Palestinians in Gaza are active in preserving and documenting their cultural heritage and history. Activists and scientists are now also hoping to develop the needed infrastructure to preserve the environment as well.
The Water and Environmental Quality Authority in the Gaza Strip took a major step in this direction by organizing, on Tuesday, an exhibition entitled ‘Flowers and Birds of Palestine 2022’.
The exhibition is part of the ongoing activities celebrating Arab Environment Day.
According to Youssef Ibrahim, head of the Authority, the exhibition aims “to shed light on the Palestinian environment and the challenges and hardships it faces.”
“The challenges lie mostly in the water sector,” Ibrahim added.
According to the United Nations, more than 97 percent of Gaza’s water is polluted, and thus undrinkable.
This is a direct result of the Israeli siege on the Strip and successive Israeli wars, which targeted and destroyed much of the region’s infrastructure. Without proper tools and equipment, Gaza’s authority was forced to dispose of sewage water into the sea, worsening a pre-existing problem.
“The Gaza Strip needs more than 250 million cubic meters per year, but only 150 million cubic meters are available,” Ibrahim also said.
The Gaza official pointed out that one of the main challenges is the environmental deterioration caused by the exposure of some areas to Israeli ammunition, which poisons the soil.
(All Photos: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
