National Legislation

Jordanian laws on the environment were applied in the West Bank while Egyptian laws were applied in Gaza after the 1949 truce and until 1967. The Second Israeli Military Order designated immediately after the occupation in 1967 that all water resources were to be “state owned by Israel” (UNEP, 2003). The Palestine National Authority (PNA) did attempt to legislate on issues of water and other natural resources via the water law signed by the late President Yasser Arafat on 17 July 2002. The Oslo Accords was basically kept in suspension, though not fulfilled. The Wye River Memorandum stipulated that reserves worth more than 3% of the West Bank and Gaza were to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority. This was not done. Nevertheless, as part of these agreements, the two parties agreed to protect the environment in compliance with international standards, conduct EIA, protect soil and other natural resources, etc. (UNEP, 2003). As early as January 1995, the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ) and the Environmental Law Institute (Washington DC) drafted an environmental law for consideration by the nascent PNA (Amra, 1998). In 1995, the environmental planning directorate (EPD) was established within the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC). In December 1996, the Palestinian Environment Authority was created and it was elevated to the Ministry of Environmental Affairs (MOEA) in 1998. A Presidential Decree in June 2002 created the Environmental Quality Authority (EQA) as a successor to the MOEA. The EQA mandate derives from the abovementioned law in addition to the national environment strategy (Amra, 1998).

In 1995-1996, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation developed an Emergency Natural Resources Protection Plan to counter environmental concerns resulting from the development of the newly established State. According to this plan, Gaza and the West Bank were divided into three regions according to their environmental sensitivity (high, medium and low). These regions were divide based on field studies for their importance in terms of biodiversity, protected areas, water resources, agricultural land and landscape preservation (Amra, 1998). The aim of this plan was to direct all forms of development away from environmentally sensitive to the least sensitive areas.

The NBSAP of 1999 coincided with publication of the environmental law for SP. Yet even as early as 2005, the EQA started to address the gaps in the law and especially where needed to comply with newly signed international conventions (most signed from 2005 onward). That is why a decision was made in 2020 to review all international treaties (signed ones for obligations, and unsigned ones for benefit and responsibility if signed) and also to review local laws and regulations to ensure concordance and proper implementation relating to the environment in general, including biodiversity. This also included harmonization of local laws with signed agreements as well as considering signing additional conventions.

The environmental law for the year 1999 needs updating and was reconsidered in 2022. The EQA is the main body responsible for translating knowledge to policies, in cooperation with other governmental agencies, NGOs and academia. Significant progress has occurred between 2015 and 2020 but it is anticipated that much more will be done in 2021-2022, driven by four current projects: revision of the 1999 NBSAP for SP (2021-2022), a national biosafety plan (completed 2022), revision and updating of local environmental laws in compliance and harmonization with signed conventions and signing other international conventions (2022-3), and the assessment and strengthening program for a national network of protected areas (2021-2). However, there has been little integration of biodiversity values in the mainstream society.

The General Directorate of Environmental Resources is the main body responsible for preparation of studies on biodiversity (Fauna and Flora), and cooperates in conserving protected areas. One important function of EQA is to monitor those NGOs which are related to environmental issues through the Law of Charitable Organizations and National Authorities for the year 2000. Environmental inspectors serve as law enforcement officers, with legal power to implement the Environmental Law. The Marine & Coastal Environment and Water Quality sections deal with monitoring such resources.  The General Directorate for Environmental Awareness and Education within the EQA works mostly with schools but can be expanded to areas like university education.  Other activities include summer camps for school students, walking in nature trails and identifying plants and birds. A number of other publications were issued such as “Garden is a Friend of the Environment” stories for school children with an emphasis on environmental concepts and a national strategy for environmental education. In general, the EQA suffers from a lack of human and financial resources to perform its overwhelming duties under the current stressful political conditions.

Through the Agriculture Law for the year 2003, the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for implementing Article 9 of Section 1 of this Law, which states: “The Ministry in cooperation with other competent authorities shall develop nature reserves management plan and conserve all plants and living organisms living in protected areas”. Two other relevant laws are the Forest and Afforestation and the Rangelands Bylaws. A draft law for protected areas was prepared in 2005 in which it is stated that “The Ministry is the authorized authority for protecting targeted areas for the purpose of protection and includes nature reserves, protected areas, national parks and the natural heritage”.

The Vice Minister of Natural Resources of the MOA is responsible for three administrative units: General Directorate of Irrigation and Agricultural Water, General Directorate of Agricultural Land, and General Directorate of Forests, Rangelands and Wildlife.  The latter Directorate is the main body responsible for managing nature reserves and protected areas. This Directorate includes four divisions or departments: Forestry, Nature Reserves, Rangelands, and Nurseries [data from MOA interviews]. The Directorate of Forests, Rangelands and Wildlife has offices in all governorates of the West Bank. 40 rangers are responsible for inspecting and patrolling the protected areas and the natural forests all over the areas under the jurisdiction of the MOA. Out of the 18 protected areas that were handed over to the Palestinian Authority in accordance to the Oslo Agreement, only eight are under actual Palestinian control, less than 15 sq. km. The remaining 10 are within area C or overlapped areas.

National Policies

In 2010, the EQA developed a three-year strategy for 2011-2013 that identified and prioritized objectives for itself and for the Palestinian environment as a whole (EQA, 2010). The EQA identified 48 specific objectives, of which seven related to legal issues: issuing legal and other directives; issuing information bulletins and statistical and other data information; building human capacity at EQA; documenting Israeli violations of the Palestinian Environment; founding an environmental information center which issues regular reports; reviewing and modernizing the Palestinian Environmental Laws; reviewing and evaluating institutional structures related to the environment.

The 2017-2022 National Policy Agenda focuses on democracy and putting citizens first. It is people-centered but mild resource allocation and scarce information on the environment are obstacles found (SP, 2016a). The document has three Pillars: the first is Path to Independence, and the second is Governmental Reform, while the third is Sustainable Development. Under the third pillar, there is a section on Resilient Communities. This section contains five policies related to ensuring a better environment.

Law No7 For the Year 1999 Concerning the Environment

اعتماد نبتة سوسنة فقوعة النبتة الوطنية لفلسطين وإضافتها إلى الرموز والشعارات الوطنية

See References in the Publications