AECID - Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo

Texto

Name: Palestinian Territories.

Area: 6,275 km2.

Mediterranean coastline: 40 Km.

Population (World Bank data): 3.2 million.

Annual population growth (World Bank data): 3.9%.

Population distribution (World Bank data): 45% urban, 55% rural.

Human Development Index (UNDP Report, 2001): Not available.

Distribution by productive sectors (World Bank data): Not available.

Access to drinking water (UNDP Report, 2001): Not available.

Annual per capita energy consumption (IUCN system): Not available.

Geographical description: The region’s terrain is extremely diverse, and can be grouped into four parallel zones. From west to east, the coastal plain is followed by the hills and mountains of Galilee, Samaria and Judea, then the Jordan Valley, and finally the eastern plateau. In the extreme south is the Negev, a desert region. Elevations range from 408 metres below sea level on the shore of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, to the 1,020 m of Mount Hebron.

Climate: The Palestinian Territories have a Mediterranean climate, with long, dry, hot summers and short wet winters. A significant part of the rainfall comes between November and February in the form of storms, with an annual average of 550 mm. Mean temperatures are between 5 and 13ºC in January and between 18 and 31ºC in August.

Natural resources: There are several fertile zones in the region, its main natural resource. Most notable among these are the Sharon plain along the northern Mediterranean coast, and the Esdraelon (or Jezreel) plain, a valley to the north of the Samaria hills. Water supply is not abundant, with modest average annual precipitation, during the winter months. The River Jordan, the region’s major source of water, flows through the south, across the Sea of Galilee (or Lake Tiberias), to the saline Dead Sea.

Main environmental problems: The priorities defined by the Palestinian Authority include the need for drinking water, particularly in the West Bank where the Israeli prohibition on drilling wells denies access to water to 25% of the communities according to the Palestinian Development Plan. Water quality is also a priority because of the lack of a sewerage system and treatment plants. The introduction of technology into farming, and food security are also classified as essential to sustainable development in the Palestinian Territories.