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Description

The Palestine Academy for Science and Technology (PALAST), the Palestine Council of Health (PCH), PIES and the Palestinian Society for the Conservation of the Environment (PSCE) initiated the establishment of a Palestinian Environmental Field Center (EFC), based on the experiences of other field research centers in the region. Many people and institutions on the local and regional level encourage this initiative. The PNA enthusiastically supports the initiative and has made an appropriate site (100 dunums) near the Al-Auja Spring in the Jericho District, owned by the Islamic Waqf, available. The Ministry offered to lease the land to PALAST on a long-term basis with minimal annual payments.

PALAST, PCH and PSCE have decided to establish the EFC in the Jericho district, located in the Syrian-African rift valley. The Jericho district is very fertile and close to the Dead Sea, and contains ancient archeological sites and agriculture. The district supports a broad range of flora and fauna, and is in the direct path of a major migratory bird route. Establishing the EFC in the Jericho District will provide an ecologically rich and diverse setting in which public environmental programs can be conducted. Further, it provides researchers with direct access to bio-diverse resources for study and preservation.

Target Audience

The Palestinian EFC targets a wide audience from all accross Palestinian society. Schoolchildren will benefit from educational programs that foster their love for and curiosity about nature. Programs for university students and adults will increase their ability to make a positive contribution to their local community and the environment. Eco-tourists, individuals and families visiting the EFC for recreation and education will be able to relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the site. Palestinian teachers and nature guides will be able to enjoy special training programs at the EFC. For scientists, the EFC presents an opportunity to conduct studies and on-site research.

Aims of EFC

The aims of the EFC are to enable environmental research, to provide education facilities and to raise the level of public awareness.

  1. Environmental Education: A variety of hands-on educational programs will broaden the knowledge of environmental issues among the Palestinian community. These programs will teach visitors of all ages about the ecological diversity, natural history, and human history of the area, and teach them conservation skills. Visitor programs will be interactive, informative, fun, and led by well-trained guides. An on-site Internet corner will train visitors to efficiently navigate through relevant environmental sites on the World Wide Web. This will enable visitors to learn more about the global environment. Visiting groups will also have access to a multi-station computer center, housed in the research facility. These computers will include environmental simulation programs and educational software. All visitor programs will strengthen the People-to-Nature bond. Visitors will leave with a greater awareness of the environment, an increased sense of responsibility towards it, and concrete ideas for converting their commitment into action.
     

  2. Public Awareness: Public lectures and workshops will result in community forums, and will support the development of grass-roots environmental protection. Promotion of eco-tourism will provide a model of ecologically sensitive and economically sustainable development and will stimulate the Palestinian economy. Media campaigns generated at the center will further raise public awareness.
     

  3. Training Programs: Special programs will provide intensive training for Palestinian schoolteachers in environmental subjects. This will strengthen the national science curriculum, and will enable schools to take a pro-active role in environmental protection.

    Additional programs will train Palestinian University students and professors, schoolteachers, scientists and interested community members as nature guides.
     

  4. Resource Conservation: EFC facilities will incorporate large-scale conservation measures such as the utilization of solar energy, ecologically sound building techniques, non-toxic solid waste landfill models, bio-organic agriculture and wastewater treatments. It will also demonstrate models of household-conservation measures such as composting, water use reduction and resource re-use and recycling.
     

  5. Preservation and Reintroduction of Endangered Flora and Fauna: Preservation of bio-diversity will make up a significant portion of the activities of the EFC. To fulfill this aim, visitor programs and research activities will greatly overlap and assist one another. Visitors will participate in clearing, replanting and reforesting land plots on-site and in the Jericho district using plants grown by researchers at the EFC. They will also help researchers monitor local wildlife populations.
     

  6. Migratory Bird Research: The EFC will serve as an important link in the international effort to study the migration patterns of the 280 types of birds that pass through the region. As the Jericho district experiences one of the world’s most concentrated passages of birds twice a year, it provides an ideal location for educating the Palestinian public about migrating birds and their habitat. A migratory bird tracking station will be an important element of visitor educational programs. This station will serve as a regional research and tracking site in cooperation with Middle Eastern countries, Europe, Western Asia, and the birds’ wintering countries in Africa. Collected data will be applied to protecting the birds and their habitats. It will also provide a platform for developing communication in joint programs between students and researchers in Palestine and other countries.
     

  7. Research: Scientists and students will have access to state-of-the-art EFC research facilities in order to conduct experiments and collect data in a range of environmentally related fields. This will allow single- and multi-disciplinary studies and will foster communication between researchers. These studies will inform the implementation of a national Palestinian environmental strategy. The research facility will host the computer center and a database containing relevant software and data provided by local governmental and non-governmental organizations. Information collected during field research studies will be available to researchers at the EFC and to Palestinian academic and research institutes.
     

  8. Regional and International Cooperation: The EFC will facilitate teacher and scientist exchanges between Palestinian and international schools, universities and research institutions. It will facilitate the transfer of data, technology, and expertise. In addition, the EFC will include facilities for hosting regional joint programs for youth, undergraduates, field guides, and the general public, as well as scientific conferences. Such cooperative efforts will address the growing environmental problems shared throughout the region.
     

  9. Linking Regional Environmental Protection Efforts: The EFC will establish Palestine as an important member of a network of environmental monitoring posts throughout the Jordan Valley, where scientists from the region can work together to find technical solutions to shared environmental concerns.