Representatives of NGOs and experts warn of the dangerous repercussions of the environmental reality in Gaza

Representatives of NGOs, experts and human rights activists called today, Monday, for the need to find realistic and logical solutions to the environmental problems that the Gaza Strip suffers from, and the necessity of activating laws that protect the environment, stressing the sector’s need to implement developmental environmental projects that would advance both in society and the state.

This came during a workshop organized by the Palestinian NGOs Network, in partnership with the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation, to present a working paper on the environmental reality and the role of NGOs in protecting it.

The Director of the NGO Network, Amjad Al-Shawa, said that this workshop dealt with a topic, despite its importance, that it has become absent from the agenda of the Palestinian policy maker, civil society organizations and other official and unofficial institutions, as the repercussions of the environment have become very serious and affect human life on this earth in light of The continuous, unjust and aggravating siege, in addition to the political division and the absence of the legislative institution whose role is to enact laws and legislation that preserve the environment.

Al-Shawa pointed out the importance of the role that NGOs and civil society institutions should play, both their role in influencing public policies, their role in directing the agendas of funders, their role in monitoring the performance of the official authority and working towards pressure in adopting policies that protect the environment, stressing the importance of creating a generation Aware of the importance of the environment through awareness and training for all social groups, youth and women.

For his part, Osama Antar, director of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in the Gaza Strip, spoke of the continuous cooperation with the NGO Network in raising sensitive and important issues that affect the lives of citizens.

Antar warned of the environmental situation in the Gaza Strip, describing it as the worst in the region, calling for self-commitment by citizens to preserve the environment.

For his part, Ahmed Helles, in his research paper, which he prepared for the NGO Network, reviewed environmental issues with their various components such as water and waste water, solid and hazardous waste, energy, marine environment, agricultural soil, air, biodiversity, and pollution, and other things like that. It affects all aspects of life, especially the health status of the population, and that it has become necessary to study and evaluate the environmental situation with all its components, and research ways to develop it and strive to improve it and create effective and systematic mechanisms to ensure the stability of the environmental situation in the sector.

Helles stressed that the Israeli occupation is the main obstacle to the process of development and development in various fields, including the improvement and development of the environmental situation, pointing to the absence of joint and real coordination and cumulative and complementary work between all governmental, non-governmental and international institutions.

In the research paper, Helles pointed out that the deterioration of the economic situation caused a lack of concern for the environment, saying that “the deteriorating local economic reality experienced by the residents of the Gaza Strip led directly to a noticeable decline and a severe deterioration in the level of collection, collection and financial returns of all environmental institutions, especially services, especially services. And the relevant ministries, which has weakened those institutions and exacerbated all their operational crises, which weakened their ability to perform their duties towards the population in an appropriate and equitable manner, and this negatively affected the various elements directly.”

The paper also drew attention to the absence of real punishment or deterrence for transgressors and wrongdoers against the environment, which led to recklessness and indifference towards the consequences of environmental pollution and the depletion of its resources, in addition to defining the role of NGOs in protecting and developing the environment in the Gaza Strip.

He drew attention to the negative impact of the internal division on the environmental reality in Gaza, indicating that this caused the absence of the actual development of cadres working in the governmental environmental field, such as the Environmental Quality Authority, the Ministry of Local Government across municipalities, the Water Authority and the environmental departments of the ministries of health and agriculture in an unreasonable manner as a result of the lack of awareness and sufficient knowledge. Or even out of revenge against the circumstances or the authorities in charge of managing the affairs of the citizen.

Helles called for the development of laws and policies and the activation of procedures that protect the environment and criminalize transgressors, indicating that the law guarantees people the right to a healthy and clean environment and to enjoy the largest possible amount of national health and wealth, its preservation and public preservation and public resources.

The participants called for the development of a cross-sectoral policy system to protect the environment and the development of an environmental code of conduct that regulates the work of various institutions to protect the environment.


 

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