How do we build sustainable cities in Palestine for the future?

There is a global trend towards sustainable urban development based on the revitalization and transformation of urban areas and cities. With the aim of improving livability and reducing environmental impacts while maximizing co-economic and social benefits. This global trend is largely compatible with the current conditions in the Palestinian territories, which are characterized by a high degree of urban growth and an increase in population density in built-up areas more than ever before due to politically drawn borders that do not take into account the natural growth of the population.

overpopulation burden,
The percentage of Palestinians living in urban areas has reached 77% (3.8 million people) with more than 60% of the urban population living in large cities, an increase of more than 50% over the past 50 years. The population density in the Palestinian Territories is estimated at 798 people per square kilometer, which is almost double the population density of India (464 people) and Israel (426 people), and much higher than the world average of 60 people per square kilometer. This demographic reality within the restricted administrative borders makes the planning, financing and management of Palestinian cities and towns a priority at the level of national policies.

Palestinian cities face the risks of natural and human-induced disasters. Natural hazards include earthquakes and heavy rains, which can lead to landslides and liquefaction (where waterlogged soil breaks down buildings), as well as floods and droughts. The dangers from human activity are often associated with long-standing political conflict and violence. The effects of climate change exacerbate these risks, as lower rainfall and higher temperatures accelerate desertification, heat waves and forest fires. Water shortages and droughts, as well as coastal flooding, saltwater intrusion, and coastal erosion are becoming serious issues. Climate change also increases the spread of diseases transmitted by the bites of mosquitoes, ticks and other disease vectors, which can lead to epidemics and pandemics.

Weak governance systems exacerbate the effects of disasters. Rapid and unplanned urban expansion, lack of and poorly organized infrastructure, and environmental degradation all contribute to increasing the population's vulnerability. The long delay in developing a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for disaster risk management policies in the Palestinian territories is a major gap. Significant gains have been made in the past three years, particularly in the establishment of institutions entrusted with coping with the effects of disasters. However, imposing many policies remains difficult in the absence of a supportive policy. Organizations also face permanent problems in coordinating, communicating, and integrating initiatives and resources.

Urban density is exacerbated by the difficulties associated with providing reliable and quality basic services, particularly water, energy and solid waste collection and disposal. Increasing population and urbanization lead to an increase in solid waste, which puts great pressure on waste collection service providers and relevant government agencies. We believe that many landfills are in the process of reaching their capacity sooner than was planned at the design stage, which will cause negative consequences for the environment and public health. This problem is exacerbated by the restrictions imposed on Area C, which creates additional challenges in identifying suitable lands for the construction of new waste dumps, as well as the PA's lack of resources for capital investment in waste treatment facilities. Achieving financial sustainability, cost recovery and enhancing service efficiency in solid waste management are major challenges that are common all over the world.

How can the World Bank support the effort going forward? ,,
The Palestinian Authority is fully aware of the need to address such suffocating crises. This can be seen in the multiple goals set by the Palestinian Authority in its national contributions to combat climate change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, its national strategy for solid waste management, and the many decrees and decisions it issued over the past years. The World Bank recently approved a new Resilient Municipal Services Project with the aim of deepening reforms at the national level to create an enabling environment for improving fiscal sustainability and accountability of urban LGUs. Among the main objectives of this project is the establishment of a system of financial transfers between the central government and local government bodies to ensure a sufficient degree of discipline in financial flows between the central government and local government units (municipalities and village councils), and to enhance the revenues of cities and municipalities, and to develop a clear and time-bound action plan to solve the net problem Lending that is still in place and looking for opportunities for partnership between the public and private sectors and any other strategies that could contribute to the development of financially sustainable local governance in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

When disaster strikes. The World Bank is also helping the Palestinian Authority move from a traditional focus on post-disaster response and recovery to a more sustainable and comprehensive disaster risk management that covers the entire disaster risk management cycle (i.e. preparedness, prevention, mitigation, risk reduction, response, recovery, reconstruction, disaster risk financing and money transfer necessary). In this sense, the World Bank will assist the Palestinian Authority in the coming years to: (1) review the methodology for reviewing existing designs, their approval mechanism, the process for granting building permits, reviewing relevant building codes and standards, and arrangements for construction supervision and quality control , standards for retrofitting and renovating buildings, and presenting a set of recommendations to improve the current standards for designing, retrofitting, renovating buildings and constructions and making them resilient to climate change and disaster risk management. (2)- Consolidate existing spatial risk assessment and planning tools and develop scenarios for urban green areas that are resilient to climate change and disaster risk management through appropriate policies and investments (integrated growth, green construction, nature-based solutions, efficient public transport, and energy-efficient lighting in streets, and waste management systems).

Since the first decade of the twenty-first century, the World Bank has been supporting the Palestinian Authority in the solid waste sector through investment projects and advisory services. and through the Global Partnership for Aid for Results Multi-Donor Trust Fund, hosted by the World Bank.

The Bank is currently providing additional technical assistance to the Palestinian Authority to develop an integrated roadmap that will enable Palestine to achieve its national solid waste management goals and national contribution plans to combat climate change, and to comprehensively improve the design of solid waste management operations and raise their level of efficiency in the future. In particular, the solid waste sector roadmap will support the following: (i) development of policies to reduce waste disposal to landfills through recycling, recovery and maximizing efficiency in collection and transportation for final disposal; and (ii) taking into account, as broadly as possible, considerations related to climate change and national contributions to combating climate change in the process of improving landfill management; and (iii) achieving financial sustainability in the sector.

* Senior specialist in the field of infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip at the World Bank