Arava Institute for Environmental Studies

Last updated
Arava institute new logo web1.png
MottoNature knows no borders
TypeSemester or year-long; undergraduate & graduate
Established1996 (1996)
Affiliation Kibbutz Ketura
Academic affiliation
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Officer in charge
Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed
Academic DirectorDr. Jessica Schäckermann
Location
D.N. Hevel Eilot
,
8884000
,
Israel

29°58′3.36″N35°4′15.24″E / 29.9676000°N 35.0709000°E / 29.9676000; 35.0709000
CampusRural
LanguageEnglish
Website arava.org
The Arava is a long desert valley in a natural rift located between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, a northern extension of the Red Sea. Greatrift.jpg
The Arava is a long desert valley in a natural rift located between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, a northern extension of the Red Sea.

The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies is an academic studies and research institute located in Kibbutz Ketura on the Israeli side of the Arava Valley. [1] Following the understanding that "nature knows no borders", [2] the Arava Institute's mission is to advance cross-border environmental cooperation in the face of political conflict [3] .

Contents

The Arava Institute is nominated for a 2024 Nobel Peace Prize [4] .

Students and academic programs

Students at the Arava Institute live on Kibbutz Ketura while taking classes in sustainable development, water management, environmental law, economic policy, environmental science, and other topics in environmental studies. Classes are taught in English. Members of the faculty are often guest lecturers from universities, both in Israel and abroad, or professionals in fields such as public policy and water management.

Students come from around the world to study and conduct research at the Arava Institute. Since its founding in 1996, the Arava Institute has hosted over 800 graduate and undergraduate students of various nationalities, including Israeli Jews, Israeli Arab, Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Tunisian, Moroccan, European and American students. The Arava Institute has been able to maintain a diverse student body even during very difficult times elsewhere in Israel and the Middle East.[ citation needed ]

Lecture on the ecology of coral reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba, 2018 AIES-lecture-2018.jpg
Lecture on the ecology of coral reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba, 2018

AIES students can participate in semester and year-long programs accredited through Ben Gurion University as well as two master's degree graduate programs granted by Ben-Gurion University – one in Environmental Desert Studies and the other a "Green" MBA that teaches environmental sustainability and efficiency as well as business management skills. A three-week summer course is sometimes offered to study biodiversity and environmental challenges in the Arava Valley. The Arava Institute is considering establishing a joint Master's program with Al-Quds University, the only Arab institution of higher learning in Jerusalem.

All AIES students are required to completes a non-credit bearing Peace-Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar, which provides them with a facilitated forum for expressing their views on race, religion, identity, and the political situation. [5] This is often considered as a successful environmental peacebuilding practice and can make a small, yet important effect on everyday (or local) peace. [6]

Alumni

Many of the Arava Institute graduates are working in the environmental or peacebuilding field. The institute has created an alumni network to continue supporting alumni by providing personal and professional contacts as well as seed money for alumni projects that demonstrate cross-cultural cooperation. Several alumni of the institute have gone on to work in cross-cultural projects.[ citation needed ]

Others are working in NGOs working on solutions to hygiene and energy in rural and poor areas, working on environmental education and awareness, activists in peace-related activities and more.[ citation needed ]

The Arava Institute has recently[ when? ] added a new network to build more connections between alumni. The Arava Alumni Peace and Environmental Network (AAPEN) brings together alumni from all years of study during an annual conference held in varying locations in the Middle East, [7] as well as an online presence on Facebook, a private online network (NING), updated pages on the Arava website for alumni, a newsletter, and more.

Research centers

In addition to its academic programs, the Arava Institute conducts cross-border studies in four research centers:

The "Methuselah" tree Methuselah-Ketura-2018-10.jpg
The "Methuselah" tree

In addition, the Arava Center for Sustainable Development (ACSD), under the supervision of Dr. Shmuel Brenner, aims to reduce poverty, enhance sustainability and empower communities by supporting locally driven, environmentally focused development programs worldwide. One of those programs is the agricultural development program "Furrows in the Desert" in Turkana, Kenya, which intends to create greater food security to the region by building local capacity in sustainable agriculture. [13]

See also

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References

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  2. "It's The Water That Binds Us, Alexandra Cousteau Finds". Green Prophet. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  3. "History & Mission". Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  4. "Coalition of academics nominate Israel's Arava Institute for Nobel Peace Prize". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-05-01. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  5. "ISRAEL - ARAVA INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (AIES)". SUNY Oneonta. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  6. Ide, Tobias; Tubi, Amit (2020-01-02). "Education and Environmental Peacebuilding: Insights from Three Projects in Israel and Palestine". Annals of the American Association of Geographers. 110 (1): 1–17. doi:10.1080/24694452.2019.1613954. ISSN   2469-4452. S2CID   198685118.
  7. "100 Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian Students Meet in 'War for the Environment'". Algemeiner.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  8. Rinat, Zafrir (2015-11-23). "Evrona Reserve's Ecology in Danger Due to Oil Spill's Damage to Trees". Haaretz. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  9. "Science, Technology and Space Ministry names Arab chemical engineer its deputy chief scientist". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  10. "2,000-Year-Old Seed Sprouts, Sapling Is Thriving". news.nationalgeographic.com. 2005-11-22. Archived from the original on March 24, 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  11. "After 1,500 years, frankincense returns to the Holy Land in time for Christmas". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  12. "How clear is our water?". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  13. "Kenya: Building peace and greening the desert in Turkana". Independent Catholic News. 2013-09-12. Retrieved 2016-04-04.