workshop
Data Envelopment Analysis as a Tool for Understanding the Palestinian Water Crisis
Water scarcity in Palestine leaving Palestinians with only half the minimum water needed per day. The WHO says that 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. 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. Several data science based solutions to this problem have been presented to analyze causes and possible solutions to this problem. One of which is called a “Data Envelopment Analysis” (DEA) which uses a variety of equations in order to determine efficiency. This measure of efficiency is helpful in finding aspects of the current water management strategies that could be improved in order to eliminate unnecessary waste. This waste can stem from pollution, mismanagement of resources, and even general civil waste. This methodology utilizes maps, as well as large data sets in order to determine the maximum efficiency for each municipality it is measuring.
The DEA relies on measuring the performance of input to output ratios, thus works well to determine how Palestinian municipalities can increase the efficiency of their already low water resources and prevent further loss. Originally proposed by Charnes et. al in 1981, it continues to be a useful tool, with clear advantages over other tools, such as regression. While regression gives uniform values for all inputs and outputs, DEA gives some inputs and outputs more weight depending on how critical they are in the overall water supply. It can be structured around inputs or outputs. Meaning some inputs can be given more weight and some outputs can be given less depending on their strength. The most important thing that DEA can do is measure returns to scale (RTS). The RTS assigns weight to inputs and outputs depending on their overall effect on the scale of the municipality being measured - making it a versatile tool for a measure of any municipality. RTS is useful as it is part of variable returns to scale (VRS), which allows the DEA to minimize inputs and maximize outputs simultaneously and allows the DEA to measure the overall relative efficiency of each municipality measured. The VRS is measured through the BCC method, and demonstrates the returns to scale. BCC uses several variables, where xij and yrj are inputs and outputs respectively. VRS is shown here:
RTS model is shown here:
RTS is either increasing, decreasing, or constant depending on if Mu null is greater than, less than, or equal to zero. Additionally, the primal model of RTS breaks the different municipalities into two groups, either efficient (on the frontier) or inefficient (below the frontier). Y and X are the matrices of outputs and inputs respectively. S- and S+ are the shortfalls in production and consumption slacks. For this model, efficiency is achieved if all slacks are equal to zero. Additionally, eT represents the summation vector. The combination of these equations allows the large data to be taken and crunched into small, more digestible numbers. After these two equations are utilized they results are taken and inserted into a final function called the RTS additive primal model, seen here:
This final equation takes the culmination of the other two equations in order to give final efficiency values. A municipality is deemed “efficient” according to DEA if the change in the consumption and production slacks are equal to or greater than zero. This makes the data easy to use and easy to insert into larger charts since the outputs all range around zero. A collection of data in obviously necessary for this to work. Specifically the water losses (in this example all losses and gains measured in the New Israeli Shekel, the currency in Palestine), water and energy spending, maintenance and other expenses, including salary of workers and total revenue. Example table can be seen here, courtesy of Alsharif et. al: 
This data, as well as the same data for 2000, 2001, and 2002, is summarized and inserted to a program with the equations pre-loaded. This large dataset allows us to look at each individual municipality as well as Palestine on the whole. The final results from this analysis can be seen here: 
The ability to look at each individual municipality allows us to cross reference spending and efficiency along preexisting geographic data. With this we can view how different water sources are used and with what level of efficiency, meaning that we can, both, demonstrate possible solutions for the present, as well as make predictions about when the water will run out in the future. The level of preparedness that the DEA provides is crucial for a region undergoing a water crisis, as crises such as this one often last for many years without stopping. Additionally, when the data is graphed over many years, it is possible to see clear trends in efficiency and use in order to determine if the changes implemented (if any) actually made a difference in the region.
In order to further the research that has already been done, the ability to account for other, more random variables, must be included. The inclusion of a confidence interval would be a very basic way to account for any possible random errors that may have occurred and resulted in skewed data. This would make it easier to predict potential eventualities, as well as create a clearer picture of the present.
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.
Charnes, A., et al. “Evaluating Program and Managerial Efficiency: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis to Program Follow Through.” Management Science, vol. 27, no. 6, 6 June 1981, pp. 668–697., doi:10.1287/mnsc.27.6.668.
This source gives the background information for the creation of the DEA processes dicussed in the methodology section. Charnes et. al proposed the DEA in this paper in 1981 using data from the education sector.
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.