EcoPeace Middle East

EcoPeace Middle East is a regional environmental peacebuilding organization working at the intersection of environmental protection, water diplomacy, climate policy, and Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian cooperation. The organization was established in 1994, during the period of Arab-Israeli peace initiatives, and brought together environmentalists from communities that were divided by political conflict. Its institutional model has emphasized equal participation by Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian representatives, making the organization both an environmental NGO and a platform for cross-border dialogue. The organization originally operated under the name Friends of the Earth Middle East after becoming associated with the international Friends of the Earth network. It used that name from 1994 until 2014, when it left the network and returned to the EcoPeace Middle East identity. The change reflected a renewed emphasis on environmental peacebuilding as a distinct regional approach rather than on affiliation with a global environmental federation. EcoPeace focuses on shared natural systems and infrastructure whose management cannot be addressed effectively by one country or community alone. Its work has included advocacy concerning the declining Dead Sea, the Jordan River basin, water and wastewater systems, desalination, renewable energy, and the environmental condition of Gaza and the wider Jordan Valley. The organization presents environmental interdependence as a practical reason for dialogue: water scarcity, wastewater pollution, ecosystem degradation, and climate-related stress affect neighboring populations regardless of political boundaries. One of EcoPeace's best-known policy frameworks is the Green Blue Deal for the Middle East. The proposal links the region's 'green' renewable-energy potential with 'blue' water-security requirements. It calls for cross-border cooperation among Israel, Jordan, and Palestine; improved water allocation and infrastructure; ecological restoration of the Jordan River and Jordan Valley; and public engagement through climate diplomacy. The framework treats climate resilience and resource security as possible foundations for regional confidence-building and economic connectivity. EcoPeace has also promoted cooperation involving desalination and renewable energy. The water-for-energy arrangement associated with Israel, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates in 2021 and 2022 was described by policy analysts as a partial practical expression of ideas associated with the organization's Green Blue Deal. Under the arrangement, renewable electricity generated in Jordan would support Israel, while desalinated water from Israel would be supplied to Jordan. EcoPeace's broader position is that infrastructure partnerships can create mutual interests while addressing severe regional water and energy pressures. The organization has advocated action to protect the Dead Sea, whose water level has fallen substantially and whose surrounding landscape has experienced ecological damage and sinkhole formation. It has also supported wastewater treatment and wetland restoration in Gaza. In 2022, efforts connected with EcoPeace contributed to Israeli approval of sewage-treatment work intended to improve conditions in Wadi Gaza, a major wetland whose biodiversity had been degraded by prolonged sewage pollution. EcoPeace's work operates within difficult political and institutional conditions. Water governance in the West Bank remains shaped in part by the interim arrangements of the Oslo II agreement, including provisions for a Joint Water Committee. Those arrangements recognized Palestinian water interests but left major questions unresolved and were intended to be temporary. Regional water stress, population growth, refugee movements, infrastructure limitations, unequal access, conflict, and climate change all complicate the organization's cooperative model. EcoPeace has received international recognition for environmental peacebuilding. Its three national co-directors were named among Time magazine's 2008 Heroes of the Environment, and the organization received a Skoll Award in 2009. Its Green Blue Deal initiative received the Council of Europe's Democracy Innovation Award in 2021. EcoPeace was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024, and its leaders received the Environmental Peacebuilding Association's Al-Moumin Award and Distinguished Lecture on Environmental Peacebuilding in 2025.

EcoPeace Middle East emerged in 1994 from the environmental and diplomatic opening associated with the Middle East peace processes of the 1990s. Israeli environmentalist Gidon Bromberg helped establish a regional organization bringing together Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, and Jordanian environmental advocates. From its beginning, the organization treated environmental problems as shared regional concerns and sought to make ecological cooperation compatible with peacebuilding. The organization later joined the international Friends of the Earth network and operated as Friends of the Earth Middle East. This period expanded the visibility of its environmental campaigning while retaining its regional structure. Its work addressed shared watersheds, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, wastewater, community relationships, and the political implications of resource scarcity. The organization argued that environmental degradation could intensify conflict, but that shared dependence on water and ecosystems could also create incentives for cooperation. EcoPeace became particularly associated with efforts to protect the Dead Sea. Falling water levels and the resulting ecological and geological damage prompted proposals for transferring water from the Red Sea, including a potential pipeline and desalination scheme. EcoPeace supported the need for action while the proposal also attracted scientific and environmental scrutiny over possible effects on the Dead Sea and surrounding systems. The issue illustrated the organization's broader method: promote regional solutions while drawing attention to the ecological risks of large infrastructure projects. In 2014, the organization left the Friends of the Earth network and reverted to the name EcoPeace Middle East. The restored name highlighted its original regional identity and its environmental-peacebuilding mission. Its program subsequently developed around water, energy, climate resilience, and public diplomacy. EcoPeace's Green Blue Deal proposed a framework connecting renewable-energy development with water security, cross-border infrastructure, Jordan River restoration, improved Israeli-Palestinian water arrangements, and civic engagement. The framework gained relevance as the Middle East experienced worsening water stress, energy insecurity, population growth, refugee pressures, and climate impacts. Israel's desalination and wastewater capabilities, Jordan's renewable-energy potential, and the water needs of Palestinian communities were presented as complementary capacities within a possible regional system. The water-for-energy agreement associated with Israel, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates in 2021 and 2022 was viewed by some policy analysts as a partial implementation of the type of climate diplomacy EcoPeace had promoted. EcoPeace also worked on Gaza's wastewater crisis and the rehabilitation of Wadi Gaza. Approval of sewage-treatment work in 2022 created the possibility of restoring the ecological condition of the Strip's principal wetland after decades of pollution. These activities demonstrated the organization's focus on practical environmental outcomes as well as high-level diplomacy. The organization operates amid unresolved political disputes and unequal infrastructure capacity. Water governance in the West Bank continues to be influenced by the water provisions of the 1995 Oslo II Interim Agreement, including the Joint Water Committee and interim arrangements that were never replaced by a final settlement. EcoPeace's cooperative model therefore faces constraints from conflict, political distrust, contested authority, resource inequality, and limited financing. Its work has received international recognition. The three national co-directors were named Time Heroes of the Environment in 2008, and EcoPeace received a Skoll Award in 2009. The Green Blue Deal won the Council of Europe's Democracy Innovation Award in 2021. The organization was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024, while several of its leaders received the Environmental Peacebuilding Association's Al-Moumin Award and Distinguished Lecture in 2025.

• 2025

  Al-Moumin Award recognition

  [1]EcoPeace Middle Easten.wikipedia.org

  The Environmental Peacebuilding Association recognized several EcoPeace leaders for environmental peacebuilding.

• 2024

  Nobel Peace Prize nomination

  [1]EcoPeace Middle Easten.wikipedia.org

  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam nominated EcoPeace for the Nobel Peace Prize.

• 2022

  Water-for-energy cooperation

  [1]EcoPeace Middle Easten.wikipedia.org

  A regional water-for-energy arrangement linked Israeli desalinated water with Jordanian renewable electricity and was discussed as a partial realization of EcoPeace's policy vision.

• 2021

  Green Blue Deal receives Democracy Innovation Award

  [1]EcoPeace Middle Easten.wikipedia.org

  The Council of Europe's World Forum for Democracy honored the Green Blue Deal initiative.

• 2014

  Return to the EcoPeace Middle East name

  [1]EcoPeace Middle Easten.wikipedia.org

  After leaving the Friends of the Earth network, the organization reverted from Friends of the Earth Middle East to EcoPeace Middle East.

• 2009

  Skoll Award

  [1]EcoPeace Middle Easten.wikipedia.org

  The organization received a Skoll Award for its social-impact approach.

• 2008

  Time Heroes of the Environment recognition

  [1]EcoPeace Middle Easten.wikipedia.org

  EcoPeace's Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian co-directors were recognized by Time for their environmental cooperation and peacebuilding work.

• 1994

  Organization founded

  [1]EcoPeace Middle Easten.wikipedia.org

  EcoPeace was established as a regional environmental peacebuilding initiative involving Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, and Jordanian environmentalists.

EcoPeace positions environmental interdependence as a practical foundation for peacebuilding. Rather than treating water, energy, and ecosystem issues solely as technical or conservation matters, it frames them as opportunities for dialogue, mutual benefit, climate diplomacy, and regional security.

• Policy framework

  Green Blue Deal for the Middle East

  A regional policy framework that connects water security, renewable energy, climate resilience, ecosystem restoration, and peacebuilding. Its proposed measures include cross-border cooperation among Israel, Jordan, and Palestine; improved water allocation and infrastructure; restoration of the Jordan River and Jordan Valley; and public participation through climate diplomacy.

• Regional cooperation program · 2021

  Water-for-energy cooperation advocacy

  EcoPeace promotes arrangements in which regional renewable-energy resources and desalination capacity are exchanged to address complementary water and energy needs. The Israel-Jordan-UAE arrangement announced in 2021 and advanced in 2022 was treated by analysts as a partial practical expression of this approach.

• Ecosystem protection

  Dead Sea protection initiatives

  A body of advocacy and policy work addressing the Dead Sea's declining water level, ecological deterioration, and associated landscape damage. EcoPeace has supported regional action while highlighting the need to evaluate the environmental consequences of proposed water-transfer infrastructure.

• Wetland and wastewater restoration · 2022

  Wadi Gaza restoration advocacy

  Work supporting sewage treatment and ecological restoration in Wadi Gaza, a major wetland whose biodiversity was severely affected by prolonged wastewater pollution. In 2022, related advocacy helped support approval of sewage-treatment measures.

• 2022Gaza wastewater and Wadi Gaza restoration

  Gaza Strip · Israel · Palestinian territories

  EcoPeace supported action to treat sewage entering Wadi Gaza and to restore the wetland's ecological condition after decades of pollution.

  Outcome. Israeli approval of sewage-treatment work created a pathway toward improving the wetland and reducing wastewater impacts.

  Source
• 2021Green Blue Deal

  Israel · Jordan · Palestinian territories

  EcoPeace promoted a regional framework linking water and energy cooperation with climate resilience, Jordan River restoration, improved infrastructure, and climate diplomacy.

  Outcome. The initiative received the Council of Europe's Democracy Innovation Award and influenced discussion of later regional water-for-energy cooperation.

  Source
• 2009Dead Sea protection and Red Sea–Dead Sea proposals

  Israel · Jordan · Palestinian territories

  EcoPeace advocated action to address the Dead Sea's declining level and ecological deterioration, in the context of proposals for a Red Sea water-transfer and desalination project.

  Outcome. The issue reached senior governmental and international-policy attention, although experts raised questions about the proposed project's environmental effects.

  Source

• 2021

  Advance the Green Blue DealStrategy

  Background

  Increasing water scarcity, climate stress, energy needs, and political interdependence created demand for regional approaches to shared resources.

  Action taken

  EcoPeace presented a framework combining renewable energy, water security, ecosystem restoration, infrastructure cooperation, and public climate diplomacy.

  Aftermath

  The framework received international recognition and was later associated by analysts with regional water-for-energy diplomacy.

  Source

• 2014

  Leave the Friends of the Earth network and restore the EcoPeace nameStrategy

  Background

  The organization had operated as Friends of the Earth Middle East after joining the international Friends of the Earth network.

  Action taken

  It left the network and reverted to the EcoPeace Middle East identity.

  Aftermath

  The restored identity emphasized the organization's regional environmental-peacebuilding mission.

  Source

1. 1EcoPeace Middle Easten.wikipedia.org
2. 2EcoPeace Middle East official websitefoeme.org