EMPOWERS and MEDWA exchanging experiences in Palestine.

The EMPOWERS team participated in the Water User Associations (WUA) workshop that organized at the Martyr Naeem Khader Center in Zababdeh by the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC). Also present at the workshop were WUAs from Qabatya, Tammoun, Thinnaba villages, in addition to representatives from MEDA Water, CARE International, and the Palestinian Hydrology Group (PHG). This workshop comes within the MEDWA project strategy in developing the water and agricultural sectors in the northern parts of the West Bank; as well as coordinate and promote cooperative work through establishing WUAs able to manage its local water resources and defend its interests. MEDWA is another EC MEDA Water funded project that is being implemented in Palestine by PARC.

Dr. Samer Al-Ahmad, Head of PARC’s Northern Branch, emphasized in his welcoming note the importance of WUAs in protecting water resources and developing the agricultural sector.

In a presentation on the water situation in Palestine and the role of the WUAs, Dr. Abdullatif Mohammed, the Programs Director at PARC, presented the main water problems faced by the Palestinian agricultural sector, a sector that counts for the largest provider of employment, and the one sector that is usually resorted to in creating new employment opportunities in times of emergencies. Highlighting PARC’s vision and approach to establishing the WUAs, Dr. Abdullatif emphasized the competition among the different economic, household and agricultural sectors over the limited water resources available, and the important administrative and technical roles that the WUAs can play in managing these resources.

Following, members from the executive committees of Qabatya, Tammoun and Thinnaba WUAs each presented their association’s main objectives, and the different stages they went through in its establishment, underlining the technical, programmatic and logistical support that PARC provided during the course of their establishment. They also presented the main water problems they faced and the role PARC had in solving them.

Next, Eng. Sameera Rifai, EMPOWERS Country Coordinator in Palestine, briefed on EMPOWES work in Jenin Governorate, and its approach that emphasizes the involvement of the community’s different segments in locally planning and managing their own water resources. Recounting how this approach, which was initially developed in a set of 3 study areas in Jenin Governorate (as well as in Jordan and Egypt), and how it is now being tested and validated in 3 new villages in the same governorate - Eng. Sameera hoped that the WUAs present at the workshop would look further into EMPOWERS approach and into the prospect of adopting it in their work.

These presentations were followed by discussions on the main problems and challenges that the WUAs faced in their work, as well as possible future water and agricultural programs that can benefit the area.

The participants concluded the workshop with several recommendations, most important of which were to:

• promote and further support water harvesting and water resources management projects;
• increase and promote cooperative work in water and irrigation;
• consolidate efforts under a functional framework that is based on effective coordination and cooperation among the different actors in the water and agriculture sectors;
• continue to organize similar exchange workshops considering the significance of the water sector in agriculture.