| Summary: | The Palestinian territories face significant and growing shortfalls in the water supply available for domestic use. With population of approximately 4.8 million growing at an average annual rate of 2.8 percent, the domestic supply gap is projected to dramatically increase unless supply and service options are expanded. The Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Poverty Diagnostic (WASH PD) assesses the underlying causes of the chronic and growing water insecurity in the Palestinian territories to inform water and sanitation programming.
Water security requires that water resources are well managed, including risks, and that water service providers (SPs) are capable and motivated to provide sustainable, efficient, and equitable services. In the Palestinian territories, the WASH PD identified that water security was threatened by a complex set of factors including (a) Water resources: Declining quality and quantity due to over-abstraction, lack of regulation, and lack of environmental protection of water resources; (b) Service provision: The SPs operate on an inefficient basis with not-insignificant water losses and low-cost recovery. The SPs’ inability to provide reliable water services undermines customer confidence and willingness to pay; and (c) Geopolitical: The sector development is constrained by the geopolitical context within which it operates, limiting access to goods, services and water resources.
To analyze and improve water security in the Palestinian territories, the WASH PD proposed an IWII framework (institutions, water resources, investments and incentives) that integrates efficient use of natural and financial resources to better meet demand and collaborative solutions within the region and with Palestinians to improve access to water supply and to protect resources.
The WASH PD in West Bank and Gaza is part of a global initiative to improve evidence on the linkages between WASH, poverty, and service delivery.
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