Israel, Jordan Renew Environment Pact
(February 10, 2000)
Israel and Jordan renewed an agreement on cooperation in
environmental protection and nature conservation. The agreement was signed in
Amman by Environment Minister Dalia Itzik and Jordanian Minister of Municipal,
Rural, and Environmental Affairs Tawfiq Kraisham. The ministers also agreed to
establish, by the end of April, a joint committee on environmental protection
to draw up the final environmental treaty.
During the meeting, the Jordanians raised the issue of
pollution in the Gulf of Akaba, while Israel focused on the environmental
impact of projects along the Jordan River. The new agreement should make
progress possible in the stalled Jordan Gateway industrial park project and
the joint Akaba-Eilat airport, both of which have faced opposition from
Israeli environmental groups.
The environmental treaty between the two countries was
first signed in September 1995, but expired a year later. Since then, it has
not been renewed due to what some Israeli officials call "technical
difficulties" and others say were problems caused by an unfavorable
political climate.
Sources: The Jerusalem Post |