Conflict impacts on local water management in the Gaza Strip

Juliane Marie Schillinger, Manar Swaity, Israa Abushaban, Mazen Abualtayef, Gül Özerol

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

177 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Effective post-conflict environmental peacebuilding requires a thorough understanding of how the conflict affected natural resources and their management. This paper focuses on the Gaza Strip where we analyze the impact of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and the political instability within Palestine on local water management. Based on fieldwork in summer and fall 2018, we specifically identify key processes through which this political context affects the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in peri-urban areas in the Gaza Strip.
Results indicate that insufficient access to construction materials for infrastructure development and electricity shortages are the key factors that underpin the local WASH-related problems. These factors are linked to broader contextual processes such as institutional pluralism in the Gaza Strip, import restrictions imposed by Israel and the severe limitations on fuel availability. We then analyze the implications for the involvement of humanitarian aid organizations in local projects.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Event1st International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding 2019 - University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
Duration: 23 Oct 201925 Oct 2019
Conference number: 1
https://www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org/conferences/2019-conference/

Conference

Conference1st International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityIrvine
Period23/10/1925/10/19
Internet address

Keywords

  • Water resources management
  • armed conflict
  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • Gaza Strip
  • WASH

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Conflict impacts on local water management in the Gaza Strip'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this