Natural resources in the Palestinian Occupied Territories are under constant pressure from water pollution, climate change, desertification and land degradation. According to a recently released report the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), long-term environmental degradation spanning several regional conflicts has been exacerbated by protracted refugee situations and rapid population growth.
Motivated by persistent and alarming reports of water and land scarcity, waste dumping and loss of natural vegetation in the Middle East, world leaders attending the Seventh Special Session of UNEP’s Governing Council and Global Ministerial Environment Forum last February in Colombia requested the agency to carry out a study aimed at identifying major areas of environmental damage that needed urgent attention.
UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer emphasizes in a foreword to the study that while the agency’s mandate was to asses the environment in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, the recommendations should be seen as an effort to improve environmental conditions in the entire region as well as the territories.
The study stresses that the Middle East is a ‘meeting point’ of escalating environmental threats – particularly the case in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, where long-term environmental degradation spanning several conflicts has been exacerbated by protracted refugee situations and rapid population growth.
Toepfer also notes that the Desk Study team of eight environmental experts visited the region between October 1-2 2002, targeting themes most vital to the region’s environment, such as water quality and quantity, solid waste and wastewater management, land use, biodiversity, hazardous waste, and environmental administration. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
