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unrwa/bmu - arij joint environmental impact monitoring

In 2002, following the outbreak of the Second Intifada, Israel started constructing the West Bank Barrier, which restricts the mobility of Palestinians and cuts Palestinian farmers off from their land. The construction process and the Barrier’s physical structure severely impact the Palestinian population and their surrounding environment.

Between June 2011 and June 2012, UNRWA’s Barrier Monitoring Unit (BMU) and the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ) conducted joint research on the environmental impacts of the Barrier, the effects on Palestinian livelihoods and the already-vulnerable Palestine refugee population. This joint survey targeted over 170 directly-affected communities and consisted of focus group discussions with village council and municipality representatives, and farmers owning land behind the Barrier. Access restrictions were assessed for their impact on land use within the closed military area located between the Barrier and the 1949 Armistice Line (Green Line), also referred to as the “Seam Zone”.

barrier impacts on the environment & rural livelihoods

land degradation

Barrier construction frequently results in land degradation, fragmentation of ecosystems, erosion and compaction of soil, heaping up of earth walls, arbitrary disposal of waste, and accumulation of dust on agricultural lands and trees. These results impact the productivity of lands and often severely diminish the agricultural production and income of Palestinian farmers.

In Al Walaja village, Bethlehem, with a population of 2,041, three-quarters of which are refugees, dynamite and deep digging were used to embed the Barrier’s concrete slabs. This fractured the soil and channelled rainwater in a way that permanently damaged the surrounding environment and residential houses.