• An appropriate national agency or commission to co-ordinate the protected areas network in Palestine.
• A set of legislation, policies and regulations relevant for protected areas in Palestine (linked with Project 8, see below).
• Government staff and local stakeholders conversant with relevant issues and capable of collaborating for the effective management of protected areas.
• Sufficient financial resources dedicated to establishing the system of protected areas.

Activities

• PEnA and collaborating partners appoint a Working Group to carry out a study on the need, possible structure and feasibility of a national agency in charge of co-ordinating protected areas in Palestine.
• On the basis of the study result, the agency is set up and its staff is provided– as needed– with relevant training opportunities. The same opportunities are also offered to key protected area stakeholders in Palestine.
• The agency works in close collaboration with the Working Group/Unit in charge of project 8 to assure that relevant legislation, policy and regulations are developed and set into force.
• The agency develops and assures its own budget in support of developing the system of protected areas.

Objective 2.

To collect and manage the data and information required for developing a representative system of protected areas.

Outputs

• Appropriate ecological, social and environmental criteria and standards for a network of protected areas covering every biome represented in Palestine.
• A data bank and digitised GIS maps of existing and proposed protected areas in Palestine.
• A work plan for the establishment of the protected area network.
• Feasibility studies for the establishment and operation of each proposed protected area.
• Guidelines to establish collaborative management settings for protected areas in Palestine, on the basis of existing international guidelines, and including issues of participatory definition, negotiation of management agreements and “learning by doing” processes.
• Guidelines to establish a special category of “community protected areas” in Palestine to cover such areas as marine seasonal fishing sanctuaries, traditional rangeland enclosures (mahmiyyas), and in situ genetic reserves for improvement of agro-biodiversity.

Activities

• The agency in charge develops criteria and standards for a network of protected areas in Palestine.
• The agency in charge refines the selection of suitable sites starting with those proposed on the side, and are shown in Map(1).
• The agency in charge commissions participatory field studies and surveys of ecological, social, and economic aspects of proposed protected areas, including identifying key stakeholders for each site.
• For each site, the agency in charge organises meetings and workshops with local stakeholders to explore the opportunities, constraints and feasibility of its establishment, together with collaborative management agreements and institutions.
• The agency in charge collates the obtained information– including an update of data of Israeli and Jordanian origin– into a data bank, including digitised GIS maps of existing and proposed protected areas in Palestine.
• The agency in charge analyses the available literature and experiences– including lessons learned in protected areas from other countries– and develops Palestine-specific guidelines to establish collaborative management settings for protected areas– including the special category of community protected areas.

Objective 3.

To establish and manage effectively a system of protected areas in Palestine.

Outputs

• A body of relevant legislation, policy and regulations on protected areas promulgated and enforced.
• A network of at least one formal and one community protected area in each of the Palestinian biomes enjoying the on-going support of the agency in charge.
• Collaborative management agreements and institutions for each established protected area.
• A body of relevant knowledge and skills developed in a “learning by doing” mode while managing the protected areas, compiled with the support of the relevant co-ordinating agency.

Activities

• The agency in charge of co-ordinating the protected areas supports the relevant bodies and institutions to promulgate and enforce the relevant legislation, policy and regulations.
• The agency supports the process of negotiating and implementing collaborative management agreements in each protected area in the network, including a thorough search for economic and social incentives for local stakeholders.
• The agency maintains an active communication flow with and among the Palestinian protected areas, encouraging their “learning by doing” and the on-going monitoring and documentation of lessons learned.
• The agency provides on-going support, as needed, to the collaborative management institutions in each protected area.
• The agency formalises, as needed, the establishment of the network of protected areas in Palestine (e.g. by official promulgation, a public information campaign, etc.).

Duration

Five years.

Estimated Budget Break-Down

Table 6: Estimated Budget Breakdown for project 1

Proposed Partners

The Palestinian Authority (PEnA, Ministry of Agriculture), Palestinian NGOs, IUCN - The World Conservation Union, local stakeholders in all protected areas and surroundings, Donors/Funding Agencies (to be identified).

Proposed Protected Areas and National Parks in Palestine

Wadi Kareitoun

Wadi Al-Qilt

Al-Fashkha Spring

Um Al-Reehan

Wadi Al-Quf

Wadi Al-Baddan

Qeenya Spring

Haraj Um Safa

Wadi Gaza

(Note: these proposed protected areas are shown in the map below.)

Map 1: Proposed Protected Areas in West Bank & Gaza Strip.