Environmental assessment of the Gaza Strip : following the escalation of hostilities in December 2008-January 2009

Foreword 3 Acronyms and abbreviations 4 Weights and measures 5 1. Background 6 2. Environmental assessment of the Gaza Strip 11 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................11 2.2 Scope of the environmental assessment ..........................................................................................12 2.3 Environmental assessment methodology .........................................................................................13 2.4 Background research ........................................................................................................................15 2.5 Remote sensing analysis...................................................................................................................16 2.6 Field work .........................................................................................................................................18 2.7 Laboratory analysis ...........................................................................................................................26 2.8 Limitations and constraints ...............................................................................................................26 3. Results and discussions 27 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................27 3.2 Damages directly attributable to the recent escalation of violence ..................................................27 3.3 Environmental issues pre-dating the recent escalation of hostilities that were aggravated by it .....38 3.4 Institutional assessment ....................................................................................................................68 4. Recommendations 69 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................69 4.2 Recommendations for the restoration of damage caused by the recent escalation of hostilities ...................................................................................70 4.3 Recommendations for the remediation of pre-existing environmental degradation that was exacerbated by the recent hostilities .............................................................70 5. Economic assessment 72 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................72 5.2 Scope of the economic assessment .................................................................................................72 5.3 Economic assessment methodology ................................................................................................73 5.4 Limitations and constraints ...............................................................................................................74 5.5 Findings ............................................................................................................................................75 Endnotes 85 Appendix I: UNEP Governing Council Decision 25/12: The environmental situation in the Gaza Strip .....................................................................87 Appendix II: List of assessments conducted in the Gaza Strip after the recent escalation of violence and hostilities ..........................................................88 Appendix III: References ...........................................................................................................................90 Appendix IV: Bibliography .........................................................................................................................92 Appendix V: List of contributors ...............................................................................................................96