This document discusses the Arab Riparian Joint River Basin Initiative from a Palestinian perspective. It provides background on water resources and infrastructure issues in Palestine. It then describes the proposed Initiative, which would create a voluntary decision-making body comprising stakeholders from riparian countries to jointly manage shared water resources. The goals of the Initiative are to integrate management efforts, ensure participation of all riparians, and enhance basin management. It is argued that the Initiative could help resolve conflicts, enhance cooperation, and restore justice through integrated and sustainable management of transboundary water resources.

1. 1 August16-22,2009World Water Week Stockholm
Arab Riparian JRB Initiative Seminar
Arab Riparian JRB Initiative: A Palestinian
Perspective
By:
Marwan Haddad
Professor and Director,
Water and Environmental Studies Institute (WESI)
An-Najah National University, Nablus-Palestine

2. Historic
Palestine
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Arab Riparian JRB Initiative

4. Part I: Water Situation in
Palestine
And the Need for
Arab Riparian JRB Initiative
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5. Occupied Palestinian Territory
Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) consists of the West Bank including
East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Total Population of OPT is 3,8 millions (WB=2,4, GS=1,4)
Administrative: 686 Localities
54 Urban
603 Rural
29 Refugee Camps
Average annual rainfall: 409 mm
Average rainy days:43 days
Climate; Mediterranean, Summer (hot & dry), Winter (moderate & wet)
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6. Water Resources in Palestine
• The main water resources in
Palestine are:
– Surface Water “the Jordan River”.
– Groundwater.
– Runoff.
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7. Natural Recharge of the Palestinian Aquifer Basins
West Bank Basin Recharge
Basin Oslo2 Values
Eastern 172
Northeastern 145
Western 362
Total 679
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9. JRB Water Division Plans
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12. Water Supply and Sanitation
281 Rural Localities without water supply network
None of Rural localities with 100% water supply network
coverage
All localities w/fixed water supply quota (~50-55 l/c-d for
Dom. Purposes)
Partial Coverage of sanitation services in urban areas,
minimal if any sanitation services in rural areas
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13. served Communities in the West Bank-Served and Non
142 Partially Served
Partially
Served
214 Mostly
214 Mostly Served 281
Un-Served
Number of Communities
in the West Bank
637
Served
356
non--served
281
(60%)Mostly
Served
356
(40%)Partially
Served
356
281 Non-Served
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15. )1Importance of JRB Water to Palestinians (
The Palestinian share of the JRB was targeted by Israel
since the first day of occupation in June 1967, 140
pumping stn(s) and western Ghore canal (15 km) were
demolished, and Palestinians were prohibited from
reaching there land (declared as military zone), therefore,
• the area now is with the lowest population density in the
OPT.
• It is the least developed,
• with high rates of illiteracy,
• and very poor public services.
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16. )2Importance of JRB Water to Palestinians (
The Jordan Valley (Western Ghore) represents the most
potential area for development in the OPT.
Population Distribution: This area could easily absorb about
200-300 thousands of Palestinian
Food Security: In the Western Ghore area, there are 210 Km2
of fertile land suitable for irrigated agriculture. This is
about one third of the total area suitable for irrigated
agriculture in the West Bank and more than twice the area
which is currently irrigated.
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17. Part II: The Initiative
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18. The Beauty of the Initiative
Policy makers, donors, NGO’s, water
managers, all are intrigued by the
sound of the initiative as new form of
cooperation in the face of conflict
management and disaster response
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19. The Definition of the Initiative
It is a voluntary (or statutory) decision making
body comprising different stakeholders
whom
• perceive the same resources management
problem,
• realize there interdependence for solving it,
• and come together to agree on action
strategies to solving it.
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20. What we are looking for
• NOT institutions with offices, NOT
promulgating by-laws, NOT secretaries-
overhead, etc
• BUT inferred pattern of behavior and
interaction paralleled with more
knowledge and understanding of the
problem and searching and promoting
options for solving it.
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21. What the initiative will do for the stakeholders
Justified Questions that Need Answers
• Do it make a difference?
• Is it compatible with integrated water
resources management?
• Can its performance be improved?
• Is it sustainable?
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22. Initiative Main Goals
• Integration of efforts and activities
(multi-layered system approach to
basin management)
• Participation of all riparian's
• and enhance basin's management
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23. Integration
Integrating
• Qualitative and quantitative integration between
surface and groundwater
• Integration between water and land use
• Integration between water and stakeholders interest
• And integrating relations between water institutions
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News & Announcements
Events Calendar
Documents/Report/etc
ALLABOUT RIVER BASIN
Monitoring conditions at each riparian
side
RIVER BASIN
GEOGRAPHY/HYDROLOGY
Integrated River Basin Management
Call for South East Asian Case Studies
Community Involvement
Demonstration Projects
Education/Public Awareness
Hydrological Modeling
Planning Procedures
Policies and Legal Instruments
Restoration and Monitoring
Transboundary/International
Cooperation
Sustainable Land, Water Use and
Management
Agriculture
Fisheries
Forestry
Dam Management
Water Resource Management
Wetland Conservation
Water, Food and Environment
Environmental Impacts
RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT
Conferences, Seminars and
Workshops
RIVER BASIN RESOURCES

25. Some Initiative Prerequisites
It needs a
• Radical change in management culture:
• Common vision
• Adaptive capacity
• Resources,
• Resource Interdependence
• Balance
• Output
• Outcomes
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26. :dThe Initiative Woul
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1. Resolve potential conflict(s),
2. Enhance cooperation and
sharing ,
3. and restore justice, values,
peace and stability for all
riparian nations
The Cost of Not Cooperating
No Initiative–