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Wadi Gaza: Struggling for a Sustainable Palestinian Environment
Caring
for the natural environment in Palestine would seem to be the least important
item on the agenda in these days of military invasion and poverty. ‘Why are
you worrying about the environment when you haven’t got enough to eat?’ the
Israeli soldier asked Muhammad Eila at the checkpoint. Eila, who works for the
Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority (EQA) in Gaza City, was crossing to
Egypt to an environmental project in Cairo. ‘I told him that is why I work on
the environment. We are a people overcrowded in a small space, subject to
military closure and curfew, yet trying to create the foundations for a
sustainable and secure state for the future. That is exactly why the environment
is a priority.’
With
these words in mind, Isabelle Humphries reports for IslamOnline on the threats
to the biodiversity of Wadi Gaza, the only natural wetlands area in Gaza. An
internationally supported, local based project has been launched in an effort to
protect this area of outstanding natural beauty and create the first Palestinian
nature reserve.
When
Environmental Protection Becomes a Necessity
7
km south of Gaza City, Wadi Gaza (Gaza Valley) is bordered by the Bureij and
Nuseirat refugee camps to the southwest, and Al Zahra town in the north. At its
highest point, the Wadi reaches 30 meters above sea level. With a source located
in the Hebron Hills, the Wadi winds its way across the Negev desert in 1948
occupied territory, and finally opens out into the Mediterranean south of Gaza
City. The last 9km of its course are within the Gaza Strip itself, making Wadi
Gaza the largest valley in Gaza. Around 1200 dunams of the Wadi area is coastal,
with sand dunes and salt water. About 2000 dunams are suitable areas for plant
and wildlife in general, with the bare sandy areas in the southwest of the Wadi
making an ideal home for reptiles.
At
the water’s edge in Wadi Gaza, the first thing that hits you is the smell.
Sewage pours into the area from the neighboring refugee camps of Al-Nuseirat and
Al-Bureij. I watched three boys playing on the other side, exposing themselves
to endless health risks as they did so. Environmental protection here is not a
luxury, but is addressing an immediate safety concern for the community. Wadi
Gaza has been used as a dumpsite, polluting water sources and endangering the
many pedestrians who have to cross the valley. Farmers and students for example,
travel dirt paths contaminated by sewage to reach work on the other side, an
even greater danger during the flood season.
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Wadi Gaza is a refueling
station for the corncrake
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Wadi
Gaza covers the four residential areas of Al-Mighraqa, Al-Nuseirat, Al-Bureij
and Juhr Al-Deik, and sewage dumping from the refugee camps threatens the health
of the people of the whole area. Refugees, displaced from their homes in
Palestine 55 years ago, are living in the poorest conditions of all
Palestinians, and to this day, many camps do not have an adequate waste and
sewage disposal system. As the Gazan population increases, the health situation
worsens. As well as the obvious health risks, the accumulation of solid and
domestic waste and construction debris threatens to destroy the biodiversity of
the wetlands region, destroying homes to many species and a haven for the many
migratory birds annually crossing the Wadi.
Refueling
Station for Migratory Birds
The
environmental significance of Wadi Gaza cannot be underestimated. Wadi Gaza is
one of the few remaining undeveloped natural areas in the Gaza Strip, a place
where migratory and non-migratory birds still find a natural habitat in which to
feed and live. Rare birds, classified by the IUCN (International Union for
Conversation of Nature) Red List for endangered species, find the Wadi an ideal
place for ‘refueling’ during migration, birds such as the corncrake (Crex
crex), and the imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca). This area is internationally
recognized as a location for nesting birds such as the white stork, the moorhen,
the ibis and the heron.
The
Gazan geographical location on the crossroads between three continents, Africa,
Europe and Asia, makes it an important resting place for many migratory birds.
Almost 60% of the birds that migrate from Europe to Africa through the Middle
East stop in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Wildlife Society. The
geographical position of the Gaza Strip at the corner of the land area makes it
a bottleneck for migratory birds. The Gaza Strip is situated at the edge of the
East Mediterranean flyway, connecting the Eurasian breeding grounds via the
Black Sea/ Anatolian / Caspian regions with the West, Central and East African
wintering quarters. The passage of migratory birds between the Levant and Nile
valley largely takes part through Northern Sinai, Gaza and Naqab. Some 200,000
garganey, and 41,000 waders, mainly little stint, avocet and sanderling are
recorded to pass along the Gaza coastline. Also some 26,500 herons and 20,000
terns are observed annually.
The
wetlands of Wadi Gaza play a substantial biological and ecological role in the
natural functioning coastal system, where it supports a vast array of rare,
vulnerable and endangered species, and represents a diverse ecosystem with a
wide range of habitats. It is not only important for birdlife, but for
supporting the existence of many plant species that require coastal and sand
dune habitats.
Threats
to Biodiversity
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Palestinian cleaning
campaign
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Local
residents collect rainwater from Wadi Gaza during the winter season for domestic
use. In the beginning of the 1970s, the amount of water in the Wadi began to
decrease, owing to the building of dams, and in addition, Israeli projects for
collection and diversion in the upper parts of the Wadi. From that time, the
influx of water level has declined gradually. Untreated water flows into the
Wadi through five wastewater streams from the neighboring refugee camps and the
newly developed Al Zahra area. The total amount of this water reaches a daily
average of 5000 mm3, and that figure is rising fast. Untreated water forms small
ponds at the end of the Wadi, while some reaches the wetland lake.
Water
in Wadi Gaza is polluted through poor infrastructure, by overflow from cesspools
and sewage treatment plants that are unable to cope with the demands of an
increasing population. Industrial and domestic dumping of solid, toxic and
chemical waste by Palestinians, settlers, and also brought in from the other
side of the border illegally, contributes to the pollution of the land and the
water. As well as the dangers of drinking polluted water, fishing in the Wadi
has caused poisoning.
Endangered
bird species found in the Wadi are threatened through human hunting and
trapping. While not a rare species, during the season of quail migration, large
numbers of the small birds are hunted, affecting the natural balance of the
area. Due to the existence of some natural and artificial ponds in the Wadi Gaza
area, many reptiles, amphibians, and crustaceans can be observed e.g. sea turtle
nesting beaches have been reported back in 1996. Unfortunately these species are
endangered by hunting and egg collecting. It is not known at present whether the
turtles still breed along the beaches of Gaza Strip, despite regular sightings
of this rare species at sea reported by fishermen.
Animal
species are also threatened by the same aspects of occupation as their human
counterparts: fences and walls around and across the Gaza Strip. The Palestine
Wildlife Society notes that such barriers restrict the movement of larger
mammals within the interior zone of Wadi Gaza. Damage is also caused to the
fragile ecosystem by large numbers of pedestrians and motor vehicles trampling
across the Wadi. Part of the project is to build set paths that will be both
safe for pedestrians, and protect the environment they are crossing.
Wadi
Gaza Conservation Project
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Wadi Gaza clean up
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The
project to transform Wadi Gaza is not complete, but many activities have already
taken place. In 2001, two cleaning campaigns were executed; solid waste was
cleaned away removing 15,000 tons of construction debris from the Wadi area.
Incidentally, this clean up campaign gave hundreds of local unemployed workers
the chance to earn a few days wages. What began as a UNDP/GEF Wetlands project
has been developed further by a USAID grant, making it one of the largest
environmental development projects in the region. The Palestinian project is
also part of a wider GEF Mediterranean wetlands initiative, incorporating
projects and expertise from countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon
and Albania.
Reforestation
and the introduction of new indigenous plants and crops is another strategy used
to develop the Wadi for the future. Ahmad Rifaati is cultivating new crops in
Wadi Gaza, with the support of the project. On his three dunams in the Wadi he
now has olive, fig, pomegranate and palm seedlings. Farmers like Ahmad have been
given support with new crops and irrigation techniques in order to reclaim
uncultivated land. Replanting of fruit and forest trees will contribute to the
development of the area, as well as increasing food and income security. Around
35,000 fruit trees have been planted, and around 655 new palm trees introduced
to the Wadi.
Although
the project is internationally financed, and UNDP are the implementing agency,
the work is implemented alongside a consortium of Palestinian NGOs, with the
support of the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority (EQA). Local
community involvement is essential at all levels of the project to ensure
sustainability and maximum benefit to the community. (It is also important to
note that staff employed by UNDP, are in the main local Palestinians, not
foreigners).
As
bridges and pathways are constructed and the clean up progresses, the Wadi will
become more and more accessible to local residents for both recreation and
crossing on foot. Conserving the Wadi Gaza ecosystem for the future requires the
understanding, interest and motivation of the community. The Gaza based Green
Peace Association is working to promote the idea and disseminate environmental
information throughout the community, in order that all can benefit from the
project through understanding the necessity of protecting the environment, not
only for themselves but for future generations.
Far
from being a luxury, environmental and resource preservation in a conflict zone
is essential. Protecting the biodiversity of Wadi Gaza is not only contributing
to better security with regard to clean water resources, but in an overcrowded
Gaza with few open community areas and recreational parks, public space and a
clean and healthy environment have a role to play in preserving people’s sense
of humanity and psychological well-being.
The
Wadi Gaza project, coupled with raising awareness of the importance of
environmental issues to a sustainable future, amongst both the public and
legislators, will go a long way to addressing the threats to the natural balance
of Wadi Gaza. Nevertheless, until Palestinians are free from military
occupation, they will never have full control over their land and the way it is
used. A sustainable future for the land and its people is only possible in a
liberated environment.
Isabelle Humphries is
researching the situation for Palestinian refugees living inside the 1948
borders. She has an MA in
Middle
East
Politics and has worked for three years with Palestinian NGOs, and as a
freelance writer, on both sides of the 1967 border. You can reach her at innazareth@yahoo.co.uk
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