Consulting Services for Technical Assistance to the Project Management Unit of the Palestinian Water Authority

The sharp water scarcity in Gaza is a strong determinant of the climate vulnerability for its population. The Palestinian National Adaptation Plan and the initial national communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) identified water and food security as the most vulnerable issue in Palestine, with knock-on implications for all sectors. Based on a twelve-year cooperation, funded by the World Bank, AFD and EU, the Northern Gaza Emergency Sewage Treatment (NGEST) was launched in March 2008. Largely resolving both emergency and long-term treatment of wastewater, the presence of the plant opens up for integrating the water-food-energy nexus into practical implementation, and has led to the Water Banking and Adaptation of Agriculture to Climate Change in North Gaza (WBAACC) Project. The WBAACC Project is a 45 million EURO – multi disciplinary undertaking addressing different aspects of water resources management, recovery of infiltrated treated effluent for irrigation, reuse of the recovered water, along with enhancing food security, institutional and governance arrangements, monitoring and evaluation, implementation of Resettlement Action Plans (RAP) and Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP) The aims are ambitious to secure sustainable water access, reduce vulnerability of water resources, climate resilient agriculture and water use, based on improved institutional and operational capabilities. The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) through its Project Management Unit (PMU) will be the implementing agency and the project manager for the WBAACC Project (hereafter referred to as the “Project”). while coordinating, in the interim, with many stakeholders and agencies through a Multi Stakeholders Engagement Plan (MSEP).