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"A special report on marine environment in the Gaza Strip" Published by Al–Dameer Association for Human Rights

Environmental Report Series (03)

June, 2009

Excessive fishing in the Gaza Strip, causes and consequences& Continual Israeli violations

against Palestinian fishermen

Waste water … and marine life in the Gaza Strip

Marine environment pollution caused by solid waste and rubble.

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Khalil Abu Shammala Executive Director Prepared and supervised by Zekra Najee Ajour

Members of Al Dameer’s Administrative Board

1- Ra’fat Al Najjar Chair person of the Board 2- Younis Al Jaro Vice-Chairman of the Board 3- Marwan Abu Za’nona Treasurer 4- Mostafa Ibrahim Secretary 5- Mounira Al Fayoumi Board Member 6- Haider Eid Board Member 7- Abd Al Raouf Board Member

Participated in preparing this report Eng. Hisham Wafi, director of the Palestinian Marine Navigators' Association has participated in preparing this publication.

Palestinian Marine Navigators' Association: is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). The association was established in 2004, it aims to participate in developing the Palestinian marine sector and to build the capacity of the marine professionals through establishing the scientific research tradition, building up a modern data base and raising awareness of marine issues. The association plays an important role in netting professional relations with local and international organizations of common specialty or concern. Table of contents: Introduction 1 Legal flashes regarding environment and marine environment 2 Marine pollution 3 Fish wealth is still deteriorating as a result of excessive fishing on the shores of Gaza Strip; causes and consequences.

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Pollution caused by solid waste and construction rubble is hazardous to Gaza Coast and beaches.

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Fishing and fishermen have their share of the Israeli violations; they want the sea to dry out and fishermen to immigrate.

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Waste water and the marine environment in the Gaza Strip 7 Conclusion by Dr. Yousef Abu Safia, an expert on environmental issues 8 The marine environment of Gaza strip in pictures. 9

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Al Dameer Association for Human is a Non -Governmental Organization (NGO), dedicated to defend human rights. The association is interested in strengthening a Palestinian civil society marked by the supremacy of the law and respect of the Palestinian citizens rights, it was established in 1993. Al Dameer Vision:

Al-Dameer is determined to play a leading role in the development, respect, protecting and promoting of human rights in the Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip emphasizing the importance of the Palestinian civilians’ rights particularly the prisoners’ rights, children's rights, the right to freedom of association and the right to sound and sustainable environment.

Al- Dameer’s Mission Statement:

Al-Dameer is an independent and unaffiliated NGO that aims to ensure the development of the principles of internationally recognized human right standards and values in the Gaza Strip. Al Dameer is guided by these principles as well as accountability and rule of law, transparency, tolerance, empowerment, participation and inclusion, equality, equity, non-discrimination and attention to vulnerable groups.

Al Dameer Programs and Projects: 1- Capacity Building program (CBP)

2- Legal Assistance Unit(LAP)

3- Human Rights Awareness and Education Program (HRAE)

4- Children Right Program(CRP)

5- Right to Association Program (RFAP)

6- Right to a Sound and Sustainable Environment Program (RSSEP)

Contact us:

AL-Dameer Association for Human Rights

Address: Gaza – Charles Degol Street – adjacent to the central elections commission – Abu El 'Ouf Building , 2nd floor.

Telefax:08 2826660 Tele:08 2863655 Fax:2863645, P.O.Box : 5045

E-mail: aldameer@p-i-s.com , Web page: http://www.aldameer.org

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(1)Introduction Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights is an organization specialized in legal issues and its aims is to ensure the development of the principles of internationally recognized human right standards and values. It runs five programs, Legal Assistance Program (LAP), Human Rights Awareness and Education Program (HRAEP), Children Rights Program (CRP), Right to Freedom of Association Program (RFAP), Right to a Sound and Sustainable Environment Program (RSSEP), because the right in healthy and clean environment is one of the Human Rights, the right to sound and sustainable environment program at Al-Dameer Association has allocated a series of environmental reports to address sensitive environmental issues that impact the right of the Palestinian citizens to live in a healthy and clean environment and to preserve all of its components sound and healthy for the present and future generations.

The idea of preparing this report has risen from Al – Dameer Association observation to a number of Israeli violations against marine environment that directly affect it and harm marine life and life in general, in addition to the Israeli violations against the rights of the Palestinian fishermen in Gaza Strip that prevented them from practicing their work in a normal fashion without exposing their lives to danger. Such violations have stood for serious breaches against all the international conventions, treaties and agreements that contain articles and annexes concerned with protecting marine life. Pollution of marine environment is considered one of the basic forms of serious environmental pollutions in the Gaza Strip, in addition to the fact that the marine environment and the fishing sector in Gaza Strip are suffering numerous problems due to a number of factors that have negatively impacted marine life.

Those factors are represented in the continual Israeli siege, closure of the crossing points and borders of Gaza strip, the continual closure of Gaza shores for fishermen and limiting them to a few marine miles, which restrict the fishermen's activity, halting and preventing the implementation of developmental projects in the water and sewage sector, like rehabilitating the sewage treatment plants and making recycling waste water, instead of pumping the raw sewage water to the sea. Al – Dameer Association plays an important role in promoting environmental awareness among citizens and suggests ways to address the serious problem of marine environment pollution, with the various types of contaminants, in a proper manner in order to guarantee the protection of both, the environment and the citizens' health. It also teaches citizens how to relate to the marine environment as a means of participation in stopping the serious issue of marine environment pollution from becoming worse as a result of the improper practices by citizens.

This report sheds a light on a number of serious and sensitive issues that have led to increasing marine environment pollution problems in the Gaza Strip. It also sheds a light on how this crises has become even more serious since the beginning of 2008, as a result of the Israeli occupation policy of restricting and stopping the fuel supply from reaching Gaza, the continuation of the Israeli siege, also freezing the

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developmental projects of vital sectors and by that disabling the regular operation of water and sewage services. Treatment of sewage water in Gaza is considered the most serious contaminant to marine life. Discharging raw sewage water directly in to the sea shore has escalated pollution rates of the sea water along the cost of Gaza Strip.

This report also makes those problems and their serious consequences available to the decision makers as well as the parties concerned with environment protection, hopping that they will come up with some solutions or future plans to reduce the impact of polluting the marine environment with all sorts of contaminants.

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(2)Legal flashes regarding environment and marine environment

Marine environment has been gaining an increased attention from the environmental specialists and experts from all over the world. Pollution of seas and oceans leads to destructive impact on marine environment, marine life and human health, therefore every state pays serious attention to environment and marine environment. Great effort is exerted to preserve a suitable environment for humans and marine life. Many regional and international agreements, conventions and treaties regarding environment and marine environment have been signed. This chapter of the report sheds light on a number of Palestinian and international environmental agreements and conventions regarding environment and marine environment. First: some definitions

The first Chapter of The Palestinian Environmental law No.7, of 1999 included some definitions in its first article:

1. Environment: the vital surroundings with all forms of life, including air, water, land, the facilities and the reactions among them.

2. Water: Includes surface and underground water in all forms, fresh, saline or semi-saline.

3. Environmental Pollution: Any direct or indirect change in the characteristics of the environment, which may cause harm to any of its components or disrupts its natural balance.

4. Water Pollution: Any change in the characteristics or components of water, which may cause harm to the environment.

5. Dumping: discharge of variant pollutants generated by all types of facilities or transportation facilities in land and territorial or free economic zone.

6. Ship: Any marine unit, floating on or plunged in water, whether it is civil or military one.

7. Marine Installations: Any stationary or mobile facility built on or under water for commercial, industrial, touring, military or scientific purposes.

8. Discharge: Throwing, leaking, emitting, pumping, pouring, or discharging - in a direct or indirect manner - of any environmental pollutants in the air, land, inland or territorial waters.

Second: Some domestic Palestinian environmental laws § Article (33) from the Palestinian Basic law states: "The enjoyment of a

balanced and clean environment is a human right. The preservation and protection of the Palestinian environment from pollution for the sake of present and future generations is a national duty"

§ Article (2)of the Palestinian environmental laws No.7, year 1999

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1. Protection of the environment against all forms and types of pollution; 2. Protection of Public health and welfare; 3. Insertion of the bases of environmental protection in social and economic

development plans; and encouragement of sustainable development of vital resources in a manner that preserves the rights of future generations;

4. Protection of bio-diversity and environmentally sensitive areas, as well as improvement of environmentally harmed areas;

5. Encouragement of collection and publication of environment-related information to raise public awareness of environmental problems.

§ Article (5) This law shall guarantee:

(a) The right to every individual to live in a sound and clean environment and enjoy the best possible of health care and welfare.

(b) Protection of the country’s natural wealth and economic resources, the preservation of its historical and cultural heritage without any harms or side effects that are likely to occur sooner or later as a result of the variant industrial, agricultural or constructional activities, with an impact on the quality of life and basic ecosystems such as air, water, soil; marine resources, animals and plants.

§ Article (29) The Ministry, in coordination with the specialized agencies, shall set standards and norms for collecting, treating, reusing, or disposing waste and rain water in a sound manner, along with the preservation of the environment and public health.

§ Article (30) No person shall be allowed to discharge any solid or liquid or other

substance unless such a process conforms to the conditions and standards that the specialized agencies determine.

§ Chapter 4 Marine Environment of the Palestinian Environmental law No.7, of

1999

- Article (31) The Ministry, in coordination with specialized agencies, shall set standards for the quality of sea water specifying the norms, instructions and conditions necessary to control sea pollutants.

- Article (32) it shall be forbidden, for every one, to perform any action, which may cause pollution of sea water in a manner that contradicts with the standards, instructions or conditions prescribed for the purposes of marine environment protection against pollution.

- Article (33) The Ministry, in coordination with the specialized agencies, shall

specify the necessary environmental conditions required for the establishment of any buildings or facilities on the sea shore or within the sea water.

- Article (34) It shall be forbidden to perform any action, which may affect the

natural track of the shore, or adjust it inside or far from the sea unless an environmental approval is obtained from the Ministry

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- Article (35) The Ministry shall prescribe rules and regulations for the prevention of pollution, preservation and control of the marine environment, against what is generated by the different activities that occur in the free economic zone; or the continental drift or the activities occur in the sea bottoms which are subject to the jurisdiction of Palestine.

- Article (36) The Ministry, in cooperation with specialized agencies, shall set the

rules and regulations for prevention of marine environment pollution that comes as a result of dumping.

- Article (37) The Ministry, in cooperation with specialized agencies, shall set the

rules and regulations to prevent reduce or control marine environment pollution generated by ships in the Palestinian ports and territorial water.

- Article (38) all entities including ships, regardless of their nationalities, shall be

forbidden to throw or discharge oil or oil compounds or any other pollutants in the territorial water or the free economic zone of Palestine.

- Article (39) all national and international companies and agencies authorized to

undertake digging or exploration activities, or to produce or manufacture crude oil, or to extract or exploit oil fields and other marine natural sources, shall abide to the environmental conditions.

Third: Some International Laws and Conventions

§ International Convention relating to intervention on the high seas in cases of oil pollution casualties (Brussels, 1969).

§ London Convention for Control of marine pollution by cargos of hydrocarbons. 1954; (amended 1963, 1969).

§ Protocol Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Pollution by Substances other than Oil (London, 1973)

§ Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof, London, Moscow, Washington, 1971.

§ Convention for the prevention of marine pollution by dumping from ships and aircrafts, Oslo 1972, and amendment

§ Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and. Other Matter Done: Washington, London, Mexico City and Moscow, 1972.

§ Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972

§ Barcelona convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution1976

Geneva Convention,1958 on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone 1. Article (1)

1. The sovereignty of a State extends, beyond its land territory and its internal waters, to a belt of sea adjacent to its coast, described as the territorial sea.

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2. This sovereignty is exercised subject to the provisions of these articles and to other rules of International law. 3. The sovereignty of a coastal State extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as to its bed and subsoil. § Geneva Convention, Article 24, chapter 2.The contiguous zone may not

extend beyond twelve miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.

§ Article (33) of the New Geneva convention, 1985 allowed the area adjacent to

the territorial sea water to reach 12 miles starting the exterior boundaries of the territorial sea; it also stated that “the adjacent area can not exceed 24 miles from the base lines from which the width of the territorial sea is measured.

§ The net economical territory was defined in Geneva Convention articles (55)

and (75) as 200 miles from the base line. § Article (2)of the Geneva Convention stated that " the water adjacent to the dry

land at the line base of the territorial waters is considered a part of the internal water of the state, except in the situations detailed in part (4). If the base line from which the territorial waters measurement starts, the waters located behind those lines across from the dry territory of the state are considered internal waters and not a part of the territorial sea".

§ The third paragraph of Article (194) of Geneva convention referred that the measures taken according to Part (12) must include all sources of Marine Pollution. It specifically focused on urgency of reducing:

1. The discharge of toxic, harmful or hazardous material from sources on land, in the air, of by air or by dumping.

2. Pollution caused by installation or devices used to discover or use the natural resources at the bottom of sea.

3. Pollution caused by other installations of machinery operating in the sea.

The United Nations Sea Law from Geneva Convention, 1958 § Article (56) of the states' coastal rights agreement:

1. Sovereignty rights for the purposes of exploring and benefiting from the natural resources alive or dead, that rise from the sea floor and underneath it, to preserve and manage those resources, and in relation to other exploration and economical use of the territory like energy production from waters, currents and wind.

2. Building and using artificial islands, structures and installations. 3. Scientific research. 4. Preserving and protecting marine environment. 5. The rights and duties included in this agreement:

§ Article (3) of the agreement stated that "every state has the right to define its

territorial sea within a distance of 12 miles from the base lines estimated according to this agreement.

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(3)Marine pollution

By the environmental activist Khalid Abu Dayya

Introduction

Many citizens do not realize the extremely important role that seas and oceans play in man's life. Without seas and oceans life on earth would not have been possible. Some people think that the importance of seas and oceans does not exceed being a source of sea food. Others think that it is a water body where ships travel from one place to another, or may be just a beach for swimmers. The importance and benefits of seas to humans can take many years to discuss. It is not surprising that the United Nations had named the year 1998, the year of seas and oceans. That year had witnessed various activities that focused on the importance and benefits of seas to humans and how we could preserve them as natural resource for many marine creatures.

The beaches of Gaza are the only outlet for the citizens of Gaza

Seas regulate the components of the Atmospheric Gas layer.

Seas play an important role in the cycle of the biochemical material, it functions as a great tank for storing the Carbon Biocide and Oxygen, therefore it plays a role in regulating the components of the earth's Atmospheric Gas layer and maintains the universal balance of temperatures, seas and oceans, which are also considered a huge reserve for many raw materials like metals, minerals, petroleum, natural gas and sand in addition to many more important materials necessary for the human life.

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Contaminants endanger marine life

Seas receive great quantities of various contaminants that pause as a threat to the marine life: the most outstanding source of marine pollution along the shore of Gaza Strip is discharging the raw waste water and dumping solid waste and beach erosion. One of the main qualities of the marine environmental system is its ability to cleanse itself or self disinfection ability. The marine environment is a hostile environment for bacteria. The sea water includes a number of microcosms; plants and animals especially the plankton plants that live on the water surface. All of the above creatures release active chemicals that provide sea water with important immunity against the germs resulted from dumping waste in the sea water.

Distribution of the Water around the world

Seas and oceans include the greatest portion of the earth's water. The table below shows how the water is divided:

Location Share of water

Seas and oceans 97%

Ice and snow 1.9% Ground water 0.5%

Rivers and lakes 0.02% Water vapor mixed in the gas layer 0.001

The shore of Gaza Strip

Citizens swimming on the beach of Gaza

The Gaza Strip shore is a part of the Mediterranean basin, which is the sea that connects Europe with Asia and Africa. It is also connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Strait of Gibraltar. It is nearly a close sea. The coast of Gaza is the southern part of the coast of Palestine, which starts at the Egyptian Palestinian border in the south, to the borders of Lebanon by Al-Nakura point (Rosh Hanikra) in the extreme north of Palestine.

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Gaza shore has its special natural features The cost of Gaza is about 42 kms long from Rafah in the south to the extreme north of Gaza Strip, at a location named Tall El Shukaf. It is a part of the south eastern coast of the Mediterranean. This part has special natural qualities that are different from the other parts of the Mediterranean coast. It is different in terms of the nature of its seafloor, water depth, water temperature, and salinity, the nature of its currents and the direction of wind in relation to the direction of the coastal line. The deposits of the river Nile floods, have decreased the water depth noticeably through the course of years, however, in a different way than the other areas to the north, the fact that have made the sea floor of a different formations, where there is little rock formation and a lot of sand and mud.

Ocean Currents and the Coast of the Gaza Strip

The ocean currents that run along the coast of the Gaza Strip are a continuation to the current that runs along to the southern coast of the Mediterranean from west to east. When it reaches the north eastern shore of Egypt it gradually diverts to the north. The shape of the coastal line and the south westerly winds facilitate such diversion. At this point the current deposits huge quantities of alluvium on the Gaza Strip sea shores because the current's ability to carry the deposits north bound becomes weaker. On the other hand, the alluvium deposited by the waters of the Nile has the greatest effect on marine life because it is rich with the minerals necessary for the growth of the Vito planktons that form the base of the food chain in the sea. The ability of these currents to carry the alluvium becomes gradually weaker till it gets to the bay of Haifa. In addition to that, the flow of the Nile water into the Mediterranean reduces its water salinity around the shores significantly especially because it is the remotest area from the contact point with Atlantic Ocean in the west; however it is the closest to the contact point with the Red sea known for its high salinity via the Suez Canal.

What is marine pollution?

The European joint committees for studying marine pollution problems defined pollution as "the shift in the natural balance of the sea, which might lead to harming the human health, the biological stock and the diversity of marine life, or may lead to freezing all the legitimate uses of the sea". By this definition we conclude that the main reason for marine pollution is the human activity. At the same time human beings are the main victims of distorting the marine environment.

Sources of marine pollution in the Mediterranean The issue, which is under discussion nowadays, is the rapidly increasing human activity and its impact on nature. The sea in general and the Mediterranean in specific has become a collection basin for all the human wastes, domestic or industrial, whether directly or indirectly through rivers and creeks. The great quantities of wastes have created a shift in the delicate and the specific nature system and put it in a state of instability the fact that has reflected on the life of human beings.

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Bacterial Contamination Discharging waste water in the sea is the main source of bacterial contamination, however it is relatively the mildest form of pollution because of the sea self marine environment disinfection quality. Studies have proven that this self disinfection quality declines gradually and ultimately until it loses its effect due to the chemical contaminants that are dumped in the sea, like cleaning material, petrol and heavy minerals etc...

Chemical pollution

Chemical pollution is caused by the various chemicals that reach the sea from the industrial wastes and pesticides used in agriculture, cleaning materials and sewage water.

Radioactive contamination

Radio active material has severe effect on the sea and the marine life. Nuclear industries are most likely to be the source of nuclear pollution on three different levels of activity. The first level is mining and processing the raw materials, the second level is using the nuclear fuel in nuclear reactor, and finally the level of storing the nuclear waste or the installments of processing the nuclear fuel (the waste of nuclear energy stations).

Thermal pollution

This type of pollution takes place after discharging the water used for cooling industrial plants in the sea, like gas liquidations factories and oil refineries, nuclear energy stations and conventional electric thermal stations that are widely spread in various sizes along the entire Mediterranean coast (130 thermal stations). The temperatures of those waters are 6-10 degrees above the normal sea water temperature. Generally this type of pollution has negative impact on marine plants and animals. Pollution causes difficulties at the discharge point like overgrowth or plentiful reproduction of certain kinds of marine life (like sea shells) that grow inside the pipes that discharge the warm water to the point that they block it. Treating this problem is limited to pumping more chlorine in those pipes.

Sources of marine environment pollution in Palestine

The beaches and the coast are important parts of the marine environment especially for fish, transportation and tourism. Despite of that, they are subject to a serious problem, which is the serious pollution of the beaches and the sea water. The main sources of pollution in the Palestinian part of the Mediterranean waters and beaches like Gaza are the raw sewage water, the solid waste dumped in the sea, the construction on the dry land, marine accidents, marine traffic, excessive fishing and beach erosion.

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Raw sewage water

The raw sewage is considered the major source of marine pollution in Palestine. Sewage water discharge points are concentrated on the beaches of Gaza city, Al Shate' refugee camp and Deir El Balah. The beaches of Gaza city are considered the most polluted by raw sewage water. 50000 cubic meters of raw sewage water are discharged in the sea every day. There are only three sewage water treatment stations in Gaza Strip; in Beit Lahia, in Gaza city and in Rafah. The total quantity of produced sewage water is estimated at 45 million cubic meters every year, in addition to 3000 cubic meters of raw sewage water discharged from Gaza valley directly into the sea every day.

Raw sewage water is discharged

The quantities of raw sewage water produced in Gaza.

Type Unit Quantity Sewage water treatment stations Number 3

The total quantity of sewage water produced every day

1000m3/day 123000

Raw sewage water 1000m3 /day 66390

Treated sewage water 1000m3/ day 56560

The quantity of sewage water discharged in the sea

1000m3/day 50000 (30000 treated and 20000 raw)

The continuous discharge of highly contaminated sewage water from Gaza strip in the Mediterranean shores threatens seriously the marine life in the area. Great numbers of fish at the discharge point of Wadi Gaza die when the discharged waste water is at its peak, all of that is accompanied with the accumulation of the solid waste, the chemical waste and the oxygen exhausted water that pores from the valley of Gaza into the sea.

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Dumping solid waste in the sea

Solid waste spread all over the beaches of the Gaza Strip

The location of dumping solid waste and garbage represent a true pollution problem added to the other pollution sources of the Gaza Sea and beaches. The performance of the commission of solid waste has noticeably improved during the past years. Many cleaning campaigns were carried out on the beach. They were initiated by a number of ministries and other organizations. Such activity has participated in reducing the number of the dumping sites and the wide spread garbage on the beach. Despite of that there are still many garbage piles spread around the beaches like Al Shate' Refugee Camp. The behavior of the beach visitors often harms the beach and the sea. The left over food, empty containers, reminiscence of fire pits is clear in many areas. The absence of monitoring facilitates dumping solid waste on the Palestinian beaches, a fact that impacts marine life and the natural beauty of the beach landscape.

Excessive fishing

The Fishing Sector in Gaza is concentrated in four populated areas, Gaza city, Deir El Balah, Kan Younis and Rafah. After Camp David agreement in 1978 fishing in the area along Sinai became prohibited. Since then fishermen work in a narrow sea strip of 12 marine miles along the Gaza Strip.

Fishing endangered species of marine turtles along the coast of Gaza

The fishing sector in Gaza is going through very difficult times. The presence of 800 fishing units makes the average fishing area for each unit about 0.5 square marine miles only. This is much less than the international standard. It is a strong indicator that the quantities of fish on the shores of Gaza are rapidly decreasing as a result of the exaggerated excessive fishing. Excessive fishing and the use of prohibited methods and hazardous toxic chemicals have the severest impact on marine life and the quality of sea water.

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Installations constructed on the dry land

The installations constructed on the dry land play an important role in polluting the coast areas in Palestine. The most outstanding are the industrial plants, energy generation plants, hotels and so on...

Random constructions causes beach pollution

Boat crashes and ship wrecks

It is well known that many oil tankers pass by the Palestinian coast. They often run into accidents and pollute the water severely with oil spills that endanger marine life and the marine environment along the Gaza Strip shores. Polluting Gaza beaches by oil spills is caused by the marine traffic between the port of Ashdod and the Suez Canal. Gaza is not considered a high risk area, but that does not mean we should not be fully prepared in case any urgency takes place in the area.

Ship wrecks are major source of pollution

The ships and boats present in the fishermen terminals along the shores of Gaza Strip are also a major source of pollution by oil spills and solid wastes.

Beach Erosion

The costal line of the Gaza Strip was formed over 15 thousand years ago by the deposits coming from the Nile originated in the first place from the mountains of Africa; therefore two main factors have created the beaches of Gaza, first, the availability of sand and the motion of waves. The available data indicates that 350,000 cubic meters of sand are deposited on the beaches of Gaza every year. However there is great fluctuation of the quantity of sand that remains due to many

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human practices such as the excessive use of sand and fine sand from the beach, and constructing new buildings close to the beach, which distorts the process of depositing sand and therefore beach erosion occurs. One can understand the proportion of beach erosion by comparing the width of the beaches south and north of the fishermen's port.

Beaches are shrinking due to erosion

The rising level of sea water and the formation of the costal line are a result of sand deposits, which is another problem in the entire Mediterranean east cost. Generally deposits are in balance with erosion, however changing the shape of the present coast line by building barriers, wave barkers and commercial sea ports can prevent the movement of sand and therefore cause beach erosion.

To protect the coast and the sea from pollution

Preserving the quality of the water near the coast and the beaches is highly important in order to preserve the marine life and the economical and touristic potential of the beach area. A plan must be designed to preserve the shore from pollution. It is important to establish modern sewage water treatment plants and adopt methods that meet the international standards. Factories must be obliged to treat their waste in order to reduce pollution and keep it below the internationally accepted levels. Local vessel owners should be encouraged to prepare their vessels with the means of separating contaminants from sea water. Regulations and instructions regarding dumping waste from boats into the water must be enforced. Special bodies to clean the beaches and the ports must be established, in addition to carrying out awareness campaigns among students and citizens through lectures, media and beach clean up campaigns. Coordination with the neighboring countries on enforcing the laws designed to protect the marine environment and to support the implementation of international agreements regarding protecting the marine environment. It is also important to define the legal fishing methods and the legal fishing seasons and to define maximum number of fishing shares allowed. To monitor the quality of sea water regularly is also an important act, in addition to protecting the beach sand from exhaustion and design regulations to protect the beaches from erosion.

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(4)The fish wealth is in a state of decline Excessive fishing in the Gaza Strip….Reasons and consequences

By work team

Introduction

Marine environment is considered one of the main sources for supplying human beings with animal protein. Citizens of the Gaza Strip depend on sea fish as a main source of food especially Sardine, like other types of fish it enjoys high demand in the Palestinian market. The location of the Gaza Strip shores on the Mediterranean Sea is known as the most deteriorated marine environment in the world. It is also a semi closed sea and a stage for the Israeli direct or indirect suppressive practices against Gaza fishermen. The Israeli practices are represented in restricting the Gazan's fishing zone to a small area, preventing them from practicing their work freely, destroying and confiscating their fishing gear, arresting and assaulting them.

The fishermen themselves have some wrong full common fishing practices like using floor dragging nets , explosives and toxic materials that has destructive impact on the sea water and the entire marine life. Fishing seasons are not defined, and the consequences are adopting the excessive fishing methods in order to try catching the largest quantity of fish, while undermining the marine environment and the damage caused to it.

Such situation has had its negative impact on the marine environment in Gaza and it played a role in destroying the diversity of marine life and fish population, and exposing it to the threat of extinction during the coming years, especially the Sardines, as a result of the continual use of the excessive fishing techniques.

Fish is the main source of animal Protein in the human diet.

Fishing … safe fishing … and excessive fishing. Fishing is identified as the process of pulling fish out of their environment for the purposes of consumption. There are two methods of fishing, the first is known as safe fishing, which is catching fish in an organized manner that does not leave any negative impact on the marine environment. Safe fishing takes into consideration leaving adequate numbers of fish in their habitat for the purpose of reproduction, without overusing the fish stock. The other fishing method is known as the excessive fishing, it is marked by irresponsibility and causes decreasing population of marine

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life, hindering its ability to reproduce at adequate rates to maintain adequate population, the fact that might lead to the extinction of many marine species, especially when fishermen use toxic substance like Lannate and other chemicals used in farming, the utilization of dragging nets, explosives and cage traps without any regard for the fishing seasons. All of the above are excessive fishing methods used in the Gaza Strip. The worst of all is seed fishing, which is sold with very cheep prices. Excessive fishing methods are divided into tow groups; the first endangers the adult fish that can reproduce and resulted in smaller number of fertile fish eggs. The other group endangers young fish that need more time to grow.

The Lannate that destroys marine environment& a fishermen catching tiny fishes

According to the available data, the quantities of fish harvested in the year 2006, have reached 2323 tons, whereas in 2003 the quantity of harvested fish have reached 1507 tons. Besides the Israeli restrictive measures practiced by the Israeli navy against Gaza fishermen and preventing them from fishing freely, this fact shows the rising use of excessive fishing very clearly specially the phenomena of fishing for fish seeds.

Reasons behind the rise of excessive fishing problem Excessive fishing is considered one of the most serious threats to seas and oceans around the world. The shores of the Gaza Strip are not isolated from the rest of the water surfaces therefore it clearly suffers the same problems that endanger the fish wealth and may destroy it in the near future. Reasons for excessive fishing at the shores of Gaza have accumulated due to the severe restrictions and the problems that has led to the rise of such phenomena, and brought it to the extent, where serious intervention of the concerned authorities is badly needed.

Using unsafe types of nets is considered one of the excessive fishing techniques

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Bigger quantities of fish or environmental damage?

Palestinian fishermen are subject to many difficulties and obstacles as they are performing their work. They incurred great losses as a result of the Israeli navy assaults against them while they are on sea. Fishing boats and fishing gear are destroyed, boat engines are stolen, fishing nets are damaged and the sea is often closed by the Israeli occupation forces. Fishing is often prohibited for long periods of time and fishing zones are extremely restricted. Fishermen incurred severe losses also as a result of the high cost of operation and labor. they are driven out of business more than once every year. All the mentioned above factors have forced the Palestinian fishermen to undermine the environmental aspects and focus only on collecting a quantity of fish that might compensate for some of their losses. On the other hand fishermen have not had the opportunity to be trained to use environmentally friendly high tech devices utilized in the fishing process due to their high cost and the unavailability of such devices in the local market as a result of the border crossing closure.

What matters is the quantity of fish without any regard for the marine environment

Fishing beyond three marine miles is prohibited The agreements held between Israel and the Palestinian authority limits the Palestinian and the regional marine activity on Gaza shores to 20 marine miles. Yet Israel, ignored those agreements, and did not allow Gaza fishermen to sale far enough but restricted them to 12 marine miles on one occasion. On other occasions they were restricted to 6 or 7 miles however, the distance kept on shrinking. Fishermen now are not allowed to sale further than 3 marine miles. The sea is often closed in their face under the threat of the Israeli armed navy. The result was a concentration of more than 3600 fishermen activity within those few miles that does not have adequate fish to begin with.

Fishing boats are lined up on the beach due to the sea closure

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Environmental awareness for fishermen, Monitoring, penalties, law

enforcement

Gaza fishermen adopt excessive fishing methods due to the absence of all means of monitoring their activity by any specialized body; no one inspects their fishing techniques or fishing gear. The laws that oblige fishermen to adopt a specific fishing technique or fishing for certain types of fish are not enforced, yet the most serious problem is that fishermen lack for the sound environmental awareness that helps him to conserve the environment and prevent them from using the excessive fishing gear or method, and refrain from harming the marine environment or the fish wealth. Fishermen's' violations against marine environment

Fishing in a polluted area Fishing endangered sea turtle

Fishermen use a number of unsafe fishing techniques during their work, which puts the marine environment at a continuous risk of guaranteed destruction, like fish seeds fishing that causes the death of numbers of Sardines during a short period of time, and the use of poisons such as Lannate and some pesticides and explosives that kill the fish and make catching them easy. Fishermen blow up the fish habitat and destroy the rock formation in which they reproduce, killing great numbers of them and destroying huge number of fish eggs. Such techniques have serious consequences on the marine environment and the health of humans.

In addition, fishermen use large numbers and various types of boats especially the bulldozers that chase fish away and cause its migration, destroy its safe habitat that contains the fish eggs. Constructing artificial fish habitat is also a wrong practice commonly used by fishermen. This method is represented in dumping bodies of dead cars and old tires to provide a gathering place for fish to facilitate catching them. Some fishermen used engine oil on the nets to chase away dolphins that attack the nets in the deeper areas and utilize the technique of dragging nets which is used at short distances from the beach, in the form of layers with narrowing openings; they act like curtains and pull every thing that gets stocked in them. Some fishermen use cage traps to fish in basins and shallow waters without any regard to the fishing seasons, the fact that prevents the fish from growing to adulthood and hinders their reproduction.

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Excessive fishing … environmental and health hazard

Fishermen using explosives

Excessive fishing methods adopted by Gaza fishermen cause numerous environmental and health problems and leaves behind serious impact on environment and public health. Poaching fish leads to destroying the biological diversity in the Mediterranean basin's environmental system and negatively impact the marine food chain. They destroys the fish wealth as a result of killing the fish seeds and eggs, which leads to the loss of a food source for human beings and the increase of environmental chemical pollution rates.

Fishing by using poison is a public health hazard

The excessive quantities of pesticides and chemicals used by fishermen to kill fish in order to catch them, results in depositing heavy minerals in the fish tissue. Such minerals are transferred to human beings when they eat the contaminated fish or swim in the polluted sea water. The most hazardous mineral is Mercury, which destroys the brain cells and lead that impacts the neurological system. Other used chemicals may cause kidney failure and expose human beings to serious illnesses resulted by chemical pollution like skin infection and cancer.

Recommendations to prevent excessive fishing Excessive fishing leaves serious impact on the marine environment and the public health. The phenomenon of excessive fishing in the sea of Gaza has been growing. It is now considered beyond dangerous. The entire fish population is endangered and the total destruction of fish wealth is possible within a few years. Prompt and strong action to prohibit excessive fishing is necessary. Specialized bodies must be formed to

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enable the concerned parties from monitoring the activity of fishermen along the shores of the Gaza Strip. It is necessary to inspect the fishing equipment used by fishermen and prohibit fishing during the reproduction season to maintain the normal rates of fish reproduction. Penalties must be strictly enforced on any fisherman that commits such serious violation. The international community must exert more pressure on the Israeli Occupation Forces to stop them from closing the shores of Gaza in the face of Palestinian fishermen and stop them from violating their right to work freely and force them to respect the agreements and the laws that define the areas of fishing. The concerned organizations must design environmental awareness programs for fishermen and to bring to their attention the impact of excessive fishing on marine life and public health. There is a serious need to activate and enforce the domestic laws concerned with fishing and protecting the marine environment, and finally it is important that the donor countries support the fishing sector in general and provides it with environment friendly modern techniques and develop the fishing activity and bring it to the international technical standards.

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(5) Pollution caused by solid waste, rubble, and construction debris is a serious threat to the sea and the shore of the Gaza Strip

By work team

Introduction

It is obvious that the environment of the Gaza Strip is deteriorating year after year. However, the extent of deterioration varies from one location to the other, on land and in the sea. Some wrongful practices of the Palestinian citizens and some of the Israeli occupation conducts have added to such environmental deterioration in Gaza. The pollution caused by solid waste and construction rubble is one of the serious sources of endangering the environment; it damages the main environmental components. The marine environment in the Gaza Strip has been severely impacted by such pollution that has reached the beaches and the sand dooms along the coastal line. Environmental problems of many states in the world are solved by the course of time, however in the case of Gaza Strip additional problems are piling up and becoming more complex every day. If this scenario continues we will reach the stage of total environmental damage. Prompt intervention is needed to solve the rising environmental issues in the Gaza Strip like the waste water problem, water pollution problem and the problem of solid waste.

Accumulated Old tires and solid wastes are burned on the sea shore

Solid wastes & construction rubble and debris Solid wastes are substances and masses resulted by the various human activities that have to be dumped. Solid waste includes industrial waste, medical waste and domestic waste. However construction waste and rubble are defined as rubble and left overs resulted from construction and destruction, which includes also rehabilitation, repair, removal of existing structures and installations. Construction debris and rubble is composed of sand, stone, gravel, and tile, ceramic, marble, glass, aluminum and other metals, wood, plastic, paper, paints, pluming pipes, electric parts and asbestos.

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Accumulation of solid waste, construction rubble and debris on the beach has magnified the impact of marine environment pollution. Marine environment pollution issue has gotten more serious by the course of time. Accumulation of solid waste and construction rubble and debris in many locations along the shores of Gaza is a result of many reasons; most importantly the failure of municipal authorities and local councils to provide the services of solid waste, construction rubble and debris collection and shipping to the designating dumping sites and processing solid waste by using environment friendly techniques. The Israeli siege on Gaza played a role in the exacerbating of this problem; the lack of fuel, the lack of trucks in the dangerous zones close to the borders with the Israeli territory, the lack of the spare parts necessary for maintaining garbage trucks, the difficulties facing the municipal authorities like not being able to pay their employees salaries, the frequents strikes by the sanitation municipal departments, all were reasons behind the rise of random dumping sites near the public roads and in the alley ways in the vicinity of residential areas and public markets in Gaza.

Piles of construction rubble and solid waste along the shore of Gaza

The beach was not excluded from this phenomenon. Our work team has made a field visit to the beaches of Gaza, from the extreme north to Rafah in the South in order to survey the environmental problems of the beach and their impact on marine life and to document the evident concentrations of solid waste and construction rubble and debris. The outcome was listing the types of waste spread on the beaches like piles of construction rubble, piles of garbage and other specific items, like old fishing nets, glass containers, fabrics, corpses of dead animals, empty medicine containers, empty containers of pesticides and insecticides, plastic utensils, old shoes and beach visitors' left overs.

Huge quantities of construction rubble accumulated in the vicinity of some regions on the sea shore

According to the study conducted by a number of environmentalists, the quantity of solid waste and specifically construction rubble piled up on the beach is estimated to be 19940 cubic meters. Huge quantities of debris and construction rubbles are piled across from Al Shate' Refugee Camp. It was leveled to prevent the sea water from

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sweeping over houses, also the kurkar Cavity location was turned into a dumping sight. It is located across from Sheikh Ejleen Mosque. The main cavity contents now are construction rubble.

Piles of stone and steel bars and other debris dumped on the beach

The area across of An Nusairat Refugee Camp suffers also from the accumulation of huge quantities of construction rubble and debris like steel wires etc… the same problem has extended to reach Al Zwaida village south of Deir El Balah by the fishermen's port. Huge piles of asphalt, construction debris and rubble were observed there. They are estimated to be 864400 cubic meters. The huge piles of solid waste have formed a huge cavity, right by the sea water, and completely discontinued the beach on the south side of the fishermen's port.

Plastic wastes are not less dangerous than construction rubble The different forms of plastic waste that spread along the shore are not less hazardous than the construction rubble and debris. Plastic waste takes a very long time to disintegrate, about 400 years, which causes its accumulation on the beach, continue for a very long time.

Plastic waste and containers that contain hazardous material thrown on the beach

It is important to note that large number of fish caught by fishermen has plastic fragments in their digestive system, which disturbs their metabolism and reflects negatively on their well being and their reproduction rates.

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Many researches have pointed out that plastic bags are a cause of death to large number of sea turtles after they swallow them, which disturbs the environmental balance by allowing the jelly fish population that turtles feed on to grow much larger.

Environmental and health hazards resulting from solid waste and construction debris and rubble

The spread of random and uncontrolled solid waste and construction debris dumping sites along the shore of the Gaza Strip, pause a true threat to marine environment and public health. This type of waste contain dangerous toxic material that impact marine life and cause the death of certain kinds of fish and migration of other kinds to less contaminated areas. It also impacts the health of human beings when they swim in the polluted water and the spread of diseases as a result.

Construction debris and rubble cause beach erosion

The accumulated construction debris dumped on the beach will be gradually pulled by the waves into the water and added to the rubble placed intentionally by people who thought that they will act as wave breakers, but the result will be muddling and contaminating the water. It blocks fish gills and cause their suffocation due to the lack of oxygen. On the other hand, it destroys the fishing gear and equipment, which impacts the movement of fishermen and their productivity. Some fishermen try to construct artificial fish habitat by dumping old car structures, tiers and construction debris in the sea in order to gather the fish inside them, the fact that increases the pollution of marine life and magnifies the excessive fishing behavior. The accumulation of massive quantities of waste on the beach harms the beauty of the beach landscape and adds to the visual contamination at their dumping sites. It is noted that polluted areas do not have any tourist or beach recreation activity. It has a negative impact on marine tourism and recreation in general. Prompt solutions should be found for the phenomena of accumulating

wastes on the beach The hazards rising from pollution by solid waste and construction debris adds a heavy burden on the marine environment which already suffers great deterioration in the Gaza Strip. In order to reduce the negative impact of such hazards, it is necessary to

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prompt extensive awareness campaigns that target the citizens and fishermen about marine environment and the way to preserve it. It is also important that the specialized bodies and concerned authorities should pay more attention to the environment protection and design solutions for the current marine environment pollution. Otherwise in the future we will witness more serious impacts and destructive consequences on the environment. Media should play an important role in this issue by lighting the environmental problems that the Gaza Strip marine environment are suffering from and to bring this issue to the public opinion, on the local and international level, and in a very clear manner in order to attract participation in the needed solutions. Enforcing laws related to environment protection is also a must, especially the laws and regulations related specifically to protecting the beaches from pollution by the various types of contaminants. Urgent developmental programs must be designed and implemented by the central and municipal authorities in cooperation with the donor countries to remove the huge accumulation of solid waste from the beaches of Gaza.

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(6) They want the sea dry and people to quit fishing Fishing and fishermen have their share of the Israeli violations

against them

By work team

Introduction The area of Gaza Strip is 360 km2. It stretches from the north of Beit Lahia to the South of Rafah, with 45km coastal line. The population of the Gaza Strip is about 1.5 million people; the Gaza strip is considered the most densely populated area in the world. it is divided into five governorates, North Gaza governorate, Gaza governorate, Central Gaza Strip governorate, Khan Younis governorate ,and Rafah governorate. Gaza Strip includes eight refugee camps; Jabalia, Al shatee', Rafah, Khan Younis, Bureije, Maghazi, Nusairat, and Deir El Balah.

The destroyed fishermen's ports of the Gaza Strip

Around 3600 fishermen work along the shores of the Gaza Strip.

The fishing sector in the Gaza Strip included 3000 fishermen in the year 2006, this number continued to rise till it reached 3600 fishermen spread along 40 kms of coastal line in the Gaza Strip. The 3600 fishermen are responsible for feeding 44000 individuals. Those are only the ones registered at the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Life and the General Union of Fishermen, they all carry fishing permits and distributed as follows:

Region Number of fishermen Gaza 1370

Deir El Balah 524 Rafah 420

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The Israeli practices against fishermen are very repressive … fishing faces the threat of abandonment

The marine life of Gaza Sea is a very important source of income to many of Gaza Strip citizens. It supplies Gaza market with various kinds of fish. Many Gazans work as fishermen or practice related professions like boat building and net weaving. Fishing provides work for the transportation sector. They transport fish to the local market and fish merchants to their various destinations, in addition to many other types of employment. Since the year 2003, the fishing sector has been suffering many problems that led to its deterioration and nearly extinction, because many fishermen have abandoned their trade. The most important problem is the frequent punishment measures that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) takes intentionally against 3600 fishermen under lame excuses. Israel claims that the restrictions imposed on Gaza fishermen is a part of a comprehensive security strategy to prevent smuggling weapons into Gaza.

Assaults of Israeli war ships cause sever destruction to Gazans fishing boats

Those measures are represented in restricting the distance to which fishermen can reach into the sea, and by that violating their right of practicing their work freely. In addition to that the Israeli naval vessels are present across from Gaza shores around the 24 hours of every day, which makes fishermen subjects to numerous suppressive practices against them as they are trying to make living, like random fire shooting, stun grenades, net cutting, boat destruction and arrests. For example, during the year 2007, 70 fishermen were arrested, the sea was closed for lengthy periods of time, and fishermen were forced to return to shore after confiscating their fishing gear and fishing boats for periods that can continue for more than one year. Fishermen were often forced to sail to the Israeli port Ashdod where they are insulted and interrogated. Al Mawasi (Khan Younis and Rafah) shores were also closed all through the years of the Intifada, which caused deterioration of all the fishing gear and equipment available.

Israel continues to breach agreements and accords

Oslo agreement that was signed by the PLO and Israel in the years 1994 and 1995 affirmed the right of Gaza fishermen to practice fishing through the distance of 20 marine miles (37kms) from the shore of the Gaza Strip. According to the international

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conventions, the sea water is divided into territorial waters at the depth of 12 miles into the sea and economical water which continues for 8 more miles and can be used for economical purposes, in reality the Palestinian fishermen is restricted from fishing in the Palestinian territorial waters, an area of 2445kms2. Oslo agreement has limited this area down to 1600 km2. According to Oslo agreement Gaza sea was divided into 3 marine activity zones known as K, L, and M. zone K is located at the northern end of Gaza sea, it is 20 miles into the sea and 1.5 mile wide south of the Israeli waters. Zone M is located at the south end of Gaza Sea. It is 1 mile wide to the north of the Egyptian waters. Zone L however, is located in the middle between zone K in the north and zone M in the south. It stretches also 20 miles deep into the Mediterranean. When any fishing boat gets close to the northern border close to zone K or to the southern border close to Zone M, the Israeli military Vessels open random fire and stun grenades towards the fishermen without any previous notice, and chase them away from the sea towards the shore.

The division of Gaza Sea according to Oslo

Finally… fishing became allowed only within 3 miles from shore and that is not even guaranteed

In reality the Israeli occupation authorities never allowed fishermen to reach the point of the 20 marine miles defined in Oslo. The furthest distance allowed for fishermen was 12 marine miles in the middle of the 1990s, and then the fishing area has kept on shrinking and was connected to the political situation. After the disengagement the sailing range was reduced once again. After taking the Israeli soldier Gelad Shalit as a war prisoner in 2006, it was reduced once more and at the end, after the latest Israeli offensive in Gaza, (27/12/2008 – 18/1/2009), Israel has limited the fishing area down to 3 miles only, the fact that has destructive impact on fishermen and the fishing sector in Gaza Strip. Such a small area does not include but very small numbers of fish. On the other hand, the fishing season which starts at the beginning of May through the end of September needs the 20 mile distance from the shore, at least, in order to be productive. The current situation deprives Palestinian fishermen from reaching the deeper waters, the fact that reflects on the quantity of harvested fish, the income of fishermen and the Palestinian economy at large.

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The Ghost of siege and closures casts its destructive shadow on the fishing sector

The fishing sector, like the rest of the economical sectors, was severely impacted by the Israeli siege, the closure of borders and crossing points of Gaza during the past 2 years. Spare parts are not allowed to enter, nor are the technical necessities and the urgent maintenance needs for many vital sectors and facilities. For instance, the severe shortage and often the lack of the necessary fuel quantities have greatly affected the performance of fishermen. It has led to disabling work in the fishing sector to a total extent on more than one occasion and for lengthy periods of time. All fishing boat engines operate on Gasoline or Diesel and the daily needs of the fishing sector is about 6000 liter of Gasoline and 2000 liter of diesel.

The lack of fuel has disabled the fishing sector in Gaza

Besides the Israeli navy suppressive practices against fishermen on sea, fishermen need further resources in order to keep working, such as operation cost and wages of laborers. The above difficulties all together have exposed the fishing sector to strangling crises during the past while as a result of the Israeli siege. According to specialists the loss of the fishing sector alone may reach 7000 dollars per day. The quantities of harvested fish is continuously decreasing, it had dropped from 3000 tons annually in 2003 to 500 tons per year.

The fishing boats available in the Gaza Strip Despite of the large number of people working in the fishing sector, the fishing boats available in Gaza Strip are not adequate for the fishermen's needs. In Gaza city there are 17 tug boats, about 55 crane boats, about 55 crane Canoes, about 350 motor canoes with nets and long lines, there are also 70 small lighting boats. In the middle governorate, there are 2 crane boats, 30 crane Canoes, 80 motor canoes with nets and long lines, 5 small lighting boats. As for Khan Younis area, there are 9 crane bouts, 8 crane Canoes, 60 motor canoes with nets and long lines, 5 small lighting boats. Rafah area has 5 crane boats, 28 crane Canoes, 70 motor canoes with nets and long lines, there are 30 small lighting boats. The total estimated number of fishing vessels available in Gaza Strip is 904 boats, of all types and sizes. The estimated total number of Row - boats along Gaza shore is about 400.

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Many fishermen are banned from fishing … a fishermen is sitting out of work

A chart showing the increase in the number of fishing boats verses the number of fishermen.

Other problems related to the readiness of the fishing sector

The fishing sector in Gaza strip has many other problems related to the infrastructure available for fishing. For example the fishing sector is lacking for well designed developmental projects able to move it forward. It lacks also for ports capable of meeting their needs. The sector lacks also for fish markets that are equipped for receiving the fish harvest. The fishing sector lacks for awareness of the trade and how it can be developed. Fishermen are not trained on using environmentally friendly modern and high tech fishing devises, due to their high price, or because they are not available in Gaza market due to the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza Strip. The local markets are unable to provide a variety of fishing gear items, and finally the drop of fishermen's income impacts the entire trade. It had become undesirable. When fishermen become too old to work, they usually are not covered by any social security or retirement plan, therefore many fishermen prefer to change occupation and go for higher income jobs in order to get their families through the difficult times of sea closure by the Israeli navy.

Comparison between the raise in the number of boatsAnd the raise in the number of fishermen

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1000

1500

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2500

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The number of boats

The number of fisher men

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Tug boats … the most environmentally harmful method of fishing

There are a number of fishing methods adopted by fishermen in Gaza; one of them is fishing by tug boats. This method is considered one of the most dangerous fishing methods. It severely damages the fish habitat making extinction a high possibility. Fishermen use large tug boats to pull the bottom nets that they have laid on the sea floor, and by that, they catch all the fish and the fish seeds.

Some of the fishing vessels used in the Gaza Strip

Other fishing methods used by Palestinian fishermen

Palestinian fisher men use the crane method. It is a very old method where fishermen use large nets; the size depends on the type of fishing boat. It can be pulled by a launch or a canoe. In the case of the launch the net is dropped 80 meter below water surface while in the case of the canoe it is dropped to the depth of 40 meters below water surface. The length of the net may reach 200 meters in both cases. This method is mostly used in fishing sardines, escambella and some other kinds. It is one of the most important fishing methods for providing the Palestinian people with food and fishermen with livelihood.

A chart showing the increase of fishing boats during 1968 – 2002

2002 1968 حتى of fishing vassals1968-2002

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Tug boat

Crane bout

Long line boat

Canoe

Row

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The bottom net fishing method is used in the case of fishing on a canoe.

Many types of nets can be used with canoes, among them shrimp nets that are laid on the rocks to catch several kinds of fish. The forth method is fishing with gillnet, like minofill net; these are placed close to the shore to catch several kinds of fish such as Nipper, Mullet and Tarkhoon. Another type of gillnet commonly used by fishermen in certain season for fishing sardines, it is 12 meters deep and 35 meters long. It brings fishermen good harvest especially in March, April ,and May.

Fishermen use many types of nets

Some fishermen use line fishing, it is a long line of nylon with hooks. It is used when fishing for Mevou and Alfreden, which are expensive and good quality fish. The hook is placed on the rock in both shallow and deep waters. It is generally more than 1000 meters long. In addition they use throwing nets that targets fishing the passing fish close to the shore generally they catch the long kinds, especially the different kinds of Mullet

Some sports fishermen use the line and hook

Another fishing method is fishing by "bulldozers", which are different types of nets, generally the type used with the crane' or a type of a larger openings' net, like 6 meters deep and 200 meters long' also eye size 13 nets. They are used at the shore, but they bulldoze every thing that does not pass through the net openings. This method plays a serious roll in destroying fish eggs and chases away fish from the area. Another method is fishing by abrasion and gun powder؛ fishermen lays nets on the rock in a circular form, then the circle is made smaller in order to gather the fish then it is collected by other nets where some is fished by gun powder. Fishing by using a fishing pole is another common method, it is used close to the shore, generally for sports and recreation and it has no economical value. Finally fishing by poison or explosives, this method is very dangerous for both fishermen and marine life.

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Testimonies of some fishermen that explain their reality

Our production team has made a field visit and spoke with some fishermen to explore their work conditions on sea, the technical challenges they have and the assaults against them by the Israeli navy. The conclusion is that Palestinian fishermen are up to countless challenges that impact their only source of income and threatens to force them abandon their trade.

Mr. Amoudi, a fisherman with 30 years experience… I depend on aid coupons to support my family

Fisherman Fuad Amoudi talks about his suffering while fishing.

Fisherman Fuad Ibrahim al Amoudi, 48 years old from Khan Younis says that his entire family and he have been depending on fishing for the past 30 years. The family, in partnership with other families, owns some fishing boats like a launch, canoes and rowboats. Mr. Amoudi expressed his sorrow at the current situation of the fishing business in Gaza Strip, which has left serious impact on him and on his family's life. He compared the quantities of fish he harvested prior to the year 2000 to the quantities he catches nowadays. He estimated harvesting 1.5 – 2 tons of fish every day, back when he was allowed to reach the distance of 20 miles. nowadays he hardly catches any fish. Fisherman Al Amoudi explains that by the continuous sea closure and the suppressive behavior of the Israeli navy against fishermen on sea, also by the lack of adequate gear, which gets damaged continuously by the Israeli gunfire, confiscation and destruction. He said the fishermen's income is barely enough for providing decent life for the family. He added that fishermen have become dependent on the aid provided by international donors (food coupons)

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Fishing boats damaged by the Israeli navy

Mr. Al Amoudi said that he was a subject to frequent assaults by the Israeli navy as he was performing his work, whether against his person or against fishing gear. The Israeli army confiscated 3 of his boat engines. His life was often endangered by gun fire as the navy was randomly shooting in his direction; they demanded that he left the sea and headed for the shore on many other occasions. Fishermen do not follow safe fishing methods… they have no choice.

Mr. Al Amoudi spoke about banning him from reaching the distance where many kinds of fish are available. He said: fishermen have no choice but to use unsafe fishing methods to compensate for the direct and indirect losses that they take. That is the only way to catch enough fish just to get by. They resort to isolating the sardines by gathering them around flash lights and use every possible method to catch them. He explains the use of some excessive fishing techniques like explosives Lannate toxicants, tugboats and seed fishing due to the extreme lack of fishing gear and boats, the lack of spare parts in the local market in addition to their ignorance of the environmentally friendly modern fishing techniques.

A Fisherman Awad Kinnen … fisherman cannot manage their basic daily needs & Fisherman is

fishing in a waste water polluted area.

We need to be taught about the impact of pollution and the use of modern fishing methods

Fisherman, 54-year-old Awad Mohammad Kinen , from Khan Younis and his family have been in the fishing business for the past 40 years. He owns some fishing gear and some boats. He hits the sea in various times of the year depending on the various fishing seasons, and the availability of fish and the weather conditions. Most of the times he starts his fishing voyage in the evening or in the early morning. Mr Kinen said that the golden fishing era was prior to 5 years ago, when he could harvest 150

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crates of fish every day. Each crate contained 10kms. Today no fishermen can collect this much fish because we are band from going on sea far enough, in addition to long closures and assaults that prevent him from practicing his work freely. Fishermen have difficulty managing their basic daily needs due to the frequent interruptions of their work and therefore the shortage of revenue. They became dependent on aid. Fisherman Kinnen added: when he and his family go fishing, they become subject to a variety of assaults, verbal assaults, insults and even physical assaults by the Israeli navy. He said they opened fire at us, prevent us from practicing our work and force us to leave the sea.

Polluting the sea by waste water and solid waste killed every form of marine life

Fisherman Kinen noted that polluting the sea has severely impacting fishermen's work. The pollution resulted from discharging waste water and dumping solid waste into the see has killed all forms of marine life, including fish seeds. The use of explosives and toxic substance by fishermen in order to catch every marine creature that lays within the few miles that they can reach have escalated the pollution rates. therefore fishermen need to attend workshops to help them understand the hazards of marine pollution on the fish population and the fishermen themselves. It is necessary to raise fishermen's awareness of environmental and health issues.

Raw sewage water is discharged directly into the sea

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(7) 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

Introduction

Residence of Gaza considers the surrounding marine environment as the only outlet available for recreation. The beaches of Gaza, during the summer time, are garnished with a large number of cafés that provide services for citizens during their leisure time. Owners of horses, Camels and small boats take advantage of the season and do some business entertaining the crowds, especially children. Despite of this happy scene, there are other scenes that media and educated pens continuously describe; they keep on saying that the marine environment in the Gaza Strip is polluted with waste water, which makes a great part of the population refrain from spending their summer days on the beach. The current condition of the marine environment represents a tough challenge for citizens and other concerned parties in the Gaza Strip, therefore I decided, in this report, to tackle the issue of marine environment pollution by waste water from a variety of aspects.

Citizens swimming in areas polluted with waste water

Definition and characteristics of waste water

Waste water = sewage water is known as the quantities of water used by the human population, whether for domestic or industrial purposes. It contains both dissolved and solid contaminants. It is generally collected in sewers that all together compose the sewage system. The qualities of waste water vary from one place to another depending on the population conditions, the type of industry, the land use and the levels of ground water; it depends also on the extent of separation between waste water and storm water.

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Waste water is a major cause of polluting the Gaza Strip Sea

Domestic waste water contains the domestic waste coming from kitchens, bathrooms, washing machines or any other waste material dumped by human beings intentionally or unintentionally in the sewage system. Physically waste water has gray color and offensive odor; it contains solid substance that reaches 0.1% (about 30% in a solid form and 70% dissolved). Chemically, waste water contains organic compounds (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, oils and pesticides…etc) and none organic compounds (heavy minerals, nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur and toxicants …etc), it also contains a variety of gazes, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, methane). Biologically, waste water contains micro organisms including monocle organs, moss and bacteria, in addition to many other pathogenic organisms that come from an infected human source. The presence of the Coliform group of organs in the waste water proves the presence of pathogenic organisms but not necessarily all of them.

Three sewage water treatment plants in the Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip produces more than 30 million cubic meters of waste water every year. The level of Biological Oxygen Demand for the waste water may reach 600 ml g/liter in Gaza, whereas it reaches 200 to 300 ml g/liter in the developed country, which means an increase in the organic content and salinity in the waste water produced in the Gaza Strip. This is due to the Palestinian citizens' share of fresh water, which ranges from 70 to 90 liters per day. It is reported also that more than 60% of Gaza Strip population receive sewage water services through sewage networks.

Rafah sewage treatment plant Gaza sewage treatment plant. There are three sewage treatment plants in the Gaza Strip, one in Beit Lahia in the north, the second is Sheikh Ejleen in Gaza city and the third is in Rafah. Some other plants are under constructions, they will be more efficient. The present ones receive much larger quantities than their capacity. Gaza and Rafah plants discharge their raw or partially treated waste water directly into the sea,which makes the marine

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environment pollution problem in Gaza severer and has its negative impact on its biological contents and ultimately the public health. Beit Lahia station is not connected to the sea shore; therefore its effluent semi treated water flows into 40 hectare plus nearby lake. It stands for the hugest environmental and health disaster in the Gaza Strip It is also considered the worst source of environment and internal water pollution for the surrounding area. More than 14 water wells have become out of operation due to the environmental pollution caused by their proximity from Beit Lahia station. A project to build a sewage pipe line to convey the semi treated waste water from Beit Lahia Station to the sea was suggested 10 years ago. However, the project has never seen the light due to the Israeli stubborn objection. Their excuse is "the project will pollute the sea water therefore the north bound current will cause damage to the Israeli marine environment adjacent to the Gaza strip. The sewage basins in Khan Younis Governorate … an expected hazard

to the marine environment

Sewage basins in Al Mawasi area

Waste water collection basins for the sewage water produced in Khan Younis Governorate were lately constructed in the liberated areas nearby Al Mawasi. It is believed that a sewage water pipe line will be constructed to convey the waste water collected in those basins directly in to the marine environment. Numerous complains have been filed by citizens who live in Al Mawasi area claiming that such basins cause serious hazards to the environment and the public health, such as wide spread offensive odors, harmful pests and wide spread of disease transmitting insects like mosquitoes. It is worthy of knowing that Al Mawasi area stretches along the sea shore of Gaza Strip for about 14 Km, at the width of 1 km. wide starting south of Deir Al Balah to south of Rafah. It is nearly a green area with a very fertile soil; therefore it is considered the food basket of Gaza Strip and a major source of fruits and vegetables. It is known that the marine environment along Al Mawasi is considered the cleanest and the safest in the Gaza strip, in terms of swimming and recreation. It is feared therefore that the future waste water discharge from the basins of Al Mawasi in to the sea will cause serious deterioration in the quality of the marine life in this area. There is a great need for intervention by the specialized and official stake holders in order to prevent the total destruction of the marine environment in the entire Gaza Strip.

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80% of the wastewater produced in the Gaza Strip is discharged raw into the sea

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.

Discharging raw sewage water directly into the sea

Causes and dangerous consequences of polluting the sea of Gaza

Direct causes for polluting certain sites of the marine environment are very visible, and it is totally due to the huge quantities of the waste water discharged into the sea. One can identify these sites bare eyed by observing the growing moss in them. The pollution is also indicated by the bad odor they release. Some of the practices of some citizens cannot be ignored neither, such as bathing the domestic animals in the sea, bathing horses, donkeys. Dogs and goats are very common practices that one often can see when you go to the beach. Bathing animals is another source of pollution that impacts the marine biology and creates a public health hazard. The Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, the resulting frequent power supply interruption, the lack of the adequate quantities of the necessary fuel to operate the sewage treatment plants and the lack of the spare parts needed to maintain such plants have added to the problem a great deal and have negatively impacted the quality of the treated sewage water. Bumping large quantities of raw sewage water in the marine environment has become a common daily practice due to the Israeli imposed siege.

Pollution of marine environment is caused also by bathing animals

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Hazardous sites along the shore where sewage water is discharged Gaza valley which collects the sewage water from the neighboring residential clusters is considered the most out standing point of discharging sewage water in the sea of Gaza. It is also considered a hazard to the beach visitors and as well as to marine life, their biological diversity and public health. The flows of Gaza valley with all the chemical contaminants that come from the Israeli territory causes sever pollution and therefore destruction to the marine environment and every habitat it contains. Obviously swimming near the discharge point of Gaza valley is extremely hazardous to general health. The points of discharging sewer w located near Al Shate' Camp and the fishermen port in the city of Gaza and the location of the previous settlement Netsareem are viewed as the most hazardous due to the quantity and the quality of the waste water they release.

Gaza valley one of the most hazardous discharge points in the sea of Gaza &The point of

discharging sewage water near the fishermen's port in Gaza city

Do we consider the marine environment in Gaza polluted with waste water?

Polluted marine environment in Gaza is not a new topic; the sewage water discharging points in the sea of Gaza was and still is wide spread till today. Some scientific reports stated that 50-70 thousand cubic meters of waste water have been discharged on the shore of Gaza every day for years. The Authority of Environment Quality stated in one of its reports that 12.5% of the cost line of Gaza "about 42kms" is considered polluted with microcosms and pathogenic organisms known to specialists. These points represent the most seriously polluted spots due to discharging waste water in them, they are mostly located between Al Shate' Camp and the Gaza Valley; the remainder ,which is the greater part of the beach is considered safe where citizens can swim.

The point of discharging raw sewage water from Rafah Governorate

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Most of the waste water produced in the Gaza Strip, more that 30 million cubic meters every year; raw or partially treated, is discharged in the sea, which puts a heavy strain on, and poses a threat to the entire Gaza marine environment as well as the Gaza population. Many reports and studies were conducted in Gaza during the past years. They all indicated that the sea water and the beach sand located close the waste water discharge points are polluted with microbiological contaminants including some hazardous strains of bacteria that threatens seriously the well being of citizens who find the beach as the only outlet for them. If this was the proven case prior to the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, think about how much worse it is now considering all the additional quantities of raw sewage water that is being released into the marine environment during the Israeli siege time.

Marine pollution is a serious health hazard

Swimming in polluted water has its negative impacts on human health in various ways depending on the type of infection and the person's general health condition. Specialist physicians state that polluting sea water can cause the spread of many diseases, like skin infections, eye infections and other forms of serious infections like Meningitis. It is necessary to mention also that consuming sea food that has been fished from the fishermen's port and some other places that receive considerable quantities of raw sewage water, pause a serious threat to humans health, because marine environment contaminants can be transferred through the marine food chain and accumulate in the systems of the fish and other consumed marine creatures during the course of time.

The marine environment has a share of the pollution caused by waste water

The environmental damage caused by waste water pollution is represented in destroying the normal habitat of fish and other marine creatures. It endangers the diversity of marine life. The increase of solid contaminants and sea weeds resulting from the plentiful mineral nutrients available in the waste water, lead to accumulation of toxicant substances in the fish and other marine creatures that may be consumed by humans and cause serious health problems. In addition, pollution destroys also the areas of swimming and recreation as a result of the offensive odors and the destruction of the beach landscape. It changes the composition and order of the food chain in the marine environment. The worst of all is the impact on marine life resulted by the lack of oxygen in the sea water as a result of exhausting the aerobic decomposers, which lead to the migration of fish from the location that lacks for oxygen, in addition to the resulted eutrophication, which means the concentration of nutrients that cause an increase of sea weeds' growth and ultimately harms marine life and causes rapid bacteria reproduction. It Changes the qualitative composition of the species and muddles the waters, which impact marine life negatively. Citizens and specialized stakeholders have a role to play in reducing the impact of the current situation.

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Official organizations must pay more attention to the marine environment

To reduce the impact of marine environment pollution, organizations concerned with environment and public health must intensify the activities that target convincing citizens to refrain from visiting the beaches close to the points of discharging waste water. Generally they can be identified by their changing color as a result of the increasing sea weed growth and their bad odor. Citizens must follow the instructions of the health department, environmentalists and municipal authorities in order to make the summer marine recreational activity on the beaches of Gaza safer for citizens. They must avoid the beaches that have warning signs prohibiting swimming. Related specialized parties must pay the adequate attention to rehabilitating, maintaining and developing waste water treatment plants in the Gaza Strip, and recycle water for the purposes of agriculture, feeding the ground water basins, reducing the salinity of the ground water, also reduce the ratio of sea water infiltration into the ground water basins.

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(8) The Conclusion of an Expert Opinion

By work team

Dr. Yousef Abu Safia

Experienced and specialized environmentalists are the most capable of explaining the environmental problems that impact the environment, its basic components and the public health. In this part of the report, we will attempt to shed light on some sensitive and dangerous issues that have impacted the sea water and sea shores from the point of view of the expert on environmental issues and the chairman of the environment quality authority Dr. Yousef Abu Safia. We aim to sum up and analyze the problems facing the sea and its shores and to present some of the short term and long term solutions to preserve a sound marine environment. The Right to a Sound and Sustainable Environment Program (RSSEP) team has conducted the following interview with Dr. Abu Safia. .

At the beginning lets meet Dr. Yousef Abu Safia, the environmental expert of this report.

Dr. Yousef Atallah Abu Safia, was born in 1949, I acquired my doctorate in environmental sciences from Texas University in the U.S.A. and acquired my Master Degree in Parapsychology from the American University in Beirut where I achieved my bachelor's degree in Biology. I am a co founder of the Gaza Islamic University, where I worked for ten years. Then I moved to al Azhar University and occupied the position of the deputy chairman for academic affairs. I was appointed by the president Abu Ammar to chair the College of Science and Technology in Khan Younis then I was elected for the Palestinian Legislative council where I was appointed as a chairman of Natural Resources and Energy Committee for the PLC. In 1998, I was appointed as the minister of Environmental affairs in Palestine, which later was changed into the environment quality authority in the year 2002. During the course of my work I prepared and participated in the preparation of many studies and research, the most important of which is a study about the relation between drinking water and kidney failure diseases that resulted in providing Khan Younis district with two water desalination stations funded by Japan. I participated also in establishing the water laboratory for the Palestinian Hydrologists Group, the laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and trained its staff, besides many other environmental activities.

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Waste water is considered the most serious source of polluting the marine environment in the Gaza Strip, it impacts marine life, sea food

sources, sea water, it also impacts sand, air, tourism, and public health, how do you comment on that?

Evidently the sea is one of the important sources of food for human beings; the annual product of each marine square mile in Gaza reaches seven tons of food. Before the Israeli closure the average quantity of the sea food produced is 4000 tons a year, now it is only 40 tons, in other words, only 10% of the regular quantity before the closure, this is due to many reasons, most importantly the Israeli closure of the sea shore for local fishermen.

Sewage discharge pointes are spread along the shore of Gaza

As for the waste water in the Gaza Strip I can say that about 100 thousand cubic meters of raw or partially treated waste water are discharged directly into the sea, at a very short distance from the beach. Waste water contains pesticides and toxicants used in farming, numerous forms of organic material, fertilizers and industrial wastes. Waste water in Gaza is a mixture of a variety of sources and contains a diversity of dangerous organic material and chemicals that are discharged directly into the sea.

Those materials are toxic chemical compounds that are later stored in the bodies and tissue of fish without any changes for long periods of time. When big quantities of the fish that contains such materials and toxic chemical compounds in their tissue is consumed by human beings, their health becomes exposed to many forms of hazards. The positive point is that the average fish consumption for each individual is about 2kgs. Per year, that is only a few grams per day, which reduces the negative impact of consuming contaminated fish. However if the fish consumes large doses of chemicals it will directly affect people without any doubt, like the example of Khan Younis few years ago where we had poisoning cases as a result of consuming contaminated fish.

Sea weeds grow in polluted areas ….Waste water mixes with sea waves

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It is known also that waste water contain high quantities of phosphorous and nitrogen that cause strong growth of moss as a result of the nitrification process and the toxic gases it produces like Nitrate, which leads to the rise and rapid growth of moss among the shore of the Gaza Strip and negatively impact the beach scene and therefore tourism and the numbers of summer vacationers.

On the other hand the organic material contained in the waste water decreases the quantity of Oxygen in the water, from the natural ratio 8gms/liter down to less than 5gms/liter, which leads to the suffocation of many marine creatures or their migration to other areas were cleaner shores are available. The only marine creatures that remain are the types that can live on small ratios of oxygen like Nipper.

Children playing on a beach area polluted with waste water.

Waste water pollution has its impacts also on human health in general, considering that the beach is the only recreational outlet for the population of the Gaza Strip especially during the hot summer days when people resort to polluted beaches and swim in waters contaminated with waste water, which has its impact on the human health directly or indirectly. Human beings may catch many microbiological diseases like meningitis, typhoid, eye and skin infections and other long term diseases like cancer. In addition, people expose themselves to offensive odors caused by the toxic Hydrogen sulfide gas released from waste water. Death can occur after inhaling such toxic gas for along period of time.

Dumping construction debris rubble and solid waste by some citizens or local authorities on some of the Gaza Strip beaches violates the

natural beauty of the beaches and negatively impacts marine life and the beach composition. What do you think of that?

Some people choose the easiest way to get rid of construction debris and rubble by dumping them in large quantities in the sea and on the beaches of the Gaza Strip. If you want to see that at its clearest you can just go to Deir El Balah beach in mid Gaza Strip. Thousands of tons of rubble and construction debris are accumulated like a mountain. The hazards of these materials lay in its content, like the dangerous espestos that impact marine life and therefore the human health.

Dumping construction debris and rubble is a serious threat of distorting the beautiful landscape by discontinuing the beach and causing its declination and erosion. That changes the natural terrain of the beach and pollutes the ground water basin.

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Thousands of tons of construction debris and rubble are dumped on the beach.

Solid wastes do not present in large quantities on the beach at the present time. We went though a lot of sufferings in order to clean the beach from the settlements' rubble that was left behind by the Israeli army after they withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Solid waste accumulations are found in sporadic locations along the beaches of Gaza especially in the summer time near some restaurants or homes. This phenomenon increases the extent of air pollution in the areas where they exist. They also impact the general scene of the beach, besides their serious impact on the ground water basin when the rain water washes solid waste. The waste left behind by the beach visitors, especially the plastic items, can cause the death of larger marine animals after they swallow them thinking that they are some form of food e.g. sea turtles that feed on jellyfish.

Dumping solid waste on the beach or in the sea is a main source of pollution for marine

environment.

Gaza port has many environmental problems that impact marine life, how do you see that?

At the beginning there have been great disagreements and arguments between the Palestinians and the Israelis about the location of constructing the port of Gaza. The Palestinian side suggested the area of Beit Lahia in the north, which is the most suitable for the Palestinians from an environmental perspective, because the waves movement steers the sand from the bottom of the sea and allows it to settle on the southern side of the port, which widens the area of the beach and makes the sand layer thicker. But the Israelis strongly objected this suggestion and insisted that the sea port is to be built in the middle area of the Gaza Strip. We disagreed because that does not allow us to benefit from the deposited sand, if the port is constructed in the south. And finally it was agreed to construct the port on the present location as a compromise. The existence of the port has negative impact on the marine environment however the choices are limited and they are both bad.

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At the present time 350 thousand tons of sand are deposited south of the port every year and need to be moved north of the port.

Gaza port plays a role in contaminating the marine environment.

Will the rubble caused by the Israeli air strikes on Gaza buildings during the last war be dumped in this port?

The latest Israeli offensive on Gaza has left behind thousands and thousands of tons of rubble caused by bombarding homes and buildings during the war. It is wise to think in an environmentally sound manner while getting rid of the rubble in a beneficial way. It should not be dumped on the beach so it won’t leave further negative impact on the beach environment, most seriously is the decline and erosion of beaches. I think we should grinded the rubble and recycled it in rehabilitating roads and street maintenance. No ware left overs will be dumped in the port. It will all be gathered on a certain location, grinded and recycled for constructing some projects that received funds from donors, like the U.N.D.P.

The Israeli war against Gaza has left behind thousands of tons of rubble

The random construction along the beaches of the Gaza Strip and the existing installations on the beach has negative impact on marine life

and beach compositions. What do you think of this problem?

Random construction is considered a violation against the beach. The construction should take place at least at the distance of 500 meters from the beach. We suffer from two types of random construction; the first is the permanent random construction, which harms the marine environment in terms of the increased pollution rates that they cause. Such structures leave negative impact on marine life on the long run even if they were few. They produce some contaminants like solid wastes and discharge waste water into the sea.

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The second type is the temporary random construction represented in the café's, parks and hotels that some citizens build to earn living. We cannot stop them; however those buildings should be built in an organized fashion that does not harm the general scene of the beach. Owners of those buildings must be forced to maintain the sanitation of the location and preserve the marine environment with complete care to guarantee its soundness from any damaging activity.

Random construction harms marine environment

The wide spread phenomena of building high towers at the beach has prevented the sea wind from reaching the land, which is necessary to maintain a moderate weather in the Gaza Strip in summer and winter. Sea water is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, the towers have diverted the current of sea wind upwards and back towards the sea and put them in a different path. Unfortunately the only beneficiary from this air current is Israel. Agricultural activity and the use of pesticides impacts marine life also,

how do you comment on that? We in the Gaza Strip are known for being heavy users of hazardous and toxic pesticides, some of which is internationally banned like D.D.T. Those materials settle in the soil and then rain water washes them into the sea, which impacts marine life and causes the accumulation of poison in the fish tissue and then it is transferred to the human body by eating the contaminated fish. Those materials have other serious impacts; it can kill the fish eggs, which lead to the shortage and the extinction of some species.

Toxic chemical wastes dumped on the beach.

Beach Sand theft for construction purposes, is a rising dangerous phenomena in Gaza, practiced by the Palestinians now and earlier by the Israelis.

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Many Gaza citizens depend on beach sand theft for construction. The beach sand was also exploited by the Israeli settlers, the fact that devastated marine life. More than 250 million tons of beach sand was stolen from the Gaza Strip beaches, it is necessary to preserve a layer of 2 meters thick sand above the mud layer to act as a trap for the rain water and then store it in the ground water basin. Sand theft has prevented such process and caused sea water to infiltrate in to the ground water basin due to the lack of rain water supply, which led to rising salinity of the ground water basin and increased the cost of the fresh water supply because it has to be desalinated. On the other hand it is scientifically known that the sea produces sandy beaches according to its nature, however the case in the Gaza Strip is different where the beaches are continuously shrinking and eroding.

Citizens stealing beach sand

Fishing and fishermen have their negative impact on the marine

environment due to the use of environmentally hazardous and unsafe means of conducting their work. Can you clarify that?

Fishermen use large doses of poisoning chemicals while fishing in order to catch the biggest possible number of fish within a short period of time. This practice leads to the destruction of marine life and impacts its diversity, which is important for maintaining the environmental balance. In addition to that selling fish that contains high dosage of poison to the public impacts the human health and may cause neurological problems and serious forms of cancer. It also affects the kidneys and the liver. Some fishermen use methods of excessive fishing like the use of explosives or burning flammable material on the sea water. Other fishermen use nets with very small openings that cause severe damage to marine life like killing, migration or extinction of some kinds of fish and other marine species.

A fisherman doing his work next to waste water discharge point.

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The latest Israeli war on Gaza devastated the whole Palestinian

environment. We would like to know how it impacted the marine environment in specific.

The Israeli war left serious impact on all the components of the Gaza Strip environment, some immediate impact and some long term impact. The Israeli army has used many known and unknown chemical weapons, some of which are internationally banned like white phosphorous and pigmented Uranium; such substances have hazardous impact on surface and ground waters, also on the air, plants, field crops and soil in addition to the serious impact on public health, even on the embryos in their mothers' wombs. International specialists have picked up some samples from the environment for testing. The results should help us address such a problem. The marine environment is not isolated from such destructive and dangerous impact. Unfortunately all the hazardous deposits and toxic chemicals that landed on the ground and infiltrated into the lower layers of soil has ended up in the sea after the rain fall during the past months. It is not possible to identify the environmental damage that was resulted by the Israeli war on Gaza and has impacted sea land or air environment till after the testing results are released. If the tests prove that those toxicants have reached the marine environment the consequences will be very severe to marine life, the fish population and the human health.

At the end how do you assess the current situation of marine environment?

Marine environment is endangered from many aspects; the Palestinian citizens are responsible for that to a great extent. The Israeli occupation also is responsible for its violations against our marine environment. All of the above mentioned environmental pollutants like solid wastes, construction debris and rubble, the waste water and the excessive fishing methods also the wrong practices of the beach visitors and the Israeli destructive war against Gaza and its marine environment all have added new problems to the previously existing ones. It is important that the government, the citizens and all the specialized and concerned parties must corporate and find solutions to this problem, even if they were partial solutions, as long as they are suitable to the current situation. The private citizen has an important role in conserving the marine environment and beaches. The specialized organizations and the concerned ministries have their duties towards this issue. In addition to the role of the government and the donor parties that can participate in preserving the marine nature and developing projects that sustains and maintains the beaches and the marine environment in the Gaza Strip.

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The marine environment in the Gaza Strip in Photos

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Thousands of tons of debris and demolition wastes are accumulated along the sea shore

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Throwing and accumulating solid wastes on the beach is from the wrong methods that contribute in polluting the marine environment

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Erosion of beaches is one of the serious problems that face the sea of the Gaza Strip

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The entry of animals to the sea and beach increase the impact of pollution on the sea

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The further spread of algae on the shore of the Gaza Strip, reflects the aggravated problem of marine environment pollution

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Is the sea of the Gaza Strip became the major waste water collection plant?

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