Over the past decade, the Gaza Strip has suffered from numerous environmental disasters that continue to affect the area’s infrastructure, water supply, and health; a recent United Nations report confirmed that an increase in water pollution, soil degradation, and pesticide use is worsening humanitarian conditions.
According to the World Health Organization, Gaza’s water crisis is a longstanding issue, exacerbated by the destruction of critical infrastructure like sewage treatment plants and wells during the 2014 war. Since then, untreated sewage contaminates thousands of liters of water in tanks each day, leading to an increase in waterborne diseases like diarrhea and dysentery.
The situation is not only a public health concern but also a human rights issue, with 89% of Gaza’s population having been displaced from their ancestral lands due to zoning restrictions imposed by Israel. As a result, residents are practising rainwater harvesting in order to obtain clean drinking water.
To make matters worse, seawater intrusion has increased by over 22% in value, and the high concentration of salt and organic matter in the water is rendering entire regions unfit for farming. The overuse of pesticides, which has been increasing due to the lack of viable economic alternatives, poses a growing health hazard in the region.
The UN report called for an urgent need to replace overstretched and damaged infrastructure, but with a budget deficit of over $240 million, the Reconstruction and Development Programme announced in 2014 has made little progress in alleviating the water crisis.
Government solutions are not enough, as proven by the fallacy of China’s “great green wall” project, which allegedly failed due to fiscal mismanagement. Instead, alternatives such as technological advancements and international cooperation may offer hope for the future of Gaza’s water crisis.
Leave a Reply