The Palestinian Environment

The Palestinian environment is degrading rapidly as a result of the combined pressures of population growth, industrialization and climate change. As an arid to semi-arid area, the Palestinian Territories faces problems with water scarcity and desertification which are likely to escalate as a result of global climate change. Overlaying these problems is the structure of the Israeli military occupation and the restrictions it imposes on Palestinian access to resources and the ability of Palestinians to manage and control their environment and their impact on it. Further complication is added by the network of Israeli settlements across the West Bank with their associated effects of land confiscation, movement restriction and monopolization of resources in addition to their environmental impacts which directly affect Palestinians’ lives, but over which they have no control.

Over 60% of the land area of the West Bank is designated as Area C, which means that Israel retains full military and civil control over it. Palestinians cannot carry out development projects in Area C, such as the construction of sanitary landfills or sewage treatment plants, without first getting a permit from the Israeli authorities, a process that often takes years. The areas over which the Palestinian authorities do have control mainly comprise towns and villages which are densely populated and not suitable locations for such projects. Thus pollution of soil, air and groundwater as a result of almost non-existent waste management facilities is a serious and widespread problem.

Palestinian access to water is restricted and the Palestinian Territories are in the midst of an ongoing and worsening water crisis. Over 200 000 Palestinians are not connected to the public water network and are reliant on delivery of water by tankers which are often obstructed from reaching their destinations by road blocks, curfews and closures. The water supply to the population who are connected to the network is unreliable, with frequent cut-offs being experienced, particularly during summer months. 40% of the population receive an average of less than 50 litres of water per person per day, which is half the amount recommended by the World Health Organization to maintain a decent standard of living. Lack of access to water and high water prices limit the ability of Palestinians to grow their own food.

On top of all this, the Palestinian people are becoming increasingly urbanised and disconnected from the environment as a result of the construction of the Separation Wall (which will annex approximately 10% of the land area of the West Bank to Israel) and the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements. In the Bethlehem area alone, over 18 000 acres of land are being cut off by the Wall, devastating the local farming economy and ghettoizing the population. As a result of this and of the general economic crisis in the Palestinian Territories, the food security of Palestinians is threatened, and Palestinian children are growing up in crumbling ghettoes under conflict conditions, disconnected from their natural heritage and facing daily hardships as environmental and economic conditions worsen.

Finding ways to live sustainably under such circumstances is an enormous challenge, and one that will require innovative thinking and determination. However, the difficulty of the problem is equalled by its urgency. Palestinians are struggling for their very existence in the midst of political, economic and environmental crises that threaten to destroy all quality of life, while resolution of the conflict with Israel at a political level seems as far away as ever. Therefore, work at a grassroots level which empowers people to take control of their lives and their environment is crucial.

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