Growing up in the small Jordanian town of Azraq, Hazem Al Hreish remembers playing under the natural springs of an oasis. Located in the middle of Jordan’s expansive desert, the natural wonder was an ideal spot to explore and escape the blazing summer sun.
It was not only children who were drawn to the water. As winter approached, up to a million migratory birds searching for a place of refuge found their way to Al Azraq’s wetland. During the arduous journey from Europe to Africa, the pools and marshes proved to be a popular stopover.
That was more than 40 years ago. Since then, Al Azraq wetland has almost disappeared, along with the migratory birds once drawn to the waters.
‘In the past, we used to have millions of birds,’ said Mr Al Hreish, who has worked as the manager of the Azraq Wetland Reserve with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) for 15 years.
“Birds disappeared because there was no water to come, refuel and rest,” he said. “So they started to continue their migration without stopping.”
The main cause of the shrinking of the wetlands is the overpumping of the aquifer, a body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater which stretches from Syria across Jordan and into Saudi Arabia.
Jordan is one of the most water-poor countries in the world. As the population rapidly expanded from the 1960s and water sources deteriorated, many resorted to excessive pumping of water from the aquifer to urban areas as well as the illegal drilling of artesian wells for agricultural use.
By the early 1990s, 25 square kilometres of wetland had all but disappeared.
This is where RSCN stepped in, with an aim to increase the water levels by 10 per cent. Slowly the conservation team managed to bring the wetland back to life, through negotiations with the Jordan Water Authority and by using satellite images to help clean up the reeds from former water pools, according to Mr Al Hreish.
|A walk through Al Azraq wetlands today reveals glistening pools and streams amid expanses of dry land.
Although the oasis is only a fraction of what it once was, this year’s autumn migration showed the birds have taken note of the wetland’s return. Since September, Al Azraq has seen thousands of birds stopping over. They will continue to do so until December, when the migratory season ends.
“When we got some of the oasis back, birds started to come to the area again, birds that haven’t come since 1966, birds that haven't come since 1976, and also birds that are coming for the first time,” Mr Al Hreish said. The cinereous vulture, crested honey buzzard, and pallid scops owl, not previously spotted in the area, are among some of the newest visitors to the wetlands, he says.
However, despite strong efforts to maintain the wetland, the fact remains that Jordan is facing a severe water crisis. Currently, the wetland is receiving less than 600,000 cubic meters of water a year, “like the amount equal to a very small farm,” Mr Al Hreish says.
If a longer-term, sustainable solution for alternative and water sources is not reached, he predicts the wetlands will disappear once more.
“How can we leave the importance of Azraq, historically, culturally, and naturally, and let it be destroyed and diminished?” he asks. “The efforts to conserve the Azraq wetland reserve should not go in vain.”
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
