Eco-Cities of the mediterranean 2008 exhibition in the Dead Sea

When: October 18-20, 2008
What: Eco - Cities of the Mediterranean
Where: Dead Sea - Jordan



Our region’s energy, water, waste, air and environment are all facing significant and complicated challenges that are affecting the quality of our lives today and will continue to affect the quality of future generations if they are not addressed.

Join us and let us work together at The Eco Cities of the Mediterranean Forum 2008 that will be held from October 18- 20, 2008 at the Dead Sea in Jordan. The Forum has been designed to update you on key topics pertaining to environmental issues. It is being organized for the Mediterranean region by the Jordanian Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Greater Amman Municipality, UNIDO and USAID Jordan Economic Development Program (SABEQ).

The Forum will feature panel discussions led by experts covering topics on environmental challenges, strategies, policies and solutions in urban areas, with a motivation for action. There will be breakout sessions where you will be able to discuss issues of great importance in this field and examine regional case studies as practical examples demonstrating good practices.

Ministers, Mayors, members of the local authorities, service suppliers, intermediary and non governmental organizations will all be participating in this rich exchange of ideas, information and experiences, while networking with the leaders and experts in this field. We anticipate more than 200 practitioners from the region and worldwide will attend this valuable Forum.

The Forum will also include an exhibition for service and technology suppliers to showcase their latest services, products and state of the art developments in the environmental field.

An additional activity, in which participation is optional, has been planned towards the end of the Forum. A trip to the rose-red city of Petra, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, has been scheduled for October 21, where you can experience history from an ecological perspective.

We request that you extend this invitation to your entire organization and/or individuals you feel would be interested in attending this event. For more information and online registration, please visit us at: www.eco-cities.net or contact us by email at info@eco-cities.net

We look forward to welcoming you in Jordan,
Forum Organizers

Zero Carbon Dioxide City in Jordan and bigger than MASDAR

It was announced today, April 22nd, 2008 and during the Think Green Conference in Amman at Zara Expo by H.S. Sahl Majjaly, minister of public works and Housing that there is an initiative to build in Jordan a Zero Carbon dioxide city, bigger than Masdar City in abu Dhabi .

No further details were announced, but, that's a surprise that came out of the bloom. looking forward to hear more details since no other details were announced.

Also, announcing two new building codes involving environmentally green projects. One of them is the Building Insulation Code, which will be announced in two weeks.

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Supporting the local industries and protecting our products
Renewable energy devices to be tax deducted ... not enough

Highlighting the importance of alternative energy

IRBID (Petra) - Dutch and Russian experts on Tuesday presented a conference on the principles of harnessing alternative and renewable energy. During the “Integration of Alternative Energy Sources” conference held yesterday in Irbid, experts discussed means to improve central heating and feasible ways to utilise solar energy. They agreed on the importance of alternative energy sources in reducing the negative impact of oil prices on the international economy in general.

Supporting the local industries and protecting our products

The Government is expected to exempt renewable and energy conserving devices from custom taxes and waive the 16% sales tax. For the Solar water heaters, wind systems and other energy-saving the incentives where already been implemented, since the begining of this year.

I hope that the industrial leaders and citizens are aware of the importance of "energy savings, or environmental awarness," but, they are already suffering from the high cost of operations and production leaving "the environment care" behind their concerns.

In a small country with small consumption rates and purchasing power and few factories and manufacturing, caring about the environment and speaking about "energy savings", " renewable energy" becomes only sort of a " Trendy" movement toward some fake strategies, unless it's been implemented the right way and taking into considerations the economical challengies and production competitiveness that we suffer to even achive.

Shouldn't the industry leaders fight for exempting all imports for Manufacturing inputs from taxes and sales, and imposing tarrifs on imported products that compete with the locally produced products? Implementing a protection strategy for the locally manufactured products to become more competitive! Our competitive advantage is diminishing due to the progressive increase in the inflation rates, high increase in production cost, and transfer of talented minds to serve the economy of other countries.

In summary, the proposed strategy is to exempt the imported raw materials and all the manufacturing inputs from taxes while imposing more taxes on the imported final products that compete with the local manufactured products.

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Renewable energy devices to be tax deducted ... not enough

AMMAN (JT)- Instructions governing a March government decision to exempt renewable energy and energy-conserving devices from customs duties are expected to be published next week, an official said.
Meanwhile, the government is expected to cancel the 16 per cent sales tax, a move, industry leaders said, which would encourage consumers to adopt the new devices.



In order to address the Kingdom’s energy crunch and to assist the move to energy-saving practices and responding to calls from the industry, the government took the exemption decision and published it in the Official Gazzette last month.

The measure comes in line with the Kingdom's energy strategy which seeks to increase dependence on local energy sources from the current 4 per cent to 25 per cent by 2015, and up to 39 per cent by 2020.

But full implementation and exact measures are to be unveiled next week, according to National Energy Research Centre (NERC) President Malek Kabariti.

Solar water heaters, wind systems and other energy-saving devices have all been exempted from customs duties and will soon be free of sales tax, he added.

“It was not easy to pass, but we came to an agreement that will be beneficial to both the industry and the people,” Kabariti told The Jordan Times.

Although the measure has yet to be implemented in full, the effects can already be seen, according to Ayman Maaitah, solar energy specialist and CEO of Millennium Energy Industries.

“This difference is huge, we have already reduced prices by 20 per cent or more.”

“It was supposed to be exempted of all customs duties and taxes, but till now, we have to pay sales tax,” Maaitah lamented, adding that the sector has received verbal promises from the government that the sales tax will be exempted soon.

A wider use of solar energy and other energy-saving devices have the potential to save the Kingdom's energy consumption by 25-50 per cent, according to experts in the sector.

The technology had been subject to 16 per cent sales tax and 23 per cent customs, which passed along a 40 per cent price increase on to consumers.

With full exemptions, the price of a solar-generated water heater will be reduced from JD500 to JD350, while solar energy for home heating, which currently costs JD10-15 per square metre, will drop by 20 per cent.

Happy Snow in Amman

I just went for a Snow Drive and shopping, it looks so great outside. I took these photos, the best I can get but I promise to post better pictures when the snow stops :)

Enjoy the beauty of the snow visiting Amman City and Jordan.

So what are you doing now?

- WATCHING DVD

- EATING JUNK FOOD

- Eating the unfresh Jordanian KASTANA "Maple".

- Reading a Book

- WATCHING JORDAN TV LOCAL CHANNEL

- BLOGGING, even the connection is so DEAD that I guess many people is on line now.

- SLEEPING

- Trying to move your car, just because you are bored.

- Playing Shjaddeah, cards.

- all of the above

- Or Nothing

- Any Hobbies?

or, but I doubt, you are working at home?

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Celebrating Trees

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Ali and Princess Rym Ali attend a

ceremony marking Arbor Day in Al Jiza on Tuesday (Petra photo)


The Kingdom marked Arbor Day on Tuesday with tree-planting ceremonies across the country. Thats how an article covering the "Kingdom Marks the Arbor Day" being posted @ Jordan times. If you read the article you will be surprised how we celebrate tree planting in this country. How we see this country by investing in Housing projects at newly planted trees. That was my perception from this article. You can read it here at Jordan Times.

It ends up being a Housing project! Planting trees is called " Construction Plants" then it continue talking about housing construction projects. Then the real estate investment company were introduced to talk about their housing projects. Later a sub titile talkes about "Increasing the Green Cover"

Deputising for his Majesty King Abdullah, HRH Prince Ali acted as patron at a ceremony making the occasion in Al- Jiza. I am sure Prince Ali, whose leading the country trees planting initiative, will be surprised to read this article.

Whose editing these topics at Jordan Times?


AMMAN (JT) - The Kingdom marked Arbor Day on Tuesday with tree-planting ceremonies across the country.

Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, HRH Prince Ali acted as patron at a ceremony marking the occasion in Al Jiza.

The Prince, accompanied by HRH Princess Rym Ali, planted a sapling at the site of the Ahl Al Azm residential city project, one of 25,000 newly planted pine tree saplings on the 13-dunum plot.

Prince Ali, who launched the project yesterday, was briefed on construction plans.

Minister of Public Works and Housing Sahl Majali said the $900 million first phase of the residential city, expected to be completed by 2012, will include the construction of 15,754 housing units on a 3 million square metre (sq.m) plot.

Around 1,005 villas will also be built under the project, according to Majali.

“Construction work on the project, which is expected to benefit some 84,000 people, will commence in two months,” Majali told The Jordan Times yesterday, adding that the ministry seeks to make affordable housing units available to various segments of society.

Taameer Jordan Holdings (TJH), a real estate developer, is implementing the project in cooperation with the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC).

TJH Chairman Khaled Dahleh said apartments will range between 80-180sq.m in area, noting that the city will also include 100-200sq.m of commercial units for stores and offices.

The residential city will be provided with water, electricity, communication infrastructure and road networks, and will also house schools, commercial centres, parks and parking lots, he added.

“The project, formerly known as Al Jiza residential city, is a model of the partnership between the private and public sectors,” Dahleh noted.

Located 35 kilometres from the 7th Circle, the plot of land, owned by HUDC, is on the airport road.

HUDC Director General Sana Mehyar said the project will be a model for other residential cities to be built in different governorates.

“The increasing demand for housing accompanied by rising property prices necessitated the construction of a project that will serve limited-income citizens,” Mihyar told The Jordan Times yesterday.

Prime Minister Nader Dahabi and the King’s Adviser for Tribal Affairs Sharif Fawwaz Zaben attended yesterday’s event, while members of the We are All Jordan Youth Commission took part in planting saplings at the site.

Increasing green cover

Ministry of Agriculture Secretary General Radi Tarawneh praised Arbor Day as an opportunity to plant trees across the Kingdom to increase green cover and combat desertification.

“The ministry annually distributes 40 million forest saplings free of charge to individuals and nurseries; part of its plan for this year is to plant trees on 5,000 dunums,” Tarawneh told reporters at yesterday’s event.

The ministry will also plant saplings on roadsides and other areas across the country in order to increase the country’s green cover and combat climate change, Tarawneh added.

Only 1 per cent of the country’s total area is covered with forests, according to agriculture officials, whereas it is 20-25 per cent internationally.

In September last year, the Agriculture Ministry announced a strategy to protect the country’s forests from climate and socio-economic threats.

The strategy is designed to preserve the Kingdom’s diminishing forests and to protect its biodiversity. It also seeks to train the ministry’s forestry department employees on forest conservation.

Illegal logging also poses a threat to the country’s limited forests, Minister of Agriculture Muzahim Muhaisin said at the event.

“The ministry is trying to stop such violations in cooperation with environmental rangers, however, it is not possible to deploy a ranger for each tree… we need the public’s cooperation,” Muhaisin told The Jordan Times yesterday.

Arbor Day, a nationally celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care, was founded by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska in 1872, according to the National Arbor Day Foundation’s website.

The tradition of Arbour Day in the Kingdom began in 1939 with a ceremony held at Jabal Qalaa.

Since then, it has been an annual national celebration, with the Ministry of Agriculture choosing a different location each year to plant various saplings.

Toward improving the transportation system and decreasing car emission

To improve the transportation system and minimizing old vehicles emission. They can now be replaced with new ones with exempted or reduced taxes, according to an article published at the Jordan times newspaper today.

Cabinet endorses exemptions for mini-buses

AMMAN (Petra) - Owners of mini-buses that have passed their operational age can now purchase a new vehicle that will be exempted from customs tariffs in return for scrapping two old small cars, under a decision taken by the Cabinet on Tuesday. In addition, they will pay a reduced sales tax of 7 per cent. The decision, which does not apply to investment companies, was taken in line with the country’s strategy to replace old passenger mini-buses with safer, newer ones, in a bid to improve the transport system. During their weekly session yesterday, the Cabinet also decided to reduce the sales tax on locally manufactured transport vehicles to 4 per cent. In addition, the Council of Ministers decided to exempt passenger vehicles, which are re-exported to be replaced with newer ones, from income and service tax.

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Call 080022660 to report food and drug violations

Anybody knows the name of the restaurants?

If you have pictures of dirty Restaurants or any Violations. Send them to Amman Voice and we will post them here.

AMMAN (Petra) - The Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) has referred the owners of five restaurants to court for violating public health rules during the four-day Eid Al Adha holiday. JFDA teams, which conducted dozens of inspection rounds during the holiday, destroyed foodstuff found to be unfit for consumption. Director of JFDA office in Amman Mohammad Khreishah called on citizens to report any violation by calling the toll free 24-hour number 080022660.


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Forest enhancement in Jordan

Honorary Consul of Ireland in Amman Ramzi Khoury and Al Shajarah Foundation Vice Chairman Hazem Malhas sign a grant agreement in the presence of HRH Prince Hamzah, honorary chairman of the Al Shajarah Foundation, on Tuesday (Petra photo)






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We need Amman to be environmentaly sustainable and green

AMMAN (JT) - HRH Prince Hamzah, the honorary chairman of the Al Shajarah
Foundation, on Tuesday received the foundation’s first donation for its future
initiatives.
The 24,000-euro donation was presented to the Prince by
Honorary Consul of Ireland in Amman Ramzi Khoury, from Ireland’s In-Country
Micro-Project Scheme, according to statement released by the foundation.
Al Shajarah board members as well as the foundation’s director, Fuad Srouji,
attended the event at Wild Jordan, celebrating the beginning of pilot programmes
in forest enhancement in Jordan.
The foundation was established in June 2006 under the guidance and chairmanship of Prince Hamzah with the vision of becoming an advocate for strategies, policies, plans and programmes aimed at increasing and enhancing areas covered by trees and forests in Jordan.
The foundation’s mission is to promote the acknowledgement of trees as living entities, critical to the ecological balance and attainment of sustainable socio-economic development, and to advocate for national policies, strategies, laws and
regulations to conserve and increase this natural green cover.
To this end, the foundation will inaugurate this season by initiating a project to reforest an area of 15 hectares in Jerash with the support of Zain Company and the
Forestry Directorate, according to the statement.
It will also contact several private sector firms to fund reforestation efforts in all governorates, and conduct awareness campaigns among public, private and educational sectors to advocate the preservation of forests, the planting and maintenance of trees and minimising tree cutting for firewood by promoting the use of dried jiffit blocks (olive pomace) as an alternative.

King calls for swift implementation of energy conservation projects

His Majesty King Abdullah meets with HRH Prince Hamzah, who chairs a Royal committee to revise and
modernise the national energy strategy, and several ministers on Sunday (Photo by Yousef Allan)

His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday stressed the need to start implementing projects designed to meet the Kingdom’s energy demands and to increase reliance on alternative and renewable energy sources.

With his leadership HM shows us the importance of such projects. I am not aware of any projects been done, or any guidelines and directions been enforced to rely on the alternative energy and control energy consumption.

What we can do here is start thinking about creating a rating system for each project been implemented and listed as an environmentally healthy and sustainable.

Other ways of using alternative energy resources can be done by implementing more effective transportation system and rely more on transportation alternatives from Pedestrian, bicycles, Trains, Busses, and last of them cars.Green Transportation Hierarchy

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Opening of the complex travel north and the conversion of Abdali into Garden

Jordanian Disability Act - Symposium

Great news for the future of accessibility for disables. Hopefully we see Amman more democratic, giving the rights for everybody to enjoy the city: It's streets, parks, neighborhoods, and buildings.

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Jordanian Disability Act

Symposium to highlight building codes

By Dalya Dajani

AMMAN - A new effort aimed at revitalising an important yet largely inactive law ensuring people with disabilities (PWD) a more accessible public environment will get under way in the capital today.

The two-day symposium, led by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and the Higher Council for the Affairs of People with Disabilities, is designed to help raise the profile and enforcement of special building codes across the country.

The Special Buildings Code Law, which obligates responsible entities to ensure specific designs for buildings for PWD, came into force in 1993 under the Law for the Welfare of Disabled Persons.

The law states that all public buildings and spaces should incorporate the necessary modifications to render them accessible for PWD.

This falls under Article 3 of the law, which stipulates the right of PWD into a suitable environment that allows them freedom of movement and transportation in a safe and secure manner.

The law supports the key basis behind the legislation, which calls for the integration of PWD into mainstream society by guaranteeing their rights to education, employment, rehabilitation, medical treatment and care.

Those responsible include municipalities, the Jordanian Construction Contractors Association (JCCA) and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing. Authorities at GAM and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing have made some changes to both existing and new infrastructure over the past few years such as roads, major traffic junctions and parks. Some buildings and hotels have also followed building requirements or modified existing structures to meet these needs.

The Ministry of Transport has also introduced buses that have a certain number of seats designated and specifically designed for physically challenged persons.

While these steps are positive, the general environment for PWD still remains weak.



Director of the special buildings code at GAM, Rana Haddadin, said ensuring an accessible and socially cohesive environment for PWD requires greater awareness and a stronger mechanism for enforcement.

“Despite the positive strides taken, enforcement of the law and implementation of these standards on a comprehensive scale has not happened,” said Haddadin.

“We need to bring all relevant authorities on board, raise awareness on the law and ensure that a mechanism is in place for enforcement,” she added.

Haddadin told The Jordan Times that the objective of today’s meeting is to actively engage partners, which include GAM, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, representatives of other ministries, the JCCA and municipalities.

She said the latter is considered an important partner at a time when these changes are almost nonexistent in areas outside the capital where a large population of PWD still struggle to participate in society.

The Higher Council for the Affairs of People with Disabilities, the key authority on all issues related to PWD, is currently the main force in seeing these rights translated on the ground.

Enforcement of special buildings codes is among a number of issues set for implementation on the council’s action plan next year, which is essential for PWD to integrate into public life and to enjoy other rights guaranteed under the law such as employment and recreation.

Haddadin said while changing existing infrastructure is important, priorities are for new buildings and infrastructure.

“The action plan will address the needs for changes to both existing and new infrastructure, but the focus will be on new buildings, as implementation and enforcement will be be easier for those,” said Haddadin.

The complexities of modifying existing infrastructure include mechanisms and decisions as to who will finance the modification costs.

Some positive examples cited by the GAM official include the rehabilitation of Abu Huraira Street in east Amman, Al Taj road by Al Bashir Hospital and Shatt Al Arab and King Faisal roads in Um Uthaina. Others include the Zaha Centre in Tlaa Al Ali and King Hussein Park, which have been made accessible by GAM.

Haddadin said the two-day forum will include discussions on the current situation of infrastructure and the law’s requirements, while various entities will present working papers on their experiences in application of special building codes.

These include GAM, the Public Transport Regulatory Commission and the Local Building Council at the Ministry of Public Works and Housing. The ministries of municipal affairs, social development, education and tourism will also present their experiences in embracing the needs of PWD.

The participants are expected to present their recommendations at the end of the symposium.

Haddadin said she believed such important input and participation would pave the way for a new direction next year.

“Had the law been implemented properly in 1993, the Kingdom’s infrastructure would have looked very different today,” she said.

“However, I’m confident that these recommendations will be a starting point for new action next year,” she added.

Public Event : Exploring the Built Environment

A 1000 car Campaign Or a 1000 tree to remember 9/11?

We remembered our martyrs this week with sorrow and blessings to protect our country and it's peaceful citizens from any harm.

Not sure who was behind this campaign, however, I knew that it wasn't officially approved, but, still some cars did participate in the campaign as we can see in the pictures below.


Is this how we campaign to remember our martyrs by driving our cars across the street.

Instead of promoting for streets as public spaces, pedestrian friendly, we promote for our causes by driving our cars!!!

I never seen this in any civilized world, a 1000 car campaign !!!

What's wrong with walking in silence, remembering our martyrs with respect and peace while celebrating our clean streets?

Why not instead of campaigning by driving, we walk?

What if instead of every Car we planted a Tree and we gave them a name of the 9/11 martyrs. We see them growing and we remember them every day in our streets.

I am sure whoever planned for this made a huge effort to promote for it, and he/she was thinking out of his heart and love to his country and people to remember 9/11.

Maybe next year we plant together a 1000 tree.

On the other hand, I must mention here other similar events when we win a soccer match, or a music award we fill our streets with cars cycling our streets for hours to celebrate.

Shouldn't this stop? maybe one day.

The GAM is working hard to control our public streets, and make it pedestrian friendly, with less traffic, and less pollution. We need to educate ourselves about the harm of cars and traffic and it's effect on the environment and city life.




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Noise Pollution in Amman city

It's 6:00am and I just woke up, well, not because I slept enough or I set up my personal alarm to get up early to my 9:00 work but because I woke up on the neighborhood alarm that comes from the construction noise in my street. This is becoming contagious that I rarely sleep these days the way I want, with peace and calm. It's not a healthy living to start your week like this nervous and stressed out.

The noise comes from different sources but the most annoying to me is the construction work. In my neighborhood they finished last month a one year project of a reconstructed Villa to 4 floors residential project a block from my house, then another one just finished, with the same story, a villa reconstructed to 4 floors residential project. Only last month they destroyed an old 3 floors building in my block and now it's under construction. The noise and dust that comes from these projects are over the ordinary level that a human can handle.

Moreover, noise will continue after finishing these projects since the population density will increase.

Is construction more important than us Humans!

The biggest noise that is polluting my neighborhood is the one that comes from the Jordan gate towers which have 24 hour shifts, apparently to meet their deadlines. Even I live about 700 meters away and I still hear the noisy hammers that never stops.

Construction is not not the only source of pollution. Here is the school bus honking at 6:10am to pick up the school kids. Then later the home gas distributor will drive by with his annoying boring melody with it's high volume pitch, then later the famous truck will shout: elly 3endo talagat, ghasalat, nashafat 3ate2a lalbea3 ( Who have an old washer, dryer, refrigerator for sale?)And don't forget the garbage tanks.

Any solution is beyond my handle. Maybe, I move to a different neighborhood, but which neighborhood if the same construction noise pollution happens everywhere? or might happen?

Don't we need to start thinking about controlling noise and construction pollution? To set up: Amman city noise code?

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Jordan Environmental Performance Index

Black iris - A rare specious preserved in Jordan

Jordan ranked 64 among 133 countries in the 2006 pilot Environment Performance Index, a survey ranking nations in pollution control and natural resource management.

This track record should not be impressing at all and the country could have done better in rankings because Jordan is not an industrial country with heavy polluting industries. The Ministry of Environment last year created the Environmental Police Department to inspect factories, industrial zones and picnic areas and to track down violators, but, the development in Jordan is done without regards to the impact on the environment and the sustainable development.

The Environment Performance Index (EPI) centers on two broad environmental protection objectives: 1) reducing environmental stresses on human health and 2) protecting ecosystem vitality gauged in six policy categories, including environmental health, air quality, water resources, productive natural resources, biodiversity and habitat, and sustainable energy.

Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance index

The report placed Jordan among countries characterized with good management of biodiversity and natural resources, making the Kingdom the only Arab country named for preserving biodiversity and environmental regulations.

In countries where deserts constitute over 50 per cent of the total area, Jordan ranked fifth.

This category, according to the report, takes into consideration the unique ecological challenges these countries face and subsequent water management and ecosystem vulnerability issues that arise.

Lets take more serious acts in Jordan toward sustainable development.

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Pedestrians on Wakalat Street fined for littering

AMMAN — The Environmental Police Department has, for the first time, penalized pedestrians in the newly-opened Wakalat Street for littering. Police personnel issued tickets to two citizens for throwing rubbish in the street as part of the department’s efforts to keep the country’s streets free of pollution,” Director of the Environmental Police Department (EPD) Colonel Abdullah Abdullat told The Jordan Times. He said citizens should enjoy their right to clean streets, especially those designated for pedestrians and shopping.

Earlier this week, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) opened Wakalat Street in Sweifieh, the first in the capital designed exclusively for pedestrians.

As part of the JD850,000 project, GAM paved 17,000 square metres with coloured tiles, posted maps on the street’s entrances and built a kiosk to provide services to visitors.

The street is one of the venues for activities of the Amman Summer Festival, organised by the Tourism Ministry in cooperation with Jordan Tourism Board, to provide summer-long entertainment for citizens and tourists.

According to Abdullat, the EPD registered 4,192 environmental violations since the beginning of the year, 1,586 of them in the agricultural and animal production and public health sectors.

The department also recorded 1,459 infringements in vehicle gas emissions, 571 in factories, industrial facilities and quarries and 93 cases of wild and marine life abuse.

“On Tuesday, we registered three cases of marine life abuse; the violators will be fined up to JD25,000 and jailed for a period ranging between six to 12 months,” Abdullat said.

Other breaches included 33 cases of illegal logging, he noted, adding that the violators will be fined amounts ranging from JD20 to JD1,000 and face jail sentences from one to six months.

The Abdoun-based department handles offences and issues related to smog, water pollution, littering, tree cutting and illegal hunting.

It will also be responsible for inspecting factories, industrial zones and picnic areas and fining violators of environmental laws.

Earlier this month, a Public Security Department helicopter started inspecting industrial facilities in environmental hot spots in the country to help the environmental police monitor violations.

Three times a month, the helicopter flies over hot spots in Ajloun, Sahab, the Jordan Valley and Zarqa, which is home to more than 50 per cent of the country’s industrial facilities. It monitors emissions from these facilities and littering and reports violations to the environmental police.

By Hana Namrouqa

Article originally published by Jordan Times 27-Jul-07

No to Abdali Project Nor to Abu Ghazaleh / A different perspective

Obviously, Abdali project was planned and created without being initially part of any development plans of the city. The new GMA Interim strategy, which was inspired by the vision of our beloved wise King Abdullah last year, came later after and the GMA took that project as the key element for the development of the city.

We need a more comprehensive study for the city of Amman development taking into the considerations all the Stakeholders for the city development, and everybody should cooperate.

I can say, the municipality started doing that by building the GMA interim strategy not by only talking to the community asking for suggestions but to be transparent in the process. There will be mistakes along the way that can be prevented. However, this debate is only the beginning but we don't need more mistakes and corruption. On the other hand, the GMA strategy need to be more comprehensive and careful of addressing such problems.

But why now after all this effort of producing such a plan we still see debates and corrupted actions like that? Is this the beginning only? Will the new city development plan cause debates? or can the municipality actions continue being transparent

We need Amman to be environmentaly sustainable and green

One of the strategies being experienced in other cities when developing a modern new buildings is done by creating a new locations and new city centers. There was an opportunity to create a new city for Amman, put all these high rise buildings in one area creating a new magnet and away from the crowded center of the city. This will not only preserve the city fabric and history but will also decrease traffic congestions, .

Take for example Paris, they built a new city called La Defense and built the modern high rises there maintaining the character of the old city.

On the other hand, the new high rise building located at the 6th circle in Amman, they call it "City gate"..gate in the middle of the city!!!, now under construction, is a big mistake. The two glass towers are located at one of the highest points of Amman, imagine building at the top of that location two glass boxes that doesn't relate to the city skyline and doesn't relate to the city character.

Other cities have the same problem. In NY they are building a new "Trump" tower in Soho and the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, but the city of New York accepted to substitute the affected residents. And the law supported the Trump tower to exist.


The problem is that every time GMA found a peace of land in the city they take it and build on it a project. It happens all the time, and it continues.

They did this in "Rass Al-Ein" where it should have been kept as a Green park with no buildings. Other location I want to mention is Al-Abdali project, a major transportation hub being transformed to a high density use center. Moreover, many locations been spread everywhere. More about the debate regarding GMA and Al-Abdali can be found under the topic “No to Abdali project Nor to abu Ghazaleh / a different perspective.”

We need to see more green, and less traffic in the city. These two points besides others I mentioned earlier under the topic “Regarding the new GMA Interim strategy” are the most important concerns to be achieved when you develop a city. Clearly, they are environmental issues.

It's clear that the Strategy adopted by the GMA is not doing that. My suggestion is to minimize construction of new buildings and limit it to conservation and development of existing projects and start planting trees, and build a whole new modern city with the infrastructure that can give an example of modernization, call it the Business or Financial district. Mixed use locations fragmented all over the city is not the solution. It will bring Chaos and disorder which will at the end affect the quality of life and the economy of the city.