Supporting Palestine’s
Water Scarcity and Drought
Management and Mitigation Plan
DESA and other UN Partners (ECA,
FAO, WMO, UNISDR, UNEP, UNCCD,
UNDP)
Outline
1
Palestine Water Scarcity and Drought Challenges
2
Existing Water Scarcity and Drought Programs and Gaps
3
The Capacity Building Program on Water Scarcity and
Drought Preparedness and Mitigation Plan for Palestine
Palestine is one of the most arid countries in the world
The Impacts of WS&D on Palestine
• During a drought episode which afflicted WB in 20072008 season, the estimated direct losses in plant
production of rainfed agriculture was more than $113.5
million USD based on farm gate prices; the indirect
losses were estimated by more than $250 M USD and
more than 200,000 small ruminants were affected(MoA
2008).
• Ground water level has been observed declining in the
past 8 years.
• 35% of the Palestinian communities are not served with
essential water supply and sanitation.
Uncertainty of Water Scarcity and Drought Management for Palestine
-Tansboundary Water challenge
Uncertainty of Water Scarcity and Drought Management for Palestine
-Climate change challenge
Annual precipitation prediction under different climate change scenarios
Palestine has done GREAT work on drought management
plan
Recent Projects
• A study on Assessment and Enhancement of the Capacities of
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Institutions dealing with Desertification, Land Degradation and
Drought
Raising Awareness of Stakeholders about Desertification, Land
Degradation and Drought Issues
Establishment of Desertification and Drought Data Base and
Monitoring System
Preparation of Studies and Maps for the Hotspots and Endangered
Areas
Transfer of Indigenous Knowledge and Appropriate Technologies
Related to Desertification and Drought
Palestine ’s Efforts on WS&D Management Plans
Desertification and drought management Gaps Identified
by “The National Strategy, Action Programme and Integrated Financing
Strategy to Combat Desertification in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2011”
• Lack, weakness and weak enforcement of legislation
• Weak institutional capacities and capabilities of public, NGOs, CSOs or
private sector and weak coordination mechanisms among them
• Weak services and service delivery systems to stakeholders, mainly
herders and farmers
• Weak participation of different stakeholders in the decision-taking
decision-making processes
• Lack of information and appropriate data
• Lack of proper awareness and appreciation among the people, media,
legislators and decision makers
• Low interest and budget allocation from PNA and international
communities to issues related to combating desertification
• Lack of proper national policies, strategies and commitments to combating
desertification and applying the proper incentives, policy tools and
instruments
• Weak regional cooperation
• Ambiguity and overlap over responsibilities
Identified Gaps
for Managing WS&D in Palestine
• Scattered data in different institutes and government agencies and
not easy to access.
• Lack of drought impacts assessment.
• Limitations in using high technologies and devices used to monitor
and predict drought issues.
• Limited frameworks for drought mitigation, which are responseled rather than preventative.
• Underdevelopment of policies for drought preparedness,
mitigation, and emergency response.
• Lack of capacity and training in drought management and policy
implementation at government level (national and local).
The Goal of UN-DESA <The Water Scarcity and Drought Preparedness and
Mitigation Plan> is:
To enhance Palestine’s WS&D management capacity and assist Palestine to
further develop and implement the strategies and plans.
The objectives of the program are:
• Raise awareness of WS&D management methodologies, tools, and BMPs, and
enhance the national WS&D mitigation capacity.
• Improve Palestine drought monitoring and forecasting capacity.
• Reinforce drought monitoring and early warning systems in Palestine.
• Develop and Adopt standardized drought management planes and mitigation
approaches for Palestine.
UN-DESA will achieve the objectives through:
• Foster high-level political forums, workshops, training sessions and regional
dialogs.
• Increase the knowledge and best management practices sharing at all levels.
• Provide technical and capacity building supports.
• Promote regional cooperation and partnering for capacity building and improving
effectiveness in planning, monitoring and implementation of drought plans.
"Droughts are hard to avert, but their
effects can be mitigated.[...] The price of
preparedness is minimal compared to the
cost of disaster relief. Let us therefore shift
from managing crises to preparing for
droughts and building resilience."
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Message for
2013 World Day to Combat Desertification
17 June 2013
Thank you!
Feel free to contact:
Sami Areikat,
Sustainable Development Officer
Water, Energy and Capacity Development
Branch
Division for Sustainable Development
UN –DESA
United Nations, Room S-2651
405 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7844
Fax. 917-367-3391
E-mail: areikat@un.org
Website:
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org