Steering Committee of the “Friendly Charcoal Production” Project Meets in Jenin to Discuss Progress
Project location in Yabad – first production unit using the closed water filtering system
East Jerusalem, 13 August 2015 – The steering committee of the “Towards a Sustainable and Environment Friendly Charcoal Production” project met on Thursday 13 August 2014, at the Jenin Governorate premises, to discuss the results of the first stage of implementing an environmentally sound technique for the production of charcoal in Yabad village. The meeting was followed by a visit to the project site.
The Governor of Jenin, H.E. Ibrahim Ramadan, highlighted the importance of this project as a pioneering Palestinian experiment that requires investment at the national level.
The project is part of UNDP’s initiative with the Environment Quality Authority to mainstream climate change into governmental policies and strategies. This intervention is jointly funded by the Government of Belgium, through UNDP-GEF/SGP, for the amount of USD 80,000 and World Vision for the amount of USD 16,000.
H.E. Chairman of the Palestinian Environment Quality Authority Adaleh Atteira said, “The achievements reached so far send a message that despite the difficulties, the Palestinian people are up to the challenge and are determined to protect the environment and public health”.
This Pilot project is a continuation of a series of experiments and research that aim at finding the best alternative technologies to make charcoal production less harmful and more viable. Pervious achievements included in-depth research for alternative systems starting with piloting the Adam retort system, then the modified Adam retort system and finally through this project, piloting systems that include air and water filtering.
In his address, Deputy Special Representative of Operations, Khaled Shahwan, reiterated UNDP’s commitment to the successful implementation of this vital project that will not only protect the environment but also improve the health conditions of Yabad’s population that produces over 10,000 tons of charcoal a year, using traditional methods.
Throughout the project, three experiments using different filtering techniques, will be implemented. As community engagement is critical to the success of the project, World Vision, in partnership with UNDP, conducted several sensitization workshops explaining project activities and clarifying the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders.
The steering committee meeting was held in the presence of H.E Governor of Jenin Ibrahim Ramadan, H.E. Chairman of Palestinian Environment Quality Authority Adaleh Atteira, Ashraf Isayed from World Vision, UNDP Deputy Special Representative of Operations Khaled Shahwan, and representatives from the Ministries of Labour, Health, Agriculture, National Economy, and Local Government, UNDP-GEF, and Yabad Municipality charcoal producers.
Contact Information
Dania Darwish, Communications Specialist, Tel. +972-2-6268229 – e-mail: dania.darwish@undp.org. For more information on UNDP/PAPP see http://www.ps.undp.org.
Document Sources: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Country: Belgium
Subject: Assistance, Environmental issues, Health
Publication Date: 13/08/2015