RAFIF ESLEEM

Gaza- With the aim of preserving the wetland ecosystem as well as minimizing the deterioration of Wadi Gaza’s natural resources, the “Photos of Wadi Gaza” exhibition opened in the Gaza Strip on June 8 in the presence of the representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Norwegian ambassador and the representative of UNESCO in Palestine.

Speaking about the exhibition, which will open until June 28, Shahd El-Swerki, UN Volunteer Communications Assistant at UNDP-PAPP's office in the Gaza Strip, said that the opening of the photos exhibition of Wadi Gaza is part of the awareness and advocacy campaign carried out by the United Nations Development Programme. 47 photographs of Wadi Gaza are displayed at the exhibition. At the end of the exhibition, a committee will choose three photos and the photographers of these three photos will be awarded.

Pointing out the Wadi Gaza project is a dream and a future vision for environmental life in the Gaza Strip at a cost of 66 million dollars, Shahd El-Swerki said that Wadi Gaza was a nature reserve containing more than 450 species of birds and plants that disappeared due to water pollution, solid waste and the destruction of vegetation cover in the valley.

“Wadi Gaza will be restored”

Torunn Viste, the Representative of Norway to the Palestinian Authority, said that she was happy to be present at the exhibition and that she was proud of the implementation of the Wadi Gaza project with the United Nations Development Office to restore life to it.

Amal Abdel Bari, a member of the Wadi Gaza advocacy team, said that the exhibition is a continuation of a number of activities carried out by young men and women to restore Wadi Gaza.

Wadi Gaza

Wadi Gaza is considered as one of the most important coastal wetlands located in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, very rich in biological diversity (both flora and fauna). However, the valley is rapidly losing much of its water due to an Israeli decision to create water catchment areas and this has made the Wadi’s flora and fauna endangered. The degradation and dryness of the Wadi Gaza have been a concern of several local and international organizations. Recently, the Norwegian Government has funded a project for the restoration and rehabilitation of Wadi Gaza.