Projects

The MoLG-JICA Project for Capacity Development in Solid Waste Management in Palestine Phase-III (CDSWMP-III) has launched the Waste Composition Study (WCS) funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA. The CDSWMP-III project aims to develop waste minimization policy/program in Palestine, and in order to achieve a drastic reduction of waste amount flowing into landfills, a detailed analysis of waste composition is required, which will provide us information on potentially recyclables in the actual waste stream. The study will measure the composition of municipal solid waste from THREE Sites (TBD) based on the predetermined.

Funded partner: Japan International Cooperation Agency Palestine Office

The project is in partnership with 9 Palestinian universities and 4 Dutch universities.

Funded partner:  OKP project with Alnajah university(unrestricted fund)

Due to the prevailing global COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and Water, Health, and Sanitation (WASH), humans are facing the midst of a global public health crisis, jobs crisis, ever-worsening climate crisis, and annual environmental degradation. The main objective of the project is to develop and deliver an online course on “WASH for Development" Birzeit (BZU), with experienced staff supported by IHE Delft, the e-course will target undergraduate students and professionals in the water and wastewater sectors. The various smart modules of the WASH online course provide knowledge of the latest technologies and help impart work experience to undergraduate graduates and prepare them for job search And raise the level of their expertise in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene services.

Funded partner: DUPC2 contribution to IHE eLearning Partnership Agenda, for Development, project (WASH)

The project deals with the reuse of treated wastewater (TW) for irrigation of selective crops, chosen according to the “project idea” of investigating plant species characterized by the prevailing local conditions (different vulnerability to chemical and microbiological contamination).  Through this project, we will validate the wastewater treatment technology that is suitable for our geographical context for the reuse in agriculture and economic study of farmer ability to pay for irrigation by TW. On the other hand, an economic study of hydroretents commercialization to farmers and agriculture companies will be considered. Impactful research results of this project shall provide the knowledge and best practices to support and develop large‐and small-scale farmers led irrigation systems with hydrogel at affordable prices, while being locally accessible and environmentally friendly.

Funded partner: Ministry of Forign Affairs of the Netherlands and IHE Delft

The proposed teaching qualification programme supports a process of teaching competence development for a group of selected, motivated and preferably young academic staff from all 6 Palestinian partner universities. During the programme they improve their theoretical and practical teaching knowledge and skills, they transform their own selected research materials into a course, and write a reflection report on their teaching portfolio. After a positive external review by educational specialists, they receive a certificate of achievement. The project stimulates peer-learning and best practice sharing.

Funded partner: University of Twenty PADUCO2

This project provides integrated practices and presents learning tools aiming at enhanced understanding and commitment for change in current wastewater disposal practices of Palestinian agro-food industries. We opted for a course module development based on case study results on water governance [INWA project] within an ongoing MSc course offered at BZU.

Funded partner: University of Twenty PADUCO2

This project responds to the calls for improved gender mainstreaming in the Palestinian water sector, with a focus on the practice-oriented, applied research projects of the PADUCO programme. The five Integrated Research Projects (IRPs), which are currently being implemented within the scope of PADUCO-2, cover different localities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and adopt different scientific perspectives. 

Funded partner: University of Twenty PADUCO2

As an emergent technology, very few referenced works are found on AnDMBR. However, based on the previous work, the AnDMBR carry big potential for sewage treatment coupled at low cost. However, further investigations are still needed to be applied in Palestine, where sewage is concentrated with high solids content due to water shortage, and also temperature fluctuation due to the prevailing Mediterranean climate with hot dry summer and cold rainy winter. So far, the potential of the AnDMBR to remove pathogens is still to be investigated, and will be emphasized in this research, as the main innovative research item.

Funded partner: University of Twenty PADUCO2

This research project aims to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian refugees through better water supply and sanitation services. The team comprises researchers from Birzeit University (Palestine), Al-Balqa’ Applied University (Jordan), and UNESCO-IHE (The Netherlands). The study area will be Al-Jalazoun Refugee Camp (The West Bank) and Jerash Refugee Camp(Jordan). The research team will implement several activities that contribute to achieving the project objectives. The main focus will be evaluating and implementing sound solutions that integrate water supply, decentralized wastewater treatment, rainwater harvesting, and raising public awareness in the two refugee camps.

Funded partner: EUNESCO-IHE - DUPC 2

the major goal is therefore to promote sustainable industrial wastewater management in Palestine, by investigating and demonstrating the application of CP, innovative treatment technologies, mixed with and appropriate way of regulation enforcement, acceptable to stakeholders.

Funded partner: University of Twenty PADUCO2

The overall objective is to contribute in improving sustainable water and enironment management through the promotion of sustainable and innovative wastewater management systems and reuse schemes in Palestine.

Funded partner: Agricultural Developement Association - PARC

In this project, the structure, content and outcomes of the two masters’ programs will be assessed and fine-tuned, and the courses will be updated based on current societal needs and state-of-the art, and the teaching material and methods will be enhanced.

Funded partner: EUNESCO-IHE - DUPC 2

Rapid population growth and increasing dominance of Israeli occupation over the Palestinian water and land resources exacerbate the problem of water supply and management. Many of the Palestinian localities suffer from the shortage of domestic and agricultural water mainly during the warm weather; they have a special need for water during the summer months. The water shortage makes everything difficult. Water scarcity can be considered as a major constraint for economic and social development and sustainability of the domestic and agricultural sector in Palestine. There is an urgent need for a remedial action to combat severe water shortage. Rainwater harvesting systems (RWH) will play an important role in creating realistic and sustainable environment in the future. Their use in drinking, domestic and agricultural sectors not only compensates the shortage of water, but also reduces the severe flooding ensued causing widespread damage. In many times, the storm water rose to the first floor level of many houses. In some areas the flooding blocked sewage pipes, causing sewage to overflow and mix with the storm water, polluting local water sources and cultivated fields, contaminating residential homes, and posing a health hazard for the residents. Thus, RWH systems are the focus of this project as it is positioned as a promising and feasible first step towards sustainable water management at the level of household and community. This project will analyze the different aspects of RWH through the development of a Water Harvesting Evaluation Tool (WHEAT) which is a new and extensible sustainability modeling and analysis framework. The data, models, results and developed relations produced in all tasks (i.e. assessment of socio-economic and water related topics at household and community scale and hydrological assessment within the community boundaries and adjacent watersheds) will be integrated in WHEAT. This tool will be used to assess the impact of any intervention on the water sector in the target community including water, economy, and social impacts.

Funded partner: National Academy of Sciences (Nas-Peer)