Rainwater restricts bloodshed

Since 1987, Palestinian Hydrology Group (PHG) has been successfully utilising rainwater harvesting as a tool in Palestine to deal with water shortage. This shortage is the direct result of Israel’s iniquitous water policy, which directly determines the access and control of the water resources between the two warring neighbours in the Middle East. Water security is also one of the major issues for negotiation by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.

Israelis receive five times as much water per person daily as Palestinians. According to Jessica McCallin, a freelance journalist focusing on the interplay between environmental and economic issues in Middle East, "Palestinians use on average 57 to 76liters of water per person daily, which is much below the World Health Organisation’s recognised daily minimum requirement of 100 liters." The economic development of Palestine has also been adversely affected. Agriculture, which is the backbone of the economy, remains underdeveloped. Irrigated area has shrunk and is now restricted to below five per cent of arable land. This is the due to the fact that about 88 per cent of Palestine and 75 per cent of West Bank as well as Gaza Strip’s renewable water resources are under the control of Israel. Following rules are being formalised by Israel:

It has capped Palestine’s consumption, by placing a ban on the digging of new wells and giving quotas on how much water could be extracted from the existing wells;
Israel is exploiting the new water resources falling within Palestine’s occupied territories like, the Eastern aquifer in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip;
In the months of summer, when the water becomes scarce ÑMekorot, Israel’s water company restricts the supply of water to Palestine’s towns, so that the supplies to Israel remain unaffected.

The situation deteriorates further as the tensions between two countries frequently flare up. Israeli army blocks the entrance Ð making it both difficult and dangerous for villagers to go to nearby wells or for the water tankers to get into the village.   This results in drastic rise in the price of the water, making it more difficult for many Palestinians to meet their basic needs.

Under these conditions, PHG’s cistern program has provided respite to about 15,000 households by providing a secure water supply. According to Ayman Rabi, the group’s executive director, "It is harder to reach those places where the unrest is worst, but easier to get people to accept rainwater conservation because they find it very difficult to get water regularly."

Cisterns have been existing in Palestine since Roman period. They constitute of a tank or a reservoir for storing rainwater and are installed with community’s participation. They can last for ten years and are also easy to maintain. This system reduces the expenses incurred by a household on procuring water from other sources by almost 54 per cent. Cisterns have been existing in Palestine since Roman period. The group is also working with thousands of farmers to build ponds for recharging springs and wells.

PHG works by directly involving the local community. They are conducting public awareness programs to educate the community on how to protect and use water efficiently. The women constitute their main target group, as they are the ones who fetch water in rural areas. They have also included students in their training programs to ensure sustainable future. The group is also encouraging economical and environmentally sustainable techniques to reduce water consumption and reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation purposes.