Posted Date: December 31, 2020
Episode Description: In this episode, Merve Tabur (LAC) interviews Gidon Bromberg, Nada Majdalani, and Yana Abu Taleb, co-directors of EcoPeace Middle East. Gidon, Nada, and Yana introduce the environmental peacebuilding and conflict resolution strategies employed by EcoPeace Middle East in addressing transboundary water justice issues in the Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli contexts. Co-directors of EcoPeace Middle East and Merve have a conversation about the significance of youth education programs like the “Good Water Neighbors” project in raising awareness on environmental issues and promoting peace in the region.
Guest Biographies
Gidon Bromberg is the co-founder and 25-year Israeli Director of EcoPeace Middle East. Mr. Bromberg has written extensively on the relationship between water issues and Middle East peace and has presented before the UN Security Council, UN Climate Summit, US Congress, European Parliament and other international forums. Mr. Bromberg, an attorney by profession, is an alumni of Monash University in Australia, Washington College of Law at American University and Yale University’s World Fellows program.
Nada Majdalani is the Palestinian Director of EcoPeace Middle East. Nada holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Assessment and Management from Oxford Brookes University, the UK and served in leading technical positions with several international agencies in the areas of infrastructure development, mainly water and sanitation, sustainable and clear production as well as various tasks on institutional capacity building and policy advisory support. As a strong believer in the impact of proactive dialogue she had been part of several affiliation of Palestinian-Israeli groups including the OneVoice Movement and the Palestinian-Israeli Young Entrepreneurs Forum. Nada has recently addressed the EcoPeace vision at various high level international platforms including the UN Security Council, NATO and the Planetary Security Conference.
Yana Abu Taleb is the Jordanian Director of EcoPeace Middle East which is a unique regional organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists to promote sustainable development and advance peace efforts in the Middle East. The organization has offices in Amman, Ramallah and Tel-Aviv. As Jordanian Director, Ms. Abu Taleb leads EcoPeace activities concerning the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, the Good Water Neighbors and the Water Energy Nexus Projects. Her responsibilities include supervising international project development and management, serving as a liaison to and lobbying of governmental and private sector figures and organizations on major regional policy issues relevant to environmental protection and transboundary water. She is heavily involved in promoting and facilitating national and regional dialogue to advance policy processes needed for sustaining peace. She co-authored many reports and policy papers and speaks regularly at local and international conferences.
About EcoPeace Middle East
From their website: “EcoPeace Middle East is a unique organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli environmentalists. Our primary objective is the promotion of cooperative efforts to protect our shared environmental heritage. In so doing, we seek to advance both sustainable regional development and the creation of necessary conditions for lasting peace in our region. EcoPeace has offices in Amman, Ramallah, and Tel-Aviv.”
For further information on EcoPeace Middle East, visit their website, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. To donate to the project, visit their donation page.