Newsletter Nov. & Dec. 2013

The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature’s 10th Annual Dinner

APN celebrated 10 years of its campaigns, which included planting more than a million and 700 trees in Jordan and Palestine, and organizing hundreds of forums and awareness workshops around the topic of food sovereignty in the Arab World, on the 21st of December 2013 at the Landmark Hotel in Amman.The dinner was attended by more than 500 supporters, and is considered to be the biggest event of solidarity for the Million Tree Campaign. A video demonstrating the achievements of the group in the 10 years was screened at the dinner followed by scenes from the documentary The Last Shepherds of the Valley directed by Mariam Shahin.

Regional Workshop for Stakeholders on Food Security and Nutrition in Tunisia

APN was invited to give a presentation on behalf of Arab civil society in the Regional Multi-stakeholder Workshop on Food Security and Nutrition that is organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Tunis from November 4th to the 7th in 2013.

General Assembly Meeting of the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty in Brazil

The General Assembly for the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) met in Brazil between the 25-28th of November to discuss its current strategy and the action plan for the coming years on the global and regional level. Mariam Al Jaajaa gave a presentation about the achievements of the Working Group on Food Insecurity in Conflict founded by APN in 2005. One of the main achievements is putting the question of food insecurity in crises in the agenda of priorities for the Committee on World Food Security which is the highest international multi-stakeholder platform on food security.

Days of Land and Water in the Near East and North Africa

APN was invited to participate in the regional conference, which was held in Amman for four days between the 15-18th of December at the Le Meridien Hotel in Amman. 

APN and Amman Municipality Begin a New Phase to Increase Green Areas in Jordan and Promote Cooperation between Civil Society and the Public Sector

A number of meetings which began on the 13th of November were held between the mayor of Amman, Akel Biltaji and a delegation from APN including APN president Razan Zuayter, Farah Kaddoura, Mohammad Qtaishat and Suzan Ayoub.

APN General Assembly Meeting 2013

The General Assembly of the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) met on the 10th of November in 2013.

Million Tree Campaign in Palestine

Within the Second MTC, APN collaborated with the Palestinian Agricultural Farmers Union on the Seedlings of the Nation (Ashtal al Watan) project that is funded by the Welfare Association, APN launched the project on the 27th of December in 2013 by cultivating 300 olive trees in the territory belonging to more than 25 families in the town of Makhrour.

برنامج دنيا يا دنيا- يستضيف أبطال حفل العربية لحماية الطبيعة

استضاف تلفزيون رؤيا من خلال برنامج "دنيا يا دنيا" في الثاني والعشرين من شهر كانون أول كلاً من المزارع أبو صقر " عبد الرحيم بشارات" والمزارع " ابراهيم صبيح" ونائب رئيس مجلس إدارة العربية "الأستاذ رامي برهوش".حيث قدم السيد رامي برهوش نبذة عن تأسيس العربية لحماية الطبيعة وسبب نشأتها وأهدافها وأنشطتها.وقد تم التعريف خلال البرنامج بالمزارع أبو صقر "عبدالرحيم بشارات" وهو من مزارعي قرية الحديدية في الغور الفلسطيني، تعرض للعديد من الإنتهاكات من قبل جيش الإحتلال كتدمير الخيم التي يعيش بها هو و أسرته، قتل و ترويع الماشية والتضييق على المصادر المائية.

The Arab Consultative Meeting on the Sustainable Development Goals

Razan Zuayter, President of APN was invited to participate in the Arab Consultative Meeting on the Sustainable Development Goals, which was organized by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in cooperation with the Arab League, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Regional Office for West Asia (ROWA), and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Tunisia between the 18th-19th of November 2013.

Interview with the President of the Palestinian Agricultural Farmers Union, Ibrahim Deiq

Radio El Balad hosted president of the Palestinian Agricultural Farmers Union, Ibrahim Deiq on to talk about APN and the Million Tree Campaign and its role in strengthening the resilience of Palestinian farmers.  Deiq said that “APN reflected the great extent of Jordan's support to the Palestinian Struggle for justice.”

Organizing the Participation of Civil Society in the Open-Ended Working Group Meeting of the Committee on World Food Security in Rome

APN led the International Civil Society Mechanism in an open meeting on food security in protracted crises, which was held on the 31st of October at the office of Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. The meeting was attended by representatives of countries as well as representatives of international organizations and the private sector.

Wasfi El Zaghoul and Razan Zuayter discuss Agricultural Economics

President of APN Razan Zuayter was the guest on the radio show “El Bood El Iktisaadi” (The Economic Dimension) with Wasfi Zaghoul on the 11th of December 2013. Razan presented her opinions on agrarian economy and sustainable development.Zuayter stressed on a number of important topics such as the difference between economic growth and broade sustainable development which includes principles on the fair distribution of resources ownership, production and development. She talked about the need to widen the umbrella of development to include all governorates of the Kingdom and not only the capital Amman.

Electronic Discussion on the Methods of Achieving Food Security Based on Human Rights During Protracted Crises

As the result of the efforts of APN and the Arab Network for Food Sovereignty (ANFS), The FAO began an electronic discussion in several languages , including Arabic, to explore efforts to ensure food and nutrition security through human-rights based approaches during protracted crises.  

Meeting with our Palestinian Partners at the Headquarters of APN

On December 22nd 2013 , APN invited its main partners in Palestine, the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee,  The  Palestinian Agricultural Farmers Union, and the Land Research Center to a meeting at the HQ after they were all honored at the Annual Dinner the day before in Amman. 

A Meeting at the Ministry of Environment

President of the Board of Directors, Razan Zuayter represented APN at the First Meeting of the Preparatory Committee of the National Plan for the Development of Environmental Awareness Programs which was held at the Ministry of Environment on November 11th 2013.

A Lecture on the Reality of the Nuclear Reactor Project

On November 25th 2013, APN hosted a lecture by Dr. Nidal Al-Zubi, an expert in reactor engineering and nuclear fuel management. He gave a presentation on the reality of nuclear research reactors and the flawed strategy that is being used to build a nuclear program in terms of the quantities of uranium available in Jordan and the cost of production.

Bait el-Ruwad Band on the 19th of November

APN was invited by Bait el-Ruwad as a guest of one of their performances that are held on a weekly basis under the auspices of the Greater Amman Municipality.

News conference for the Annual Dinner

APN invited a number of local and regional media representatives to talk about the achievements of the organization and plans to be undertaken in the coming years.

Makram Makhoul’s Meeting with APN Board Members on Saturday

APN held a meeting between Mr. Makram, a Palestinian academic and professor in Cambridge University, and the board members of APN on Saturday the 30th of November so that he may be introduced to the organization’s programs and push for cooperation between the two parties.

Local Policy Group on Agriculture and Food Security

Two workshops were held on Saturday the 9th and 23rd of November within the activities of the Local Policy Group on Agriculture and Food Security. Volunteers discussed local and international academic pieces that deal with the issue of food security and food sovereignty.

A New Film that Celebrates Ten Years of APN Programs

APN collaborated with director Mustafa Rasheed to direct a film that documents the achievements of APN in the last 10 years. The film was presented for the first time at the Annual Dinner, which was held on the 21st of December 2013.  

New Products: T-shirts of the Towns and Cities of Palestine

APN launched a new line of products including T-shirts with the names of Palestinian and Jordanian cities, mugs and homemade olive oil soap. Volunteers have also decorated jars that contain local herbs and seeds that have great health benefits.