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Water Footprint of the Palestinians in the West Bank 1
Author(s) -
Nazer Dima W.,
Siebel Maarten A.,
Van der Zaag Pieter,
Mimi Ziad,
Gijzen Huub J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2008.00174.x
Subject(s) - virtual water , per capita , environmental science , water use , water quality , water resources , agricultural economics , west bank , consumption (sociology) , water scarcity , raw water , wastewater , agriculture , water resource management , environmental protection , environmental engineering , geography , economics , palestine , population , history , ecology , ancient history , social science , demography , archaeology , sociology , biology
Water in the West Bank of Palestine is a key issue due to its limited availability. Water is used from own sources for domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes. Moreover, water is consumed in its virtual form through consumption of imported goods, such as crops and livestock, the production of which used water in the country of production. In addition, wastewater in many parts of the West Bank is disposed off without treatment into the wadis , deteriorating the quality of the water resources in the area and, therefore, further reducing the quantity of good quality water available. This paper calculates the water footprint for the West Bank. The consumption component of the water footprint of the West Bank was found to be 2,791 million m 3 /year. Approximately 52% of this is virtual water consumed through imported goods. The West Bank per capita consumption component of the water footprint was found to be 1,116 m 3 /cap/year, while the global average is 1,243 m 3 /cap/year. Out of this number 50 m 3 /cap/year was withdrawn from water resources available in the area. Only 16 m 3 /cap/year (1.4%) was used for domestic purposes. This number is extremely low and only 28% of the global average and 21% of the Israeli domestic water use. The contamination component of the water footprint was not quantified but was believed to be many times larger than the consumption component. According to the official definition of water scarcity, the West Bank is suffering from a severe water scarcity. Therefore, there is a need for a completely new approach towards water management in the West Bank, whereby return flows are viewed as a resource and that is geared towards a conservation oriented approach of “use, treat, and reuse.”