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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACE ASSESSMENT FOR DEVELOPMENTAL PROJECTS IN

GAZA STRIP

UM AL-NASSER VILLAGE AS A CASE STUDY

PREPAERED BY

RAMADAN YOUSUF ABU LULI

WESSAM SALEH ASHOUR

SUPERVISOR

Dr. MUSTAFA AL HAWI

THIS RESEARCH PRODUCED TO GAIN THE HIGHLY SPESIALIZED DIPLOMA DEGREE

OF NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS MANAGEMENT

Nov. 2011

غــــزة –معھــــــد التنمیـــــــة المجتمعیــــــة Community Development Institute

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TANKFUL AND GREETINGS

Thank for all persons whose help us in our

educational path.

Thank to our parents,

Teacher's and friends

Be for all, thank to Allah, and the prophet

Mohammad to be Muslims.

For the Islamic University.

The Community Development Institute.

All the consultants and professors.

To all, thank you

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Contents

Chapter 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 6

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 7

EIA History: ............................................................................................................................. 8

EIA report Structure (Wood): ...................................................................................................... 8

Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................... 11

Scope of the Research .............................................................................................................. 12

Research Methodology ............................................................................................................. 12

Data collection and analysis: ..................................................................................................... 12

Case studies ............................................................................................................................ 13

Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................... 14

Um AL-Nasser village as a case study. ....................................................................................... 14

General background on the village of Um Al-Nasser .................................................................... 16

Economic and social conditions in the village ............................................................................. 17

The educational ....................................................................................................................... 19

Conditions of infrastructure ...................................................................................................... 19

The reality of waste water in Northern Gaza: .............................................................................. 20

Influential aspects affecting EIA: ............................................................................................... 20

Legal:..................................................................................................................................... 20

Socio-Economic: ..................................................................................................................... 21

Wastewater treatment plant in Bait Lahiya: from foundation to flood ............................................. 21

Environmental disaster in the village of Um Al-Nasser ................................................................ 22

UM Al-NASSER VILLAGE AS CASE STUDY. ........................................................................ 23

Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................................... 28

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 29

Recommendations……………..…..……………………………………………………………………………27

References……………..……………….………………………………………………………………………..28

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ABSTRACT

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process in which the environmental effects of development

projects are studied so as to integrate the interest of the environment in the decision making process.

An EIA system consists of the followed assessment procedure itself, the enabling and supporting

legislations, the administrative arrangements and the institutional capabilities available within the

country in terms of both technical and financial resources.

Concerning the Palestinian EIA system, no comprehensive review have been undertaken before for the

different system components and how they relate to the effectiveness of the EIA process in actual

implementation.

This research addresses the procedural, substantive and trans-active aspects of the effectiveness of the

Palestinian EIA system through a case study and its various components and other external influential

factors affecting its development and performance.

It involves a study of relevant documentation, collection and analysis of data through site visits to

enterprises and industrial establishments. It benchmarks the current standing of the system in an

analytical perspective and identifies shortfalls and potentials for improvements and up scaling

performance.

The main findings of the research have shown that the Palestinian EIA system has a secure legal basis

that provides the required enabling framework for crucial aspects in the context of environmental

impact assessment such as compliance monitoring and enforcement and retrospective implementation

of the EIA. However, those same aspects were found to suffer from real weakness in actual

implementation and achievement of their intended goals due to reasons that are mostly stemmed from

the prevailing political conditions and their local internal consequences especially the loss of the overall

law enforcement atmosphere.

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Finally, the research urges to utilize the increasing global awareness of the need to achieve progress on

the EIA front in developing countries so that those achievements in the developed countries meet their

global objectives of protecting the earth environment. This would be a continuation of previous

international support that the Palestinian environmental system has received but under another context

apart from that linked to political commitments under the frozen peace process.

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Chapter 1

Introduction

EIA History

EIA report preparation

Objectives of the research

Research Methodology

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Introduction

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) represents an important component of public decision making in relation to major project development in industrialized countries. In recent years one of the most dominant themes in the EIA literature has been the need to enhance public participation in EIA processes. The underlying rationale for greater public participation is sometimes poorly articulated and is highly diverse, ranging from claims that it will help make EIA findings more accurate and robust, to arguments that public participation in EIA can help change the underlying distribution of power between governments, communities and developers. In addition, there has been little systematic analysis of the implications of different forms and degrees of public participation in EIA for public policy processes. (O’Faircheallaigh, 14 November 2008).

While EIAs in developing countries are based on the same set of principles, their Implementation often falls considerably short of international standards. They frequently suffer from insufficient consideration of impacts, alternatives, and public participation. In the worst case, they are not conducted at all. This is particularly troubling given that environmental impact assessments often are the chief and most comprehensive means for assessing the potential environmental and social impacts of large-scale development projects in countries where environmental safeguards are weak due to deficiencies in regulation, enforcement, or both. Moreover, these inadequacies may have serious implications in many areas of the developing world, where an ambitious line-up of major projects is being developed. (C. Li, Environmental Impact Assessments in Developing Countries: An Opportunity for Greater Environmental Security, 2008)

The EIA generates a substantive and valuable environmental resource database. This database should be properly kept for future decision-making, management planning, and monitoring of the nation's resources. International agencies have emphasized the need and importance of developing EIAs as a powerful methodological tool to manage data and allow this management to extend into the long-term. (Eedy, 1995).

Impact assessment is an important management tool for improving the long-term viability of many projects, and its use can help to avoid mistakes that can be expensive and damaging in environmental, social, and/or economic terms. Usually, the cost of undertaking an impact assessment process accounts for only a small proportion of total project costs - often less than 1% of overall project costs. (Donnelly, Annie; Dalal-Clayton, Barry; Hughes, Ross, September 1998).

There is a growing consensus that timely and broad based stakeholder involvement is a vital ingredient for effective environmental assessment, as it is for project planning, appraisal and development in general. The World Bank has found that public participation in EIA tends to improve project design, environmental soundness and social acceptability (Mutemba, 1996). Mwalyosi and Hughes (1998) identified a similar experience in Tanzania. They found that EIAs that successfully involved a broad range of stakeholders tended to lead to more influential environmental assessment processes and, consequently, to development that delivered more environmental and social benefits. Conversely, EIAs that failed to be inclusive tended to have

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less influence over planning and implementation, and consequently resulted in higher social and environmental costs. (Annie Donnelly Barry Dalal-Clayton Ross Hughes, September 1998)

EIA History:

The use of EIA began in 1970 in USA and spread rapidly throughout the world particularly after the UN Earth Summit held in 1992. To enable such issues to be taken into account in decision making it was necessary to introduce a systematic procedure of EIA. Therefore, to date many of the countries of world have a legal and institutionalized system of EIA. In the planning history of Nepal, the Sixth Plan (1980-'85), for the first time recognized the need for EIA integration for major infrastructure projects. The government of Nepal enunciated environment conservation related policies in the Seventh Plan (1985-90). In order to enforce this policy, a series of guidelines were developed incorporating the elements of environmental factors right from the project formulation stage of development plans. Environmental Assessment Guideline 1993 was the first “lesson learnt” document in Nepal which has played facilitation role in the EIA process. Until the international obligations, conventions, guideline, treaties applied for the environmental and biodiversity conservation measures at the policy level. (Nath, SEPTEMBER, 2009)

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, which originated in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, has been adopted extensively in the rest of the world. The U.S. model and that of other developed countries share basic principles and reflects commonly agreed-upon approaches to similar problems. (C. Li, Environmental Impact Assessments in Developing Countries: An Opportunity for Greater Environmental Security, 2008)

The early EIAs were often focused on inventory of a possible environmental load and the impact due to this. The development of EIA has been into a more complex method, where the document, the environmental impact statement (EIS) is one part, but where the process to make the document including the public participation also has become an increasingly important part. Thus also social effects are becoming included in the EIA and the method has developed into a systematic way of finding a solution with low environmental impact that is accepted by all (or as many as possible) involved stakeholders. (Anderson, 2000)

EIA research Structure (Wood):

The needs of the target audience should also be considered when choosing a method. At preliminary stages, proponents need to have clear information about alternatives, research needs and feasibility. Appropriate methods, skillfully applied, can save time and money, and can generate valuable support for a proposal. At later stages of comprehensive EIAs, decision makers include those with a mandate to approve and set the conditions for going ahead with a development. For an informed decision to be made, the decision makers need to understand the nature and extent of potential impacts and the tradeoffs involved. (Lohani, B., J.W. Evans, H. Ludwig, R.R. Everitt, Richard A. Carpenter, December 1997)

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EIA reports in developing countries are often confidential (Bisset, 1992). In particular, EIA reports are not user-friendly and were weak on alternatives, scoping, prediction, the attribution of significance, and the justification of proposals (Lee, 2000b). Some EIA reports in India have been bound like PhD theses, have been similarly indigestible, have been produced with similarly limited numbers of copies and have not even been available through inter-library loan (Banham and Brew, 1996; Selvam et al., 1999). To date, very few EIA reports have been made available to the public (or even for training purposes) in Egypt (Ahmad and Wood, 2002). Many developing country EIA reports are written in English, rather than in the endemic language, and seldom make concessions to the few lay readers able to review them. This is hardly an appropriate climate for EIA peer and public review.

There are several prominent difficulties in developing countries in relation to EIA report preparation:

1. There is a lack of trained human resources and of financial resources that often leads to the preparation of inadequate and irrelevant EIA reports in developing countries (Clark, 1999).

2. Environmental conditions in tropical or near-tropical areas render many of the environmental assumptions, models and standards derived in temperate zones inappropriate (George, 2000b).

3. Baseline socio-economic and environmental data may be inaccurate, difficult to obtain or non-existent in developing countries (Wilbanks et al., 1993).

4. The significance attached to particular environmental impacts may be either much less or much greater (especially where cultural effects are involved) in developing countries than in developed countries (Boyle, 1998).

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Integration of EIA into the project cycle:

(United Nations Environment Programme, 1988)

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Chapter 2

Scope of the Research

Research Methodology

Data collection and analysis:

Case studies

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Scope of the Research

This research aims to achieve the following:

o To Study the environmental impact of development projects in the Gaza Strip. o To Highlight the environmental problems as a result of development projects (the village

of Um Al-Nasser).

o To Open the way for researchers and specialists in environmental sciences to expand

research to support the decision makers and institutions concerned with the results of

studies.

o In depth discussion of result and mitigation from EIA and its impact on major projects in the

Gaza Strip

Research Methodology

The researcher has been initiated to collect data from text books , journal papers , international reports, and studies that addressed the issue of environmental impact assessment so as to be a Data Base from which to configure the researcher and the required idea for the research.

Data collection and analysis:

The work of the researcher is to collect information, data and previous studies of institutions working in the Gaza strip, municipalities, from the websites and electronic university libraries in addition to research papers and theses, laws and regulations and international regulations.

Information needed for research prompted the researcher to visit many of the civil and governmental institutions and access to previous studies, references, and proposals on the subject or related subject matter. In addition to conducting numerous interviews panel discussion about the problems and the solutions proposed for the study area, and visit:

Government institutions represented by:

- Municipality of Beit Lahiya. NGOs: - CMWU. - Association of Palestinian farmers. - Association for the Development of Beit Lahiya.

- Consulting Environmental firms

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Case studies

Study and review many previous researches, papers and case studies on some of the projects carried out in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and some cities in the world and benefit from them.

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Chapter 3

Case Study

UM Al-NASSER VILLAGE

General background on the village of Um Al-Nasser.

Economic and social conditions in the village.

Health conditions.

The educational.

Conditions of infrastructure.

The reality of waste water in the Gaza Strip.

Wastewater treatment plant in Bait Lahiya: from foundation to flood.

Environmental disaster in the village of Um Al-Nasser (flood basin reserve after the collapse of Swarthy dirt.

Gaza Strip.

UmAL-Nasser village as a case Study.

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3.1 General background on the village of Um Al-Nasser

The village of Um Al-Nasser (the Bedouin village) is a locality located in northeastern Palestinian town of Bait Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, The total area of about 800 dunums, with a population of about 5000 people. The village established in the wake of the decision of the Ministry of Housing Palestinian building in Sheikh Zayed City, in the slaughterhouse north-south of Bait Lahiya. For the purpose of establishing the city on the ground Which was inhabited by the families of Palestinian Bedouin, have been transferred from the area of residence, and housing near the water treatment plant Sanitation (the village of Um Al-Nasser now). The village is located within a half- Aileu meters from the Green Line, between the land2005. It is bordered by the West / 9 / that were built by the Israeli settlements in the northern Gaza Strip, prior to vacate on 12 Dugit settlement site earlier, and the Middle site Nissanit settlement earlier, and the north site Eli Sinai Previously, while surrounded by pools of the south drainage, which is a gathering of wastewater for the northern Gaza Strip.

The majority of houses in the village houses are constructed of tin, and incomplete construction, while there is another part of the houses built by Owners of brick and roof of the asbestos.

Internal village roads and all dirt and paved, with the exception of one Streets leading to the village from the western side a temple and a length not to exceed five hundred meters. And lack of infrastructure services in The village, where there is lack of public utilities, health and education services and education, including schools and kindergartens Children. fig 3.1 show the location of Um Al-nasser village.

Location of Um Al-Nasser

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3.2 Economic and social conditions in the village

Experiencing the village of Um Al-Nasser (the Bedouin village) in a bad way at all levels, and in all areas, in addition to poor Living conditions in the village, as a result of its proximity to the water treatment plant sanitation, increasing the suffering of the inhabitants of the degradation, Economic and social conditions, and the deterioration of the security situation.

Since the beginning of the Aqsa Intifada in September 2000 Under the village of Um Al-Nasser and residents of the various types of violations, which are still carried out by IOF.( International Osteoporosis Foundation IOF

Still IOF carried out numerous violations, despite the implementation of the unilateral separation plan from the Gaza Strip, In September 2005. These include violations of the shooting random daily military sites Near the Israeli village, and indiscriminate artillery shelling and aerial bombardment, and the attack on the village's residents who Working in the field of grazing sheep, and collectors of firewood and timber from the area and arrested. It is worth mentioning that most of the population Bedouin village livelihoods depend on herding, collecting firewood and timber from forest areas adjacent to the village. Not Villagers can dispense with the practice of the profession, to collect firewood and timber, from areas adjacent To their village, where they use in their homes for cooking, heating water and heating. It also put the population of the village to the Many of the confiscation of means of subsistence and livelihood Aqtaan sheep, as well as the exposure of its population to the deprivation of freedom Mobility and movement because of the shelling and firing in the direction of the village, especially during the periods of the night, where they lived If you like a night curfew.

And suffer the village of Um Al-Nasser (the Bedouin village) and the dire economic situation, due to lack of employment opportunities, where the spread of unemployment Between men of the village, since a long time, as a result of the closure imposed by the continuing Israeli occupation authorities on the The Gaza Strip. This reflected a negative impact on the economic situation of residents of the village, and families resident in them, where what was More than 80% of the workforce employed in Israel to work. Because of the continued closure have lost their jobs there, and moved to the Gaza unemployed. It also denied the existence of a wastewater treatment plant next to the village health People from cultivating the land around them, due to contamination of groundwater and soil. And were Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture has destroyed crops in the region, more than once, due to contamination with sewage. As Reflected the deterioration of health conditions on the economic situation in a negative light, it has forced most people living with Disease to stop working permanently. Also cause high cost of treatment in fatigue citizens weary already economically. However, the influencing factor in increasing the proportion of unemployment in the village due to depriving the population of the village of exercise Their primary occupation, a craft and livestock grazing, because of its proximity to the Green Line, and zone of separation. Announced the IOF for residence on the Gaza border with Israel in September of 2005.

As a result of lack of income for the majority of village residents who are unable to work, due to high unemployment in their ranks, exposure of its population to serious problems. It has become

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the villagers suffer from in order to get their daily bread, and living expenses Daily necessities, whether educational, or health, or otherwise. And high rates of poverty because of it to reach more than82%, of which about 50% live in extreme poverty 1. And supports a large number of residents of the village on alms and assistance Food provided by the relief agency, and NGOs. And is considered one of the most impoverished areas of the Gaza Strip.

3.3 Health conditions

Rated health status in the village that one of the most sanitary conditions worsened in Palestinian towns and villages on the All. Most medical and laboratory reports, issued by the institutions working in the field of health and the environment, classified Endemic area, due to the establishment of the village on a swamp of drainage ponds. Those reports have indicated that Diseases which do not address the required format. It also noted the difficulty in eliminating the virus once and for all, the village because of the proximity of the sewage plant and the lake nearby. In addition to the already suffering from the spread of the village Unpleasant odors, and the proliferation of mosquitoes and insects harmful, what is being offered to residents of the village down the disease, And leads to deterioration of their health.

The presence of the sewage plant in the northern Gaza Strip a real threat to the population's right to enjoy the highest level Possible from the services of physical and mental health 2, have proliferated in recent years the disease is common among the population, a Non-existent in other parts of the Gaza Strip, and explain that the pollution of underground reservoir of water in the northern Gaza Strip. The Water-related diseases are most prevalent in the village of Um Al-Nasser, including the disease meningitis, inflammation of the liver Epidemiological, pneumonia, Alascrias, bedwetting, Gardia and widespread diarrhea among children under the age of three Years. (http://www.un.org/unrwa/arabic/News/SelArt07/UNSe07_2.htm, updated 2008).

According to the medical and laboratory tests, conducted by the departments of health and the environment in the region 3, the garage is a chemical nitrate Nitrogen, the most polluting of groundwater in the Gaza Strip. Sam, a garage cause serious problems for humans, especially For children. The disposal of this material is very difficult to get rid of them require Avon technological equipment and advanced technology, With limited control of chemical pollution of the water mitigation, only, where the competent authorities cannot be addressed automatically.

And use the relevant health authorities of chlorine and anti-pollution of the water, in order to mitigate its damages, though, so Rates remain nitrate and fluoride in drinking water is much higher than the rates accepted and in accordance with the standards of International 4 Among the most important diseases caused by these pollutants is the natural growth of children, especially among newborn babies, and this caused Persistent birth defects in pregnant women, who drank contaminated water, in addition to the dangers of cancer, It also causes the emission of gases and unpleasant odors, resulting from sewage ponds and Lake Wastewater Period in the periphery, and the spread of insects of various kinds, to the deterioration of health conditions. The proliferation of mosquitoes in the village, Where appropriate environment for the child, displays the population of the direct threat by parasites and worms that minute mosquito-borne, Which caused injury to more than half of the village children diseases related to the digestive system, and symptoms that appear to Population through the cases of bloody diarrhea, abdominal

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pain, constipation, loss of appetite, and vomiting. Parasites also cause Worms and micro-injury to the population disease anemia resulting from malnutrition.

As is the inflammation and skin sensitivity of health problems prevalent in the village, he suffers a large number of villagers Ulcers, itching and rashes. And many of the population suffers from allergies, especially in summer, which spreads In the village of large numbers of mosquitoes. As residents of the area exposed to the risk of diseases related to the device Respiratory conditions such as asthma, fever, cough and chest infection cases accompanied by a loud voice when you inhale or exhale in the process of Breathing, threatening their lives in danger in some cases. In spite of the lack of comprehensive studies of the health effects The treatment plant, it is clear that the majority of the region's population can reach them negative impact directly or indirectly, whether At present or the future. And lacking in the village of Um Al-Nasser of the presence of health services which, it is devoid of the presence of medical centers and health clinics. And limited to a health clinic, affiliated to the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees. The village lies about the whereabouts of Hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, residents have to go to their neighborhood in each of Beit Lahiya Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun, where there are health clinics belonging to the UN, Relief and Works Agency refugees. In the case of the need for services Secondary health care services (hospitals) have the population to go to the hospital hopes the government aggression In Beit Lahiya, hospital or return, of the Union of Health Work Committees, in the Jabalia.

3.4 The educational

Spread illiteracy among the people of the village are striking, given the lack of schools for all grades in the village, for the same Why the literacy rate has declined, and break many of the students, and the larger section of students for study in the village. Not There in the village primary school and only one, is the school of Hamza ibn Abi Talib, the basic, attended by about 550 students Male and female, and lacking a library, laboratory, housekeeping and room. The real problem begins in middle school and secondary schools, Especially among female students in the village, and compounded the lack of schools in the vicinity of the village, which means That the students of the village go to schools outside the village in the town of Beit Hanoun, or schools Jabalya, which is more than The financial burden faced by parents, in light of deteriorating economic conditions, and also cause suffering and exhaustion, resulting from Students are forced to walk long distances to go to their schools and return to their homes in the village.

3.5 Conditions of infrastructure

The village does the presence of many infrastructure projects, most notably the completion of the extension of the network of drinking water to their homes. And suffer Of the poor conditions of roads leading to it or the internal roads, where it is paved and dirt. It also lacks the village to the There are many institutions work necessary service, schools, kindergartens, rehabilitation centers And voluntary organizations. The village was, and still is, from attacks by Israeli occupation forces continued it, before and after the implementation of the Plan Separation from the Gaza

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Strip in September 2005, where she was the destruction of significant infrastructure. They have done Troops bulldozed all roads leading to the village, also made telephone calls them, and destroyed the water network leading to it, Which constitute the only source of drinking water for its population, which has resulted in serious shortages in the supply of drinking water to residents of the village.

As the IOF, and more than once, the destruction of power lines, and parts of the village, which led to stop Engines that are running the water stations, where these engines do not work in the event of power outages.

3.6The reality of waste water in Northern Gaza:

untreated wastewater from the main sources of water pollution in the Gaza Strip, so that a large part of it soaks into Aquifer, the main source of drinking water upon which the residents of the sector. Such as flowing water Wastewater through the channels open to populated areas and agricultural areas. The percentage of untreated wastewater about 90% of the total volume of wastewater. And associated quantities of wastewater generated in the Palestinian governorates usually Activities and distributions of population, the estimated total amount of wastewater in the West Bank in 2006 some 36 Million cubic meters while the estimated amount of waste water sector in the provinces in the same year about 30 million cubic meters, It is divided between the provinces as follows: Gaza Governorate 16.68 million cubic meters, the northern Gaza Strip 4.38 million m Cc, of Khan Younis, 4.03 million cubic meters, the middle area of 2.76 million cubic meters, Rafah 1.98. 5 million cubic meters Wastewater consists mainly of water and concentrations of small particles of organic and inorganic solutes and outstanding (approximately 99.92%). And produces waste water from the multiple uses of domestic and industrial, and contain material Membership on the carbohydrates, fats, soaps, detergents and natural result of the industry. The materials Inorganic sources comes from industrial and domestic, which may contain toxic compounds such as arsenic, lead, Cadmium, mercury and chromium. The methods of wastewater treatment and disposal, 80% of which goes to the sea, each processor and others not Processor, and 20% of which are leaking into the underground reservoir, contaminated water and soil, which supports 40% of the population of the sector Cesspits to dispose of wastewater.

3.7 Influential aspects affecting EIA:

3.7.1Legal:

Gaza does not have and has never had a comprehensive environmental law with mandatory requirements for environmental impact assessment (EIA). This omission may be explained in part as due to the marginal place that environmental matters played in the period preceding the PA arrive in 1994. In the post-PA period, the reluctance to integrate EIA requirements in legislation should be available in the context of the liberalization and deregulation policies in force, whose centerpiece has been privatization of the common wealth and promotion of private foreign investment. This will create fears that putting investors to rigorous and public scrutiny of their projects on environmental grounds may scare them away thus depriving the economy of the badly needed foreign direct investment.

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The main reason for such fears is that attention to environmental matters is generally perceived by business and corporate interests and neo-liberal states as only adding to production costs, making countries less efficient and less competitive. It is perceived therefore, that any outlays devoted to environmental control would be at the expense of development and poverty alleviation objectives. (Tundu Antiphas Lissu March 1999)

3.7.2 Socio-Economic:

Because socio-economic impact assessment is designed to estimate the effects of a proposed development on a community’s social and economic welfare, the process should rely heavily on involving community members who may be affected by the development. Others who should be involved in the process include community leaders and others who represent diverse interests in the community such as community service organizations, development and real estate interests, minority and low income groups, and local environmental groups. In addition, local agencies or officials should provide input into the process of assessing changes in the social environment that may occur as a result of the proposed development (e.g., providing estimates and information demographics, employment and service needs). ( Branch, K., D.A. Hooper, J. Thompson, and J. Creighton. 1984)

3.7.3Wastewater treatment plant in Bait Lahiya: from foundation to flood Began to initiate the establishment of the station in 1976, and is designed to address the use of water for irrigation, supplied with 17 Weight without Pump, to serve 50,000 people, with a capacity of 5000 cubic meters / day. And held on after 1.5 km to the east from the center of the town of Bait Lahiya on the best underground reservoir in the region, a major source of groundwater safe to drink. After twenty years of its inception have been amended and improved in 1996, after it became the region's population exceeds the number of250 000 people, and the number of sewage Mstrai 17.976 common, and became a daily amount of wastewater Health supplies to the station beyond the capacity of the station to a large extent, ability and capacity of the station of 5000 cubic meters / day, And receive the station today about 17000 cubic meters / day, an increase by340% from its original capacity. Station included Treatment in the original design of four pools of water treatment, which was feed into the aquifer, or to reuse. For irrigation purposes and agriculture 10 In the last ten years, exacerbated by problems with the septic system, and this was the most serious problems related to the increase Large volume of wastewater flowing, and the limited places of disposal, and the risk of collapse or flooding of the main ponds, and the threat of The lives of thousands of people around them, in the town of Beit Lahiya. The increasing volume of waste water, and the inability of the four pools station To absorb them, led to the formation of a lake beside it covers 450 acres, with a depth ranging from 2 meters to 9 meters, and up Total size to more than 3 million cubic meters of earth mounds and heights ranging from 4 to 15 meters, which is not Regular, and descend from the western side sharply, and this lake has become contaminated with dangerous land and the aquifer, as Caused health and environmental problems of the large population who surround them. With rising water levels as a result of a layer below reduces the absorption capacity of the soil, become equal to the transmission lines, which means the return of the water pipes, it which called for building up the basin to accommodate 70 thousand cubic meters. Given the seriousness of the border area prone the bombing of the Israeli population and the refusal or a victory in the lower basin, north of the village, built on the basin The high north-east of the Bedouin village.

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Environmental disaster in the village of Um Al-Nasser (flood basin reserve after the collapse of Swarthy dirt.

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3.7.4 Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about 41 kilometers (25 mi) long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers (4–7.5 mi) wide, with a total area of 360 square kilometers (139 sq mi). The territory takes its name from Gaza, its main city.

The population is about 1.6 million people,[1] most of them descendants of refugees. One million of the population, as of March 2005, were considered refugees, although the vast majority of them were actually born in the Gaza Strip;[2] the older generation fled to Gaza in 1948 as part of the 1948 Palestinian exodus following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, from some parts of Mandate Palestine that became Israel. The population is predominantly Sunni Muslim. With a yearly growth rate of about 3.2%, the Gaza strip has the 7th highest population growth rate in the world. (CIA, 2010)

The Gaza Strip acquired its current boundaries at the cessation of fighting in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, which was confirmed in the Israel-Egypt Armistice Agreement on 24 February 1949.[ ^ Egypt Israel Armistice Agreement UN Doc S/1264/Corr.1 23 February 1949] Article V of the Agreement declared that the demarcation line was not to be an international border. The Gaza Strip continued to be occupied by Egypt. At first it administered the territory through the All-Palestine Government and then directly from 1959 until 1967, when Israel occupied it following the Six-Day War. Pursuant to the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1993, the Palestinian Authority was set up as an interim administrative body to govern Palestinian population centers, with Israel maintaining control of Gaza Strip's airspace, all but one of its land borders and territorial waters, until a final agreement could be reached. As agreement remained elusive, Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza in 2005.

("Country profile: Israel and Palestinian territories"(London: BBC. , 15 December 2009)The Gaza Strip is one of the territorial units forming the Palestinian territories Since July 2007, following the 2006 Palestinian legislative election and the Battle of Gaza, Hamas has functioned as the effective government in the Gaza Strip.

UM Al-NASSER VILLAGE AS CASE STUDY.

Sewage water treatment plants in Gaza Strip depend on the secondary treatment, sometimes the process is limited to the primary treatment. Due to the continuous population increase and so the quantities of produced waste water and the failure of treatment plants, huge quantities of raw or semi treated waste water is discharged into the marine environment, the fact that doubles the negative impact of waste water on environment and public health. Therefore, waste water is considered the main source of polluting Gaza Shore because of the many points of sewage water discharge along the costal line. Discharging 80% of the produced waste water, untreated in the sea is very alarming hazard imposed by such reality on the marine environment, marine life, public health and development of the tourism sector. (Waste Water and Marine environment in the Gaza strip By Dr. Abed El Fattah Nazmi Abed Rabu Professor assistant in environmental sciences, Biology department, G.I.U ,PAGE4).

The project of transferring these sewage pools to the east of Gaza City was delayed for more than two years due to delays in importing pipes and pumps from abroad as a result of the closure imposed by IOF on the Gaza Strip. In addition, IOF military operations in the project area

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prevented workers from free and safe access to the area to conduct their work. It is noted that this project is funded by the World Bank, European Commission, Sweden, and other donors. On 14 September 2006, the Centre in its capacity as the legal representative of residents of Nada Housing Project in the area sent a complaint to Mr. Ismail Abu Shammala, Governor of the Northern Gaza Strip. The complaint demanded a cessation of diggings by the Palestinian Water Authority and Northern Gaza municipalities to dig a new sewage pool. The complaint made clear the health and environmental risks of the new pool on residents of the area. The Centre demanded that the Governor stop the digging as soon as possible. The Governor replied on 20 September 2006 and stated that he understands the scope and danger of the problem. However, he justified the implementation of the project by stating that there is a real danger of flooding in Um Al-Nasser Village and Mansheya area in Beit Lahia. He also stated that the new pool is temporary till the removal of the pits to the eastern part of the governorate in April 2007.

PCHR views the construction of a new sewage pool on an area of 20 dunums at a distance of 150 meters from Um Al-Nasser village as a factor that adds to the danger. In addition, the earth barriers built inside the pools to protect them do not provide the minimum safety requirement against high sewage water level in the new pool. Many area residents stated that since the construction of the new pool, the pumping of sewage to the new pool was conducted around the clock. Thus, it was only natural for sewage levels to rise and for the earth barriers to break, causing the disaster in the Um Al-Nasser (Bedouin) Village. It is strange that the responsible parties in the PNA dealt with the issue in a negligent manner, despite their full understanding of the situation and the imminent threat to the lives of civilians. The issue was not prioritized; and the safety of nearly 5,000 civilian residents of the village and thousands more in surrounding areas were not taken into serious consideration.

The pool that broke was the new pool that was completed nearly 6 months ago, after the old pools reached maximum capacity. It is noted that the pumping operation to the new pool was conducted under the supervision of a technical engineer.

All the reasons and elements above are behind the environmental disaster that hit Um Al-Nasser village. The victims' information is preliminary. The Centre had forewarned of this disaster, and will work to public a detailed report on its investigation into the issue.

The Centre calls upon the PNA to open an immediate investigation into the disaster to determine the responsible parties that took the decision that did not provide the minimum safety requirements for the lives of civilians; the Centre demands the public disclosure of the findings in the media; The PNA to fulfill its responsibility and provide emergency assistance, including shelter, for more than 3,000 people uprooted as their homes were damaged; the PNA and International Community, including humanitarian organizations working in the OPT to provide the food, medication, clothing, and water needs for the uprooted families, and to provide medical crews to perform examinations on the affected civilians out of fear of contamination or injury by the sewage water; the International Community to exert immediate pressure on IOF to immediately allow the start of implementation of the project to transfer the sewage pools to the eastern part of the northern Gaza Strip, to ensure the safety of technical crews working on the project, and to refrain from firing munitions into the project area. The Centre calls upon the

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International Community to provide immediate emergency assistance, including medication, food, living essentials, and equipment that will help in finding the missing persons

Final Report Damage Assessment and Needs Identification in the Gaza Strip March 2009, Page 18, Submitted by eunida and EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The environmental situation in the Gaza Strip was already serious prior to these events, due to underinvestment in environmental systems, lack of progress on priority environmental projects and the collapse of governance mechanisms. The recent escalation of hostilities caused additional damage and increased the pressure on environmental facilities and institutions.

Two of the most striking examples are the significant volume of demolition debris that was generated and the serious damage done to the sewage system. Other adverse environmental impacts include the widespread destruction of agricultural areas, damage to smaller industrial enterprises and an increase in pollution discharged into the Mediterranean and into the

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groundwater.(Environmental Assessment of the Gaza Strip, following the escalation of hostilities, December 2008 – January 2009)

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Chapter 4 Conclusion Recommendations References

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Conclusion

There is a growing awareness among communities all over the developing world regarding the connection between the environment and livelihoods as well as the implications of this nexus for human rights. Environmental assessments should lead to development decisions informed by knowledge of the range of potential environmental and social impacts—direct, indirect, interactive, and cumulative. Projects that move forward with little or no consideration of such impacts are leading to an increasing number of protests, in some cases violent. The likelihood of conflict is particularly high when environmental assessment practices are weak and there is a surge of projects with significant potential environmental and social impacts. Such is the case in many regions in the world today, notably, but not exclusively, the Mekong River Basin. In the Mekong region, environmental insecurity is likely to worsen if environmental assessment practices do not move closer to the standards set by international best practices. If current trends continue, ambitious hydropower and other water-related projects (navigation, irrigation, etc.) will escalate the risk of potential conflicts due to power asymmetries among the Mekong states and growing environmental and human insecurities that will be borne by the millions of people dependent on the Mekong.(Environmental Impact Assessments in Developing Countries: An Opportunity for Greater Environmental Security? Jennifer C. Li Working Paper No. 4 2008, page 22).

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Recommendations:

cause of many institutions affecting the development operation of Gaza strip, so we have recommendation to be taken on consider for everyone.

International donors, regional bodies, and international financial institutions should:

• Continue to provide technical assistance in developing and/or improving the regulatory frameworks governing EIA and assist Gaza in elaborating or improving technical guidelines for EIA.

• Help build capacity to conduct effective EIA by focusing research on additional case studies, particularly concerning the management of watercourses.

Civil society organizations, including NGOs, should:

• Recognize their crucial role in involving the public, especially potentially affected communities, in the EIA process. Such involvement has been proven to lead to higher quality EIA.

Academic institutions should:

• Recognize that they play a crucial role in providing external, independent review. Such a review can be important, especially in controversial projects, adding objectivity and rigor to the EIA process.

National governments in the should:

• Officially recognize throughout their bureaucracies that environmental integrity is tied to the nation’s long-term economic, political, and human security.

• Close the gaps between current EIA practices and international best practice standards.

• Pursue a diplomacy that recognizes that cooperation, especially among countries downstream from Gaza, offers the best chance of positive outcomes with respect to water projects involving Gaza.

Finally, this research suppose anyone interested to consider that treated waste water can be used in agriculture; this will lead to highly consumption of waste water, and product a numerous amounts of clover instead of Industrial feed.

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