Possibilities of agricultural development on the West Bank by winter tomatoes

In most arid regions of the world, the increasing agricultural water supply–demand gap jeopardizes sustainable agricultural development and, as such, undermines local food security. In such situations, unconventional water resource practices such as agricultural rainwater harvesting (ARWH) can be potentially used to tackle agricultural water poverty (AWP). This study aims to integrate AWP and agricultural rainwater harvesting suitability (ARWHS) maps to identify locations where ARWH can be of the most benefit to the West Bank, Palestine. These maps were developed under the GIS environment. The weighted overlay summation process (WOSP), supported by the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), was utilized. Research findings of the AWP map indicate that high to very high AWP covers about 61% of the study area, whereas, the findings of the ARWHS map shows that highly suitable ARWH areas cover 65% of the total study area. Further, 31% of the study area has highly suitable sites for the implementation of proper ARWH techniques. Finally, the combined mapping between the ARWHS map and agricultural lands indicates that high to very high ARWH-suitable areas cover 53% of the rough grazing areas (62% of the entire West Bank area). Thus, the implementation of proper ARWH techniques in such areas is seen to be a sustainable water management option for achieving agricultural sustainability and, accordingly, improved food security in the West Bank, Palestine.

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"Dietro un muro di ferro". Un reportage dai territori

HISTORIA MAGISTRA ◽

10.3280/hm2009-002008 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 85-98

Author(s):

Alberto Guasco

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Development ◽

West Bank ◽

Right Wing ◽

Check Point ◽

The West ◽

Music School ◽

Olive Trees ◽

Medical Relief ◽

The Right ◽

Direct Encounter

- This is a reportage of last August's journey into the West Bank. It speaks about the "iron wall" in which, in 1923, Zeev Jabotinsky - father of the right-wing Revisionists-Zionists movement - considered necessary to confine the arabic population. It speaks of the cities and villages: Aboud, Qalqilya, Taybeh, Ramallah, Bir Zeit, Betlemme, At-Tuwani and Hebron. Of meetings with its people: Michel Sabbah, the patriarch of Jerusalem; priests from Aboud, Taybeh and Gaza; doctors at the Palestinian Medical Relief Society in Qalqilya; agronomists at the Palestinian Agricultural Development Association; attorneys-at law at the Mandela Center; embroiderers at the Palestinian Melchite Embrodery Center; violinists at Ramallah's music school Al Kamandjati; theologians at the Al-Liqa Center; nuns at the Bethlehem Charitas Baby Hospital, and ordinary families from Bethlehem and Jerusalem. It pretends only to be a direct encounter with the faces and voices of the Palestinian people.Key Words: West Bank, wall, check-point, Jerusalem, water, olive trees.Parole Chiave: West Bank, muro, check point, Gerusalemme, acqua, ulivi.

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