Gaza project aims to turn sewage dump into nature reserve

An ambitious nature reserve project in Gaza could see an expanse of waste ground being transformed into a lush wetland, turning what is currently a landfill site polluted with sewage into a haven for nature.

Developers hope the UN-backed project could also offer some respite for Gazans who have avoided the area for years and currently enjoy little green space in the densely populated enclave.

The project is currently well short of its $66 million funding goal, but is already on track to clear the site of landfill and polluted water.

The Gaza Valley, home to a variety of plants and animals, is one of the largest wetland areas in the territory.

It stretches 105 kilometres from the Israeli Negev desert up to southern Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and for 9km across the Gaza Strip to the Mediterranean sea.

But over the past few decades, despite the Palestinians proclaiming the valley a nature reserve in the 1990s, it has become badly polluted. With rubbish piling up and the stench of sewage flowing through it, residents have kept away.

In an attempt to save it, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) put together the $66 million project plan, although it has not yet secured all the funding.

"It is a full project to develop this site and to turn it from an unhealthy wastewater dump into a place people of Gaza can visit and into a tourist site," said Mohammed Abu Shaaban, the UNDP's project co-ordinator.

The two-phase project will take several years to complete, said Mr Abu Shaaban. The first funds to come through, $1.3 million from Belgium, will go towards the initial clean-up, which is expected to take about four months.

"In March we will start removing the solid waste and the concrete and debris in the wadi (valley), opening the route, doing the soil reclamation and planting many trees," Mr Abu Shaaban said.

For the past few months, a new water treatment station in central Gaza has allowed treated water to flow into the valley, improving the habitat of dozens of species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

In the longer term, the restoration aims to benefit the people of Gaza, with camping sites, cafes and educational and recreational centres along the valley route.

"Several tourist and economic centres will be built and will provide jobs for unemployed people," said Marwan Hamad, head of Zahra City Council, whose office is involved in the development.

On Sunday, 40 activists visited the site in support of the project. "We came from all over the Gaza Strip to tell the people that Gaza Valley is being transformed and it will be restored as a nature reserve," said Mohammad Aburjaila, 26.