Palestinian Water AuthorityPalestinian Water Authority

55thth World Water Forum-Istanbul 16-22 March 2009 World Water Forum-Istanbul 16-22 March 2009

Session 4.1.4: Water Right in Emergency: Be principled or get practical?Session 4.1.4: Water Right in Emergency: Be principled or get practical?

Water for a Viable Palestinian State:Water for a Viable Palestinian State:

The Right to Water in the Palestinian ContextThe Right to Water in the Palestinian Context

1. The equitable allocation of shared water resources is essential for a viable and prosperous Palestinian state.

2. Current fresh water allocations between Palestinians and Israelis are highly inequitable and unsustainable.

3. The Human Right to Water and Sanitation must be realized in the context of the full realization of other Human Rights and the rights of the Palestinians under International Water Law.

Main Messages

• Groundwater: Israel & Palestinians share four aquifers

• Surface water: 5 riparians share Jordan River basin

• Additional Groundwater for Israel: Naqab & Arabah, Carmel, Tiberia, and Western Galilee Basins

Overview of Shared Water Resources

• Two-State solution requires establishment of a viable Palestinian State.

• To be viable, Palestine must obtain its “equitable and reasonable” share of fresh water (customary international law).

– Helsinki Rules (1966)

– UN Convention on Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (1997)

• Art. 5 Equitable and Reasonable Utilization

• Art. 6 Factors in Determining Equitable and Reasonable (ex. Population)

• Solution must be just & sustainable over time.

Equitable Sharing of Water Resources

INEQUITABLE AND UNREASONABLE ALLOCATION

Transboundary Water Resources - Palestine and Israel (MCM per year)

• Ground Water

– Eastern Aquifer 54 (58%) vs. 40 (42%)– Northeastern Aquifer 42 (29%) vs. 103 (71%)– Western Aquifer 22 (6%) vs. 340 (94%)

118 (20%) vs. 483 (80%)

– Coastal Aquifer 60 (17%) vs. 300 (83%)

Total Ground Water 178 (19%) vs. 783 (81%)

• Surface Water– Wadi Gaza 0 vs. 20– Jordan River Basin 0 vs. 801

• TOTAL ~ 178 (10%) vs. ~1604 (90%)

1.5 million Palestinians (70% below poverty line).

60 Mcm/year - sustainable yield.

165 Mcm/year - abstracted (increased salinization/pollution).

Israeli restrictions on water and wastewater infrastructure.

Control of Gaza Shared Water Resources

Breach of Sewage Lagoon in Beit Lahia (March, 2007)

Control Impacting Sanitation in Gaza

500

1,000

1,500 80 liters/capita/day vs. 320

liters/capita/day

Many Palestinian communities less the 15 liters/capita/day

This is not “equitable and reasonable” by any measure

Chronically less than Human Right to Water minimum core content 335

2,300

Palestine(3.6 million)

Israel(7.1 million)

Total Annual Consumption (MCM)

Israeli and Palestinian Domestic Water Consumption

On average, Israelis’ domestic consumption is more than four times Palestinians’.

IGNORING TRANSBOUNDARY WATER RIGHTS

• Israel refuses to engage in negotiations on Palestinian Water Rights – the Equitable and Reasonable Allocation of Transboundary Water.

• Israelis are willing to discuss Palestinian Water Needs and make provisions for the supply of those Needs.

• Peres Center Conference in Geneva, Switzerland in May 2008 entitled “Defining Water Needs in areas of Fully Exploited Resources”.

• Many indications of Israeli mismanagement of water resources (see “The roots of the water crisis” by Prof. Hillel Shuval, Feb. 24, 2009, The Jerusalem Post)

Advocating the Human Right to Water in Palestinian Context and other Human Rights

• The Right to Water should never be allowed to become a ceiling/maximum instead of a floor/minimum amount in the Palestinian context.

• Advocates should not present Israel with the opportunity to utilize the Right to Water Minimum amounts to establish Palestinian Water Needs with regard to allocating transboundary waters.

– Sphere’s 15 l/c/d x Palestinian Population = Palestinian Needsor

– 50-100 l/c/d x Palestinian Population = Palestinian Needs

THESE ARE MIMIMA FOR HUMAN SURVIVAL - FAR LESS THAN

– What’s necessary for a sustainable State, and

– Equitable and Reasonable Allocation of Transboundary Waters

Advocating the Human Right to Water in Palestinian Context and other Human Rights

• Must not forget other Human Rights Principles when advocating for water resources: Right to Food, Right to Livelihood, Right to Self-Determination, Non-Discrimination, etc.

THANK YOU!