and homeless. Increasingly, environmental peacekeeping initiatives appear to be an effective way to promote peace by addressing environmental problems. Such is the case near the Dead Sea, where degradation of the water and the surrounding ecosystems has brought Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian groups into cooperation towards restoration. The Middle Eastern branch of Friends of the Earth (FoEME) has been engaging the three groups to address issues of drought and development around the Dead Sea, carrying out extensive research on the biodiversity and natural resources there, and proposing alternatives to existing plans for bolstering tourism and adding more infrastructure as the area becomes a vacation destination. In response to massive and uncoordinated development proposed for the Dead Sea basin, FoEME has now launched a project to create a comprehensive integrated regional development plan for the entire Dead Sea region. The plan will be a… (more)
(Posted by Sarah Rich in Biodiversity and Ecosystems at 10:47 AM)