I NSTITUTIONALIZATION THE P ARTICIPATORY A PPROACH C ASE S TUDY - P ALESTINE Abdel rahman tamimi P.O.BOX 565 Director of Palestinian hydrology group for water and environmental resources development Lecturer AL QUDS University

Institutional Setup in Water Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) West Bank Gaza Water Hydrology Department Dep. Ministry of Agriculture West Bank Gaza Water Hydrology Department Dep. Ministry of Agriculture Water Utilities Village Councils Municipalities NGOs Private Investors Water Utilities Village Councils Municipalities NGOs Private Investors PWA West Bank Gaza Water Water Department Department West Bank Gaza Water Water Department Department Regional Water Utilities GAZA WEST BANK N OR TH MI DL LE SO UT H LEVEL Decision Making Regulatory Monitoring and Development of Supply (Bulk) Service Provision President National Water Council (NWC) NWC Current Setup Future Setup

Case Study Background

Management structure & Lines of Communication in place

Main stakeholder for new water utility Ministry of local government Village councils Palestinian water authority People

Legal background Amendment of the By-Law For Water and Wastewater Department Of the Joint Service Council for Planning and Development Jerusalem Ratified by Ministry of Local Government on 15/10 /2012 issued a amendment of theby-law of the Joint Service Council for Planning and Development Jerusalem according to the Basic Law of the Joint Services’ Councils # (1) of 2006.

Main challenges Political challenges  Israeli control  rapid changes of representation from village councils  Internal political polrization  Lack of follow up from decision making level

Main challenges Social challenges  mistrust among village councils  Internal social conflict between people council  Lack of culture of public good ownership  Marginalization from decision making  Unfair water distribution

Main challenges Economical challenges  Accumulated debts  Lack of affordability 20% below poverty level  Low willingness to pay  Absent of economic study before the project

Institutionalization process MoU, By-laws (WWD) Management Committee, Structure Management & technical training, awareness Billing & accounting Operation & maintenance Customer services

Socio economic context

Legal and admin constrains Different laws Different decision making process Inefficient institutions ( village councils and service councils)

Social Groups % of Payment from Their Income

Conclusions It is very clear that the understanding the Political and socioeconomic dimensions context is the main driver to establish new water utility, this understanding only can be achieved by conducting a good baseline survey and collection of reliable data, additional to that the public participation and the creation of public ownership are key factors

Recommendations Reliable socioeconomic data is a must The importance of the harmonized vision among different stakeholders ( consencus building ) Doing all necessary legal reform and modification Protection of Consumers rights is a must Regular monitoring the performance indicators Institutionalizing stakeholders dialogue