News and Information 
February 1995 Compiled by Simon Albrecht 
The aim of this section is to inform readers about events in the OSME 
region. It relies on members and others supplying relevant news and 
information. If you have any information concerning birds, conserva- 
tion or development issues in the OSME area please send it to News 
and Information, OSME, c/o The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 
2DL, U.K. 
This section is not intended as a definitive report or write up of the projects 
concerned. Many of the projects are sponsored; such support is appreciated 
but is not generally acknowledged here. 
EGYPT 
An Important Bird Area directory for Egypt is due to be produced in 
August 1995. A poster which included a map showing the location of 
the IBAs was displayed at the World Conference in Germany last 
August. (Source: Network News 2(3).) 
IRAQ MARSHES 
A 224 page report entitled An environmental and ecological study of the 
marshlands of Mesopotamia has recently been edited by Exeter 
University and published by the AMAR Appeal. The report has used 
data from the Important Bird Area inventory for the sections on 
wildlife. The drainage of these marshes in southern Iraq has seriously 
affected many species of bird. The report is available from: The 
AMAR Appeal, c/o Emma Nicholson M.P., The House of Commons, 
London SW1A OAA, England. Price: £30.00. 
ISRAEL (Information from: UKSPNI newsletter December 1994). 
Public campaign to protect open landscapes from road building - the Society 
for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) has expressed its opposi- 
tion to the construction of a Trans-Israel Super Highway (Road No. 6) 
planned to cover the 300 kilometres from Shlomi in the north to Beer 
Sheva in the south. The total area of land that the road will take is the 
same as the size of an average city (3,000 hectares) and will irre- 
versibly damage the few remaining open areas and scenic land 
resources left in central Israel. 
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