TEL AVIV – “Garbage? It’s everywhere, and as time goes by, we have more and more of it. The only real solution is to im-prove the awareness of our citizens about this issue.” Baker Awawdy is the general director of the Galilee Society, thelargest environmental organization in the Arab sector in Israel. We are in the city of Shefa-'Amr, as old as the Roman Em-

pire. The city lies over several hills overlooking the bay of Haifa, and 35,000 inhabitants live in it. Whenyou drive through the alleys of the village, it is hard to ignore the presence of rubbish on the pave-ments. In the geography of the Arab village in modern Israel, trash has become an abundant fact: vis-ible, smelly and uncomfortable. But what can be done to solve the problem? The project “GreenCities - Strengthening the Capacity of Local Authorities for Ecolog-ical Modernisation” is an EU supported initiative aiming to developthe capacity of local administrators to prevent or reduce waste, torecycle it and to reuse it. The ‘Galilee Society’ is a major partner andthe actual project’s implementer on behalf of the city of Shefa-'Amr,together with the Palestinian Environmental Network (PENGON)

Awareness is low, poverty is on therise. Other problems are considered more urgent.But waste management is finding its way up on political agendas everywherein the world, including in conflict-torn regions. In many of the Arab towns inGalilee and Palestinian urban areas of the West Bank, environmental problemscan reach the point where they pose health risks. An EU-funded initiative issupporting local authorities in their struggle for proper waste managementand awareness. And the results are impressive: even business men are nowjoining the cause… Text and photos by : Yair Qedar

ENPI Info Centre – Feature no. 50This is a series of features onprojects funded by the EU’sRegional Programme, prepared byjournalists and photographers onthe ground or the ENPI InfoCentre. ENPI Info Centre/EU 2011©

This publication doesnot represent theofficial view of the ECor the EU institutions.The EC accepts noresponsibility orliability whatsoeverwith regard to itscontent.

CIVIL SOCIETY & LOCAL AUTHORITIES > ISRAEL

And business men joinedthe ‘green cause’…

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n Working with children – lectureat the El Gadir elementary school

And business men joined the ‘green cause’… p.2

ENPI Info Centre - Feature no. 50

and the Bulgarian Insti-tute for Ecological Mod-ernisation. “Green Cities” is one ofthe 21 projects financedin the framework of theregional programme CIU-DAD, a €14 million stronginitiative aiming to helplocal governments in theEU’s neighbourhood ad-dress urban developmentproblems in a sustainablemanner. “We are doing our bestto address the problem of proper waste disposal,” explains Baker Awawdy, who is also the‘Green Cities’ project manager. “It’s a very severe issue that deeply affects the village’s life.”

Recycling corners in schoolsIn many of the densely populated Arab towns in Galilee and in Palestinian urban areas ofthe West Bank, environmental issues can reach the point of posing health risks. This hap-pens because in Israel, Arab towns dispose of small municipal budgets and low qualityurban services, and there is little public awareness of good principles of waste manage-ment. In the West Bank, local governments suffer from very serious economic and politicalrestrictions. For example, in the West Bank, 41% of solid waste is organic, but only 1% isrecycled. And 69% is dumped in the open. “The project tries to deal with this problem in a holistic way,” continues Awawdy, “takinginto account many factors. It’s a complex issue for which we need a complex answer, butwe begin by trying to change people’s minds about the fact that the solution should onlycome from the authorities.”Public awareness activities are therefore carried out to ensure understanding and to in-crease knowledge of the issue. “We have divided every community we work with intoeight parts,” explains Awawdy. “In each part, we have set up a special committee dealingwith the project. In every school, we have an educational committee. The aim is to raisestudents’ awareness on how important it is to separate garbage. In every school, there isa recycling corner where garbage is separated, and a recycling company comes and takesthe plastic away. In every village we launch special events, like ‘A day for the planet Earth’.We have also established a forum gathering villages’ district managers that work at gov-ernmental level, creating communication between different arms of the government."The project aims at improving waste disposal also by training local authorities. “Westrengthen the ability to deal with this issue at local government level,” says Awawdy, “sowe encourage local authorities to enforce the laws, to build strategic plans, to develop aspecific environmental sensitivity.” Within the framework of the project, special initiatives are also carried out, in which reli-gious authorities are involved. “Right now in the village of Pki'in a conference of 30 Imamsis ongoing” explains Awawdy: “their word will reach over 20,000 people. That's influence!"

Lessons to kindergarten teachers – and businessesBut things aren’t easy, and problems have arisen at several levels. First of all, the whole

“In everyschool, thereis a recyclingcorner wheregarbage isseparated,and a recy-cling com-pany comesand takes theplastic away.In every vil-lage welaunch spe-cial events,like ‘A day forthe planetEarth’”

“The new genera-tions will grow upwith a stronger

awareness of theenvironment than

we did”

“Garbage? It’severywhere, and as

time goes by, wehave more and

more of it. The onlyreal solution is to

improve the aware-ness of our citizensabout this issue”

n Baker Awawdy

n Illegal waste in thevillage of Sachnin

subject of waste and environmental sensitivity is new. There is a low level of consciousness and it is hard to explainwhy and how communities can benefit by addressing the problem. There is also a high level of poverty. There arepersonal and communal problems that are considered more urgent than waste. At school, people are focused on

educational achievements, more than environmental challenges... "There are a lot of political tensions at local level," testifies Mai Assadi, project Environmental Coor-dinator for the village of Sachnin, "but the project does not deal with political conflicts."“I work with different organizations,” adds Assadi: “for example I did several in-house lectures forwomen’s organisations. About 15 women attended each one of them. I have also organized a work-shop for 30 women, where I taught them how to recycle. I give lessons to kindergarten teachers, or-ganising workshops in preliminary schools… The new generations will grow up with a strongerawareness of the environment than we did.”And the interest doesn’t stop there: "We get interesting calls from the business sector,” concludes

Awawdy. “Some people call us in order to get information on how to make their business go ‘green’… For example,the Mall of Sachnin has asked us for support. So I met each owner of the 25 shops there, and I suggested a workplan to save cartons for packaging… We gave a series of lectures on global warming in the Mall, and many peoplecame. I believe we are changing things."

pwww.enpi-info.eupENPIENPIENPI iinfoinfo ce tnfo centree

CIUDAD – Sustainable urban development

Aims to help local governments in the ENPI region address urban development problems ina sustainable manner, promoting cooperation between local actors and their EU counterparts

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ENPI Info Centre - Feature no. 50

http://www.ciudad-programme.eu/

Participating countriesAlgeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan,Lebanon, Morocco, OccupiedPalestinian Territory, Syria,Tunisia (South), Armenia,Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,Moldova, Russia, Ukraine(East)

Timeframe2009-2013

Budget€14 million

AimsThe programme “Cooperation in Urban Development and Dialogue” (CIUDAD) aims to promotemutual understanding, dialogue and cooperation between local actors in the EU and in the PartnerCountries of the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood (ENPI region) through the provision ofcapacity building for the modernisation and strengthening of local and regional government. Italso seeks to create new partnerships and strengthen existing ones, among local and regionalauthorities in the ENPI region (South-South, East-East and South-East partnerships), leading to long-term benefits extending beyond the life of the programme.

Find out moreProject fiche > http://www.enpi-info.eu/maineast.php?id=310&id_type=10TourMedEau minisite > http://www.open-med.eu/portal/en/ms_TOURMEDEAU.wpCivil Society and Local Authorities- Thematic portal >http://www.enpi-info.eu/thememed.php?subject=14

The ENPI Info Centre is an EU-funded RegionalInformation and Communication projecthighlighting the partnership between the EU andNeighbouring countries. The project is managedby Action Global Communications.

www.enpi-info.eu

n Mai Assadi