The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES) is a regional center for environmental leadership. By encouraging environmental cooperation between peoples, the Arava Institute is working towards peace and sustainable development on a regional and global scale. The Institute is situated on Kibbutz Ketura in Israel's Arava Valley - a desert in the Syrio-African rift near the Jordanian and Egyptian borders and the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat. The Institute is home to academic programs, research and public involvement.
Academic Programs: The Arava Institute offers innovative environmental studies programs. Students explore a range of environmental issues from a regional, interdisciplinary perspective. Participants come from Middle East (Israel, Jordan and Palestinian Authority) as well as from North America and the rest of the world for study abroad in Israel. There are two options for programs:
· The One Semester or One-Year Program gives undergraduate or graduate students an opportunity for hands-on experience in the region together with students from diverse cultural backgrounds.
· The Master's Degree Program in Environmental Studies is designed to train students interested in pursuing careers in conservation, nature preservation, environmental protection and regulation, environmental education, environmental planning and enforcement.
· Special Programs and short courses such as our MASHAV Course
Research: The Arava Institute's mission goes beyond training and teaching to include applied research. Projects tend to be interdisciplinary and transboudary - involving social and natural sciences that touch on a range of environmental issues. The research centers that are presently operational include:
· Sustainable Agriculture - Dr. Elaine Solowey, Director
· Water Resources including Red-Dead Canal study and more- Dr. Clive Lipchin, Director, and
· Air Quality (PM2.5) - Dr. Shmuel Brenner, Director
Public Involvement: The Center for Environment in the Arava (in Hebrew called "Sababa") deals with environmental problems in the local Arava region. Sababa encourages involvement of local residents and NGO's.
