Environmental Peace Treaty between Israel and Palestinians Unveiled at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Environmental Peace Treaty between Israel and Palestinians Unveiled at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
July 11, 2008
Negev Development & Community Programs, Press Releases
Sde Boker, ISRAEL, May 28, 2008 – A model for an agreement on environmental cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians was unveiled on Monday, May 26, 2008 at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR) of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
The agreement was created by Prof. Alon Tal, a member of the Swiss Institute for Dryland Research at the BIDR and Dr. Mohammad Said Al-Hmaida from Bir Zeit University.
Tal is a long-time environmental activist who founded the a public interest advocacy group Adam Teva V’din – the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, while Al-Hmaida is a past director general of the Ministry of the Environment of the Palestinian Authority.
The agreement was outlined at a presentation, “Creating an Environment for Peace,” during BGU’s 38th Annual Board of Governors Meeting.
Recognizing the proximity of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples and the critical importance of protecting transboundary resources, Tal and Al-Hmaida initiated this cooperative project that has spanned several months of research and negotiations.
Together they have drafted a model agreement that covers all aspects of the shared environmental issues, including environmental impact statements, hazardous materials, air quality, nature preservation and solid waste.
The ambitious project was undertaken in consultation with international environmental legal experts and peer review teams of Israeli and Palestinian experts. It will establish a joint professional committee of environmental managers from both groups – joined by international representatives – that would be empowered to oversee many aspects of environmental issues in the region.
According to Tal, the agreement would encourage joint management over shared resources.
“For example, Israelis and Palestinians would both be directly involved in the physical planning of areas on both sides which are adjacent to the borders. Israel would have a say in the sewage treatment strategy in the Palestinian sector – which directly affects our water resources, just as the Palestinians would have access to monitoring of Israeli air pollution sources that are transboundary and impact their air quality.”
The model agreement has been submitted to Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Palestinian negotiating team on the environment.
The event also included “Transboundary Environmental Research”: presentations by Jordanian, Palestinian and Arab and Jewish Israeli graduate students from the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, who discussed various joint environmental projects with a regional impact.
“This event reflects the continued commitment of BGU and the BIDR, not only to academic excellence, but also to reach out to societal needs of Israel and its neighboring countries,” said Prof. Avigad Vonshak, director of the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research.
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
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