Environmental Justice

The Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON) and MA’AN Development Center in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Palestine & Jordan Office published a study on “2014 War on Gaza Strip: Participatory Environmental Impact Assessment” in October 2015. The study was prepared by Dr. Ahmad Safi and a group of assistant researchers. The study discusses the findings of a participatory assessment that was performed between May and September 2015, investigating the environmental impacts of the July/August 2014 war on the Gaza Strip “Operation Protective Edge.”

On October 13th a large coalition of environment, climate and indigenous peoples organizations has posted a letter to the board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The group demands that the EITI’s principles, standards and procedures have to take into account climate change impacts, and the consequences of necessary legal and policy reforms and associated risks to the fossil fuel industry.

On 7 September 2015, Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Palestine & Jordan office invited the main Palestinian actors and experts in the environmental field to a policy dialogue titled “Food Sovereignty in Palestine”. The aim of the policy dialogue was to discuss the challenges before local agriculture in Palestine and the influence of the agricultural policies and projects on the Palestinian market. The experts and representatives of Palestinian civil society organizations and ministries came up with recommendations at the end of the dialogue to improve the situation of the Palestinian agriculture and market

If the EU is serious about an ambitious agreement at the UN talks in Paris, it must prioritise adaptation and resilience to climate risk in the negotiations, write Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's President Barbara Unmüßig and Ralf Fücks and E3G's Chief Executive Nick Mabey.

Al-Haq in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Palestine & Jordan Office published a study on “Environmental Injustice in Occupied Palestinian Territory: Problems and Prospects” in July 2015. The study was prepared by three researchers, Dr. Benjamin Pontin, Dr. Jesus Gamero Rus, and Vito de Lucia*. The researchers investigated environmental problems affecting Palestinians, which are attributed to Israel’s occupation of the territories of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip. The investigation took place in relation to environmental justice.

Author: Svenja Oberender Traditional agriculture, with its strong connection to the land and understanding of its character, is an often cited part of Palestinian national identity. Unfortunately, the grave reality is that the profession is slowly but surely disappearing. In this interview, agronomist and environmentalist Saad Dagher explains the reasons for the decline that can be found not only in the political situation but also in social and economic developments. In addition, he talks about how abandoning peasant farming has in turn changed Palestinian society.

Healthy soils are crucial to human nutrition and the fight against hunger. But worldwide 24 billion tons of fertile soil is lost annually. Barbara Unmüßig calls attention to the growing threat to one of Earth’s most important resources.