workshop
The Threat of Water Shortages in Palestine and Across the Globe
JR Erskine - Tyler Frazier - Data 150 - 4/5/2020
Although access to clean and sustainable water resources remains absent from the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, water continues to be a central, life giving, resource. Without water, it becomes impossible to achieve any of the other goals. While people can survive months with little to no food, from a biological perspective, humans perish within 3 days without access to water. After 2 days, humans have trouble moving any significant distance without fainting. This deep biological reliance on water is present in every organism on earth, and humans are no different(Maldarelli, 2019). This makes water of paramount importance when discussing development and sustainability. Nations that lack water or easy access to water have higher infant mortality rates, a common measure of a country’s development, as well as remain vulnerable from economic and security perspectives(Ezeh et. al, 2014). This is of particular importance in arid regions which lack reliable sources of water, particularly The Middle East - with particular focus on Israel and Palestine. As both states vie for the same water resources, shortages are common. These shortages increase political tensions between the two states, furthering the security risks in the region as both states have remained in a volatile stalemate for many years. On top of this, the governmental and political situations in Israel and The Middle East provide the perfect fuel for water based conflict. This volatility and lack of resource security can be mapped through a variety of methods, from “Data Envelopment Analysis” (DEA) which utilizes efficiency focused data to draw conclusions, to geographical mapping data which allows researchers to view the region from a wholesale perspective.
Sustainable Development and Amartya Sen
The United Nations (UN) and more specifically, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted 8 goals for sustainable human development in the year 2000 in order to define their view of human development. These goals were accepted by all member states and globally remain to define a country’s progress in development. Initially, the UN adopted these goals to be completed by 2015, however, at the time of writing this, none have been achieved.(WHO, 2000) These goals include:
“1. The eradication of extreme poverty and hunger
2. Universal primary education
3. Achievement of gender equality and empowerment of women worldwide
4. Reduction in child mortality rates
5. Improved maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
7. Esurance of environmental sustainability and
8. Creation of a global partnership for human development” (IBID)
All of these Millennium Development Goals (MDG) operate independently of one another and influence health. The reasoning being that health affects all areas of human development, since development becomes near impossible if basic health and wellbeing remain unachieved. This means that water security and continued access to clean and sustainable water resources is fundamental to all these goals as it is fundamental to health.(Sen 2018) The continued health and wellbeing of those in developing countries is paramount to the overall success of the MDG.
Amartya Sen, professor of economics and philosophy at Harvard, remains one of the most respected voices in the field of human development. He defines human development as “By the people and for the people” (Sen 2018) meaning that development has to start at a fundamental grass-roots level in order for it to succeed. This definition is revolutionary in the field of human development, as many prior theories relied on governmental leadership when attempting to further human development on a country by country basis. He argues that international aid is helpful only to a certain point, as it becomes useless if the basic needs of people remain unmet. Sen also introduced the idea of the Human Development Index (HDI) as a measure of “the achievement in key dimensions of human life”, this includes long and healthy life, education, as well as basic standards of living. The HDI is a useful theoretical tool to analyze the developmental progress of a developing state from an outsider’s perspective. (UN, 2000)
Water Shortages Across the Globe
From a global perspective, nearly 1.8 billion people in 17 countries are either directly affected by a severe water crisis or are on their way there. Without proper management of water resources, even larger swaths of the world could find themselves facing real, imminent, shortages.(Dormido, 2019) The majority of these countries find themselves clustered in The Middle East, however, the potential for crises extends as far as Europe, Southeast Asia and North America. This widespread, global, risk of water shortages makes analysis and understanding of the issue that much more important. Without prompt action across the board, many countries will find themselves in a similar situation to those in The Middle East who are only able to get half of the WHO mandated minimum of 1/L/c/d and remain unable to increase that number. (Alsharif et al,2008)
Datascience tools are crucial for understanding the weight of water crises globally. One tool that is used particularly in The Middle East is the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The DEA uses a series of equations in order to give a general idea of the efficiency of water use, looking particularly at input versus output as well as demand(IBID). This tool was used to give a general timeline to lawmakers and politicians in Palestine and Israel for how long they have until the water crisis becomes entirely unsustainable. Timelines are an important tool when examining a problem such as water as they give a rough “drop dead” date, at which point the crisis will be entirely out of control. Organizations such as the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), and other similar international organizations, use these datascience tools to monitor the health of water in various regions that are under threat from potential or real scarcity(Hoff et al., 2011).
Although water covers nearly 70% of the globe, viable, fresh water makes up only 3% of that number, meaning that water crises can happen at a moments notice if the resources aren’t carefully monitored and protected (Wolf, 1996). Water crises can be brought on by a variety of natural and human factors. This includes pollution, agriculture, population growth, and land acquisition. By far, the greatest user of water resources continues to be agriculture. Agricultural systems are responsible for the use of nearly 70% of useable fresh water, however, ~60% of that water is wasted at some point in the agriculture process (Dormido, 2019). This can be due to leaking irrigation systems, over watering, or cultivation of crops that require more water than can be adequately given by the environment that they are grown in. This inefficiency is responsible for a large amount of water waste, however, water waste isn’t the only factor that creates a crisis. Crises can also be created by acquisition of important aquifers by rival states - such as what happened in Palestine - leaving the losing state without accessible and reliable water sources.
Historic Conflict Between Palestine and Israel
Throughout history Palestine and Israel have been in constant conflict, making cooperation between the two states a rare occurrence. Both the Israelis and the Palestinians believe that they are the rightful owners of the land that they both inhabit. This clash of ideas has gone on for millennia, however, following the ratification of Article 22 from the League of Nations, which served to formally declare Palestine as a Jewish state, the conflict was rekindled(League of Nations, 1922). Within days of the passing of Article 22, Jews began moving into the area that the League of Nations defined as Palestine and the Arabs living there fought back with force. Israelis believe that Palestine is their rightful territory, both under God, and under the law. Palestinians, on the other hand, view Article 22 as a imperialist incursion on their homeland that they had lived in for thousands of years. While both perspectives still exist conflict will always continue between the states. This conflict extends far from the bounds of military strikes and violence. Rather, it relies on each state taking subtle action against the other. This includes unlawful arrest of Palestinians by Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as well as other political methods, such as the non-recognition of Palestine as a legitimate state by Israel (B’teselem, 2010).
Historically, the conflict between Israel and Palestine was exclusively violent and has resulted in wars such as the Yom Kippur War and the October War, however, in the present with the watchful eye of the international community trained on The Middle East, Israel has adopted non-violent methods in order to damage the sustainability of Palestine as a state. This includes laws such as ‘The Law of Absentee Property’ which allows Israelis to freely take Palestinian property as their own if they deem it to be “abandoned”. This has allowed Israel to claim additional land that was not given to them in the Oslo accords which stated how the region of Israel/Palestine was to be divided between the two belligerents(IBID). Israel also actively maintains control of the energy systems that the Palestinians rely on to power their homes and businesses. All of this puts Palestine largely at the mercy of the Israelis, and with continued non-recognition of these actions by the international community at large, little to no action can be taken against them(Gasteyer et. al, 2012).
While both states are recognized by the UN, conflict continues between them, and it wasn’t until 2019 that Palestine was given even some of the privileges of a full member state - unlike Israel which has maintained its status as a full member since 1949(Nichols, 2018). Additionally, the United States maintains its position of non-recognition in regards to Palestine’s statehood. This sets the groundwork for anti-Palestinian actions by the Israeli Government. Under Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel continues to push past the boundaries set by the Oslo accords and relies on international inattention to take resources from the Palestinians in order to push them out(IBID).
Water Shortages in Palestine
Water scarcity in Palestine leaves Palestinians with only half the minimum water needed per day. According to the WHO the average water availability to someone in Palestine is .5l/c/d which is half of the minimum amount needed. This is a serious problem as those living in Palestine are unable to focus on meeting other needs crucial to development if they can’t get enough water each day(Lazarova et. al, 2001). Water, being the most basic of resources, is required for both domestic and economic growth - without enough water the odds of timely and successful development in the region are significantly reduced. Especially given the arid environment in which Palestine and Israel are located, water becomes an even more vital resource and has led people to take up arms in order to obtain it. This water scarcity stems from, both, Israeli land acquisition, as well as seawater seepage into crucial aquifers that the whole Israel/Palestine region relies on(Wolf, 1996).
Israel/Palestine are directly on top of several key aquifers, however, seawater seepage has rendered some of these useless and contributes to the water scarcity problem in the region. In a study done by Gasteyer et. al several geographical references are utilized to strengthen their claim. Referencing a map of the naturally occurring aquifers in Israel/Palestine, they explain the conflict in which both the Israelis and Palestinians lay claim to the aquifers. This specifically is an issue in the West Bank, as the Coastal, Northeastern, and Tiberius Aquifers all originate there - leading the Palestinians to claim ownership of them(Gasteyer et. al, 2012) . However, due to the movement of groundwater within those aquifers towards Israel and surrounding countries, Israel lays claim to them as well - using this to justify their acquisition of land in order to siphon from them(Wolf, 1996).
Israel land acquisition is another key factor that draws water away from the Palestinians and into Israeli hands. The Israeli government views the Palestinian land as unproductive and takes it freely to secure resources. This argument would be backed by many Palestinians as they view the creation and maintenance of the State of Israel as a form of imperialism due to the significant historical problems between the two peoples. Language is another key method with which Israel uses to justify their land claims. This includes words and phrases such as “barren” “infertile” and painting the Palestinians as “savages” in the eyes of some Israelis(Alsharif, 2008). This land acquisition has allowed Israel to infringe on the Tiberius aquifer and siphon water from it. This seizure of water has exacerbated the already problematic water crisis and made it even more dangerous for the Palestinians.
Without rapid international intervention, Palestine’s water resources could be entirely gone within the next 7 years. This is a result of Israeli land acquisition as well as the seawater seepage that continues to plague the costal aquifers. Additionally, the threat of water shortages continues to rise across the globe. Meaning that without urgent and effective intervention, even more countries could fall victim to the same, or similar, fate as Palestine. Water is fundamental to human life and continued existence, without it we simply cannot develop and survive.
Bibliography
Gasteyer, Stephen, Jad Isaac, Jane Hillal, and Sean Walsh. “Water Grabbing in ColonialPerspective: Land and Water in Israel/Palestine.” Water Alternatives 5, no. 2 (2012):450–68. http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/allabs/179-a5-2-15/file.
This article seeks to address and note the damage that Israeli land acquisition has on Palestinian daily water supplies. On top of that, it seeks to answer the question “is this neo-imperialism” and if so, how does it affect the development of Palestine. In order to explore both ideas, Gasteyer et. al, frame the idea of water shortages and land acquisition as a form of neo-imperialism, in which the Israeli government views the Palestinian land as unproductive and takes it freely to secure resources. This argument would be backed by many Palestinians as they view the creation and maintenance of the State of Israel as a form of imperialism due to the significant historical problems between the two peoples. The article discusses the use of language as well as a tactic for land acquisition. This includes words and phrases such as “barren” “infertile” and painting the Palestinians as “savages” in the eyes of many Israelis. Under Amartya Sen’s definition of human development, that development is furthered by the increase of personal and societal freedoms, this use of governmental power to take resources from an already resource scarce area would certainly demonstrate the infringement on personal and societal freedoms. More specifically, it can be classified as violating 3 of Sen’s 5 “instrumental freedoms’’ including political and economic freedoms, as well as “transparency guarantees.” The violation of political and economic freedoms is fairly obvious, as the Israeli government is taking a resource vital to personal health and economic well being without the consent of the Palestinians. However, when considering the idea of “transparency guarantees” it becomes harder. This source would argue that as the Israeli government portrays themselves as wanting to help the Palestinians, while simultaneously disparaging them in order to take their resources, this freedom has been institutionally infringed upon - resulting in slowed development. This article also exposes the departure from the United Nations’ (UN’s) development goals - specifically access to enough clean water. Gasteyer et. al utilize several geographical references to strengthen their claim. Referencing a map of the naturally occurring aquifers in Israel/Palestine, they explain the conflict in which both the Israelis and Palestinians lay claim to the aquifers. This specifically is an issue in the West Bank, as the Coastal, Northeastern, and Tiberius Aquifers all originate there - leading the Palestinians to claim ownership of them. However, due to the movement of groundwater within those aquifers towards Israel and surrounding countries, Israel lays claim to them as well - using this to justify their acquisition of land in order to siphon from them.
Lazarova, V., et al. “Role of Water Reuse for Enhancing Integrated Water Management in Europe and Mediterranean Countries.” Water Science and Technology, vol. 43, no. 10, 2001, pp. 25–33., doi:10.2166/wst.2001.0571.
This source is meant to give a fundamental understanding of what water scarcity is and how it affects different areas of the world. Additionally, it seeks to use “integrative techniques” to solve scarcity problems - specifically the problem of water scarcity in arid areas. This article includes several graphs and charts that show global water use percentage compared to the United States and South Africa - demonstrating how inefficient our global water use is. This article uses 7 key ways in order to address water scarcity and overuse: “(1) developing any undeveloped water resource, including desalination of brackish or sea water, (2) wastewater treatment and reuse, (3) inter-basin transfer, (4) more efficient irrigation systems, (5) minimising water leakage, (6) application of adequate charges for water, and (7) importing water from neighbouring countries.” Specific to Palestine and the Middle East, the authors reference a wastewater reuse system in which waste and grey water is cleaned and desalinated for future use. However, the problem with this type of system is that it is expensive to maintain and initially build. Contrary to this, the article references how places in Namibia have been reusing wastewater and the benefits that these types of facilities provide outweigh the costs. Outside of the monetary costs, the social and cultural work that must be done to get the citizens on board with this large of a project is extensive and can take a serious toll.
Wolf, Aaron T. “‘Hydrostrategic’ Territory in the Jordan Basin: Water, War, and Arab-Israeli Peace Negotiations.” Water: A Trigger for Conflict/A Reason for Cooperation, 10 Mar. 1996.
This article provides a backdrop for the preexisting political conditions that occurred at the end of World War One (WWI) and how the borders that were created continue to plague the water crisis in Palestine. The source additionally seeks to address how river borders, referred to as “hydro-strategic territory”, influence the current crisis in Palestine. The Jordan River, which divides Israel and Palestine, is one of the most indispensable rivers in the water crisis as both Israel and Palestine lay claim to it. This article makes the claim that using rivers and other bodies of water as a way to define territorial boundaries is outdated and creates more conflict. It uses Israel and Palestine as an example of this since they both lay claim to the water and resources that The Jordan provides. The river remains an international boundary, and as such, nobody can truly end the dispute - creating more conflict. The article uses several other examples such as the Indus River between Pakistan and India, which continues to serve as a catalyst for violence between the two nations.
Under Amartya Sen’s definition of human development this creation of disputed water lengthens the process towards healthy development. This is a result of the continued tensions that arise from these shared waterways, in addition to the inaccessibility of these waterways to the domestic populace. This keeps Palestinians - and Israelis - locked where they are in the developmental process as they are unable to acquire the most basic of resources: water.
Geospacially, this article utilizes next to no maps, however, it does rely heavily on several datasets which it references throughout the entirety of the article. These datasets serve to demonstrate the ease with which the region of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel were divided up following the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Additionally, it references the reliance on waterways as a guideline for international boundary drawing. By referencing this data alongside pre-existing maps of the region, you can see that France and England relied almost entirely on the waterways. This resulted in an incredible amount of conflict in the region, especially when looking at the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948, the majority of these clashes were centered around crucial waterways - especially the Jordan River which continues to create conflict between Israeli and Palestinian forces.
This article specifically looks at how historical processes and the creation of governments resulted in the instability of the governmental processes in the region. This relates closely to the human development pattern of governmental stability while simultaneously seeking to answer the scientific question of:
“Does territory exist over which sovereignty has been sought politically or militarily, or which would be insisted upon in the course of current territorial negotiations, solely because of its access to water sources, and in the absence of any other compelling strategic or legal rationale?”
This question isn’t fully answered by the end of the article, however it does serve to provide a framework for the rest of their investigation. This framework was crucial as it allows us, the reader, to understand the objective of the research. On top of that, the idea of hydrostrategic territory which is introduced by the authors of the article serves to exemplify the UN development goal of continued access to clean and renewable water resources - specifically in regards to how governments control citizen access to these resources.
Alsharif, Kamal, et al. “Governance of Water Supply Systems in the Palestinian Territories: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach to the Management of Water Resources.” Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 87, no. 1, 2008, pp. 80–94., doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.01.008.
This source focuses on a “data envelopment analysis” (DEA) of the use of water by the various organizations in Palestine. It relies on this technique of data analysis to confront the question “What physical changes can Palestine make in the next 7 years in order to avoid a total water crisis?” The DEA serves mainly to measure efficiency of water use. This carries a significant amount of importance to those living in the West Bank, as 3 of the regions main aquifers originate there.
Already signs of seawater seepage as well as human and chemical waste pollutants have been found in wells that rely on those aquifers. These are the first signs that water use by countries reliant on those aquifers - Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon - is grossly inefficient. This inefficiency - evidenced by the pollutants in the water - results from water agencies in the region taking water out of the aquifers faster than it can be replenished. The poor and arid soil also contributes to the pollutants in the aquifers as wastewater can quickly seep into the ground without adequate time to filter out harmful chemicals. Additionally, the varying levels of water use by those who rely on the aquifers is discussed in the article - which makes the construction of consistent water management even more difficult as they can’t count on consistent use.
The DEA methodology relies on a series of equations in order to establish their measures of efficiency. The measures of efficiency are based off of yearly annual use - as well as consistent water degradation based off of historical records. These equations - while not infallible - are used in this article to give a rough estimate of the amount of time that lawmakers in Israel and Palestine have to come to a solution. An additional variable that comes into play is the lack of access to the Jordan river by those living in Palestine. Since Israel laid claim to the Jordan river, Palestinians have been almost wholly unable to rely on the water there, meaning that a solution to this water crisis should be of paramount importance to lawmakers in the region. Considering all these variables, the equation can be viewed 
This article relates to Amartya Sen’s definition of human development as being by the people and for the people as it gives a time frame and strategies that those in Palestine and the surrounding region can use to help avoid their inclement water crisis. This source, like the others, relates to the UN sustainable development goal of clean water for all - however it specifically relates to the human development pattern of mitigating population growth alongside scarce resources.
Hoff, Holger, et al. “A Water Resources Planning Tool for the Jordan River Basin.” Water, vol. 3, no. 3, 2011, pp. 718–736., doi:10.3390/w3030718.
This source discusses the use of water from the Jordan River Basin, and serves to use maps as well as data charts to find an answer to the scarcity problems that continue to hound the region. This source is created as a method to address how increasing demand in riparian states can be controlled while simultaneously ensuring the longevity of the water resources that they desperately need. However, the scarcity that this source seeks to address and prevent is already a problem - according to this article all of the riparian states surrounding the Jordan River Basin are suffering from water scarcity - only getting about half the water that they really need. This article talks specifically about the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), an international organization dedicated to water resource management. This is an example of Amartya Sen’s definition of human development as it was created by the people for the people. This organization works not to give monetary aid - rather it seeks to employ tools and strategies that can help countries better manage their finite resources. This extends to Palestine and Israel as well. The IWRM has recommended and put in place several strategies to help overcome the encroaching water crisis, however none of them have been unilaterally used throughout the whole region. This limits the effectiveness of the organization on the whole.
Dormido, Hannah. “These Countries Are the Most at Risk From a Water Crisis.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 6 Aug. 2019, www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-countries-facing-water-crisis/.
I used this source as it gave a longview of water scarcity on a global level. This source had a fantastic map that showed risk levels for water scarcity in the future. On top of that, it gave an in depth analysis of ways we can solve it.
Ezeh, Osita, et al. “The Impact of Water and Sanitation on Childhood Mortality in Nigeria: Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys, 2003–2013.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 11, no. 9, 2014, pp. 9256–9272., doi:10.3390/ijerph110909256.
This paper gave insight on child mortality and water scarcity. The conclusion that they came to was that as water scarcity increases, as does neonatal illness and mortality. This study was done over 10 years in Nigeria and measured both maternal and child health in water scarce areas as well as water abundant areas. Water abundance was dictated by access to reliable sources that were also clean and viable.
“League Of Nations Mandate For Palestine As A Jewish State.” Israel Forever Foundation, israelforever.org/state/Mandate_for_Palestine_Jewish_State/.
This is the direct text that introduced Israel as a state by the League of Nations Article 22. This source allows me to reference the creation of Israel as a state.
Maldarelli, Claire. “This Is What Happens to Your Body as You Die of Dehydration.” Popular Science, Popular Science, 2 July 2019, www.popsci.com/dehydration-death-thirst-water/.
As the title suggests, this source gives a scientific rundown of what happens to the human body as it dehydrates. This source is importance to show just how critical water security is. As without water we are rendered deeply ill.
“Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 25 June 2015, www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_goals/about/en/.
This source is the direct text of the Millennium Development Goals put in place by the UN. This source allows us to view the development goals and reference them throughout the paper.
“Neither Law Nor Justice.” B’Tselem, www.btselem.org/node/208972.
This source outlines the extrajudicial detainment and arrest of Palestinians by IDF members. These actions contributed and continue to contribute to the overall tension between Israel and Palestine.
Nichols, Michelle. “U.N. Allows Palestinians to Act More like Full Member in 2019.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 16 Oct. 2018, www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-un/un-allows-palestinians-to-act-more-like-full-member-in-2019-idUSKCN1MQ2R7.
This source details Palestine’s rights in the UN. It also explains the US’s position on Palestine on the international stage. Additionally, it demonstrates the difference between Palestine and Israel in the UN.