Newsletter April, May, June 2016

The land of Palestine welcomes 2,500 new olive trees

Million Tree Campaign continues its “Land is Ours” campaign through the distribution of 2,500 to farmers in the Palestinian areas of Batouf, Shaghour, Shefa-Amr, Nazareth, the Upper Galilee, Ara, Majd Karoum, Western Baqah, Sakhnin, Deir Hanna, Arabeh, the Naqab, Mothalath inside the Palesitnian territories as well as inside the occupied Syrian Arab Golan.

‏ APN and PANAP lead fact-finding mission on pesticides in Palestine

Between 1st – 7th May, 2016, Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) and Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP) undertook a joint documentation mission in the Occupied West Bank and the Naqab region of historic Palestine inside the Green Line to better understand the human rights implications of the illegal production, trade, and dumping of pesticides, the dumping of industrial and domestic waste by Israeli settlers, and the culpability of state as well as corporate.

APN General Manager Main Speaker at the GFAR Partners’ Assembly and the Third Global Conference on Agricultural Research and Development (GCARD3) in South Africa

As a partner in the Global Forum for Agricultural Research (GFAR), APN was invited to represent Arab civil society at the GFAR Partners’ Assembly which was followed by the Third Global Conference on Agricultural Research and Development (GCARD3) and hosted by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC)

Arab Group for the Protection of Nature and Arab Banking Corporation Plant 200 Loquat Trees in Deir Alla

Within APN’s Green Caravan program, under the slogan “Plant Positive”, dozens of volunteers gathered on 1st of April 2016 to plant 200 loquat seedlings in the Deir Alla region, supported by the Arab Banking Corporation (ABC).

In Commemoration of Palestinian Land Day

In commemoration of the 40th Land Day in Palestine on 30th April 2016, dozens of APN volunteers from Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Ramallah, under the slogan “uproot one tree… we replant ten”, cultivated 700 grape and apple seedlings in the village of Shoshalah, from which Palestinians have been displaced since 1967, and on nearby land bordering the Israeli settlements of Efrat and Gush Etzion. Land Day celebrates the revival of nationalism, and is symbolic of Palestinian adherence to both land and identity.

Coordination Committee Meeting of the Civil Society Mechanism in Rome

APN Manager Mariam Al Jaajaa, and on behalf of civil society from West Asia attended the Coordination Committee (CC) meeting of the Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) between May10-12th 2016.

APN Call to Stop Bloodshed as a Precondition for Development in the Arab World

During the first session on Understanding the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Board Member Razan Zuayter made an intervention stressing that stopping the bloodshed is a precondition for development in the Arab World.

Volunteers of the Million Tree Campaign plant olive trees on the lands of Um Dar and Al-Khaljan, surrounded by settlements

Dozens of volunteers participated in the planting of olive trees in the villages of Um Dar and Al-Khaljan in Jenin, two villages which are surrounded to the north by Rayhan settlement; to the west by Barta’a border; to the east the Palestinian township of Yabud; and to the south by Move Dotan settlement.

Arab Group for the Protection of Nature and the Bank of Jordan support food security in Deir Alla

Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN), funded by the Bank of Jordan, organized an activity on 2nd April 2016 to plant 250 lemon trees in Abu Obeida, Deir Alla, as part of APN’s Green Caravan program. The event welcomed the participation of more than 50 volunteers from the “Ghair” initiative, staff from the Bank of Jordan, and the local community.

APN Funds New Agricultural Well in Jerusalem

Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN), in cooperation with the Al-Nahda Rural Society, funded by donors from Malaysia, constructed a new 80 cubic meter capacity agricultural well in Khirbet al-Jabal, a community in the village of Beit Sureek, Jerusalem, in April 2016.

APN and students from the National Orthodox School plant olive trees in Wadi al-Qatar

Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN), as part of its Green Caravan program, carried out a tree planting event in Wadi al-Qatar on Tuesday 26 April, 2016, in cooperation with the National Orthodox School – Shmeisani and the Greater Amman Municipality.

APN organizes mission to learn impacts of harmful Israeli landfill on Jordanian residents

Arab Group for the Protection of Nature in partnership with the international Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific organized a fact-finding mission in the Jordan Valley (Jordan) on 30th April, 2016, to learn about the risks and challenges faced by Jordanian farmers.

Green Caravan Program & Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank plant trees in Ghamadan:

With the participation of Greater Amman Municipality, the Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank & the Green Caravan Program planted forest trees in Bahrain Forest / Ghamadan on 30 April, 2016.

The Green Caravan commemorates Al-Nakba through Tree Planting

To commemorate the 68th Anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, the Green Caravan Program planted 300 orange trees on Friday May 13th 2016 in the land of Abu Hussein, located in Ashkiriah area - Deir Alla.

Arab Group for the Protection of Nature plants olive trees around the village of Toura (Jenin) adjacent to the Apartheid Wall

Dozens of volunteers from the cities of Tulkarem and Ramallah participated in planting olive seedlings in the village of Toura, southwest of Jenin, on 15th February, 2016.

APN urges comprehensive approach to the Nexus during Abu Dhabi conference

On May 18th–22nd, 2016 APN Board Member Razan Zuayter and Hassan Al Jaajaa attended a Regional Policy Dialogue: The Water Energy Food Nexus: An Integrated Approach to the Middle East Water Challenge at the Le Royal Meridien hotel in Abu Dhabi.

APN asks for inclusion of Palestinian Human Dignity during Water-Energy Conference

On 6th April, 2016, APN Advocacy Officer Heather Elaydi attended the conference "Energy-Water Nexus: Integrated Energy and Water Planning in the WANA Region” at the King Hussein Club in Amman, Jordan.

APN Advocacy Officer Speaker at Agricultural Research Conference in Hungary

On 11th May, 2016, APN participated in the second annual National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre (NAIK) conference Agriculture and Climate Change: Broad International Cooperation in Solving Global Problems, which took place in Godollo, Hungary.

Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) and Abu Khader Automotive Group Plant Trees in Celebration of Jordan’s Independence Day

In celebration of Jordan's Independence Day, APN and the social committee of the Abu Khader Automotive Group organized a voluntary day on 13th May 2016 for planting pine trees in Ghamadan park, in cooperation with the Greater Amman Municipality.

APN Invited to Join Agricultural Workers Union for Iftar

APN welcomed an invitation from the Agricultural Workers Union in Wadi Rayan to join them for iftar on 22nd June, 2016.