Palestine Monitor

巴勒斯坦观察

5 May 2009

2009年5月5日

The recent increase in the number of check points, as well as the devastating consequences brought on by the latest Israeli Cast Lead Operations on the Gaza Strip, are affecting the life of the Palestinians in many different ways. The Palestinian economy is a “stifled economy” where the occupation is exacerbating the level of poverty and unemployment, and decreasing the standard living of the people.

近期检查站的数目增加，以及最近一次以色列在加沙地带军事行动带来的毁灭性后果使得巴勒斯坦人的生活受到了诸多方面的影响。巴勒斯坦的经济是一种“受压制的经济”，以色列对巴勒斯坦领土的占领一方面使得当地贫困状况和就业状况进一步恶化，另一方面，巴勒斯坦民众的生活水平也受波及，呈下降趋势。

The domestic food production has declined and the danger of “Food Insecurity” is now more imminent than ever. Food Insecurity has greatly increased since the Second Intifada, which brought about the notoriously severe movement and access restrictions. Haneen, a researcher of the Palestinian Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), explain that “before the last few years food aids and food security in the Region were not an issue”.

巴勒斯坦国内的粮食生产已呈减产趋势，而“粮食危机”正在空前地逼近巴勒斯坦。自第二次石头起义以来，随着以色列一次次严酷的镇压以及通行限制，粮食危机指数大大地增加。巴勒斯坦经济政策研究所的研究员Haneen表示，“几年前，该地区的粮食安全以及对该地区的粮食援助尚不是个问题。”

Tomato plants, dried because of the lack of water in Beit Ula, Southern West Bank

在西岸南部地区的Beit Ula的农场里，因缺水而干枯的番茄

Picture: Palestine Monitor

图片：巴勒斯坦观察

What is Food Security in Palestine?

巴勒斯坦的粮食安全问题是什么？

The crowded markets in the main cities of the West Bank are not really a sign that the food is readily available. The definition of Food Security refers not only to food availability, but also to accessibility, stability and utilization (World Food Summit ’96). It means that even if the food is available, there are individuals who do not have adequate access to food resources to meet their needs. The likelihood for such shocks, as the loss of income as a consequence of the movement restrictions or the sudden closure of important transit ways for basic goods, makes the access to food resources insecure. The “utilization” point refers to the consumption of food with adequate sanitation and clean water.....that is notably one of the main problems in the Region.

西岸地区主要城市里热闹拥挤的市场并不能说明粮食真的够吃了。对于粮食安全的定义所指的并不仅仅是粮食保有量，同时也包括粮食获得率，粮食产量稳定性，以及粮食利用率（1996年世界粮食峰会）。这意味着，即使粮食尚有存量，仍然有一些个体没有足够的条件获得能满足他们需要的粮食。这些情景发生的可能性，随着因对把民众运动的限制或用于运输基本商品的主要道路的关闭而造成的收入下降，使得粮食资源愈发不安定。粮食利用指的是在有足够卫生设备以及干净的水的前提下的粮食消费——这毫无疑问是该地区的主要问题之一。

An International survey conducted in May 2008 (FAO) found that 38% of Palestinian households have limited access to food resources, while that percentage has risen up to 70% in the Gaza Strip after the last Israel operation [].

世界粮农组织在2008年5月做的一项国际范围的调查显示，38%的巴勒斯坦家庭缺少足够的粮食获取渠道，而在加沙地带，这个指数在以色列最近一次的军事行动后上升到70%。

There are multiple conflict-related factors that have contributed to the current situation. First of all, the Israeli measures and policies led to the loss of a lot jobs.

造成目前这个局面的原因有许多，往往与巴以冲突有关。首先，以色列的法案与政策导致了许多工作的消失。

For example the construction of the wall resulted in many Palestinians who used to work as labor force in Israel, not being granted permission anymore. Many of these people immediately tried to find a new source of income in agriculture that seemed at the time the only possible solution.

例如，隔离墙的修建使得许多曾在以色列务工的巴勒斯坦人没办法获得过境的许可。他们中的许多人很快转而投身于农业生产，试图重新从中获得收入，这看上去也是{wy}的办法。

But from 2000 to 2007, the Israeli Government allowed the destruction of 2.851dunums [] of land, 13,147 dunums of vegetables and 14,076 dunums of Palestinian field crops. Over the course of the past five years, the Israeli Occupation Authorities have destroyed 455 wells, 37,929 dunums of irrigation network, 1,000 km of main pipelines, 1,9 km of irrigation pools, 930 agricultural stores and 1,862 of animal barns and stables. In the same period 1,6 million of Palestinian trees have been uprooted, further jeopardizing Palestinian food production.

然而自2000年至2007年，以色列政府授权对2851平方公里的土地，13147平方公里蔬菜种植区以及14076平方公里巴勒斯坦农作物区进行毁坏。就在过去的五年中，以色列殖民当局摧毁了455口井，37929平方公里的灌溉网络，1000公里长的导水管，1.9公里长的灌溉池，930个农业用品商店以及1862个牲畜棚。与此同时，160万棵巴勒斯坦地区的树木被连根拔起，进一步危害了巴勒斯坦的粮食生产。

The worst situation is obviously in the Gaza Strip, where most of the farmlands are now destroyed and the fishing industry is now very compromised.

情况最糟糕的当属加沙地带，那里大多数的农田已遭摧毁，而当地的捕鱼业也一蹶不振。

Trees inside the Wall?

墙内的树？

Potential productive agricultural areas are often isolated from the markets, facing an increasing number of people reliant on food aids. The food is mainly available in the cities or in the productive areas and not elsewhere, but also in rural areas a weak harvest means that those families become reliant on food aid.

潜在的农业产区往往是被隔离于市场之外的，而另一边是急速增加的依赖粮食救援的民众。粮食主要存在于城市或农产区而非到处都有，然而在农村地区，任意一次歉收就意味着这些农民家庭将不得不依靠粮食救援过活。

But the situation has also deteriorated due to other different difficulties. First of all the impact of the international economy from the end of 2007, but also the deficiencies in Public Structures in a hostile environment with adverse climatic conditions and inappropriate soil pose another problem.

可是这种情况已经由于种种其他的困难而有所恶化。首先是2007年底以来世界经济对巴勒斯坦的影响，其次，在不利气候条件下，巴勒斯坦缺少足够用以应对困难的公共设施，以及不适合的土壤问题。

Food prices in Palestine have been dramatically affected by the increase of the global food prices over the last two years. But while the situation is coming back to normality in most of the other developed countries, in Developing Countries in general, and in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, the food prices of domestic production remain too high as a consequence of the high “transaction costs” resulting from the Occupation and from the policies described above (restriction of movement or waiting at the check points).

巴勒斯坦的粮食价格很明显地受到了过去两年里世界粮食价格上涨的波及。而当多数发达国家和发展中国家粮食价格正趋于稳定之时，而在巴勒斯坦的被占领土上，本地生产地粮食价格仍旧过高，这主要是由于受到占领而过高的交易成本以及上述的政策影响（对巴民众运动的限制或检查站造成的诸多不便）。

Israeli apples, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem

西岸城市Bethlehem的以色列苹果

Picture: Palestine Monitor

图片：巴勒斯坦观察

One of the direct consequences of this context is that imported food is cheaper that the domestic low production: the markets are crowded by Israeli fruits and vegetables, fostered by lower costs production in a “free environment” and the larger size of the farms with great scale economy. If the domestic production is not competitive in Palestine, it is not even possible to encourage the local sector for international trade due to the absence of International Quality Certificates. Indeed, another consequence of the Occupation is that responding and efficient governance cannot exist in a land without governance outside of the cities. There is not yet a law on International Trade Standards as well as there are no labs nor knowledge necessary to meet those certifications.

这样的情形下，一个直接后果是，进口的粮食价格要低于本地的产品：市场上充斥着以色列的水果和蔬菜，这些蔬菜和水果出自大规模种植的农场。如果本地的粮食生产在巴勒斯坦没有竞争力，那就更不可能激励当地生产者参与国际贸易当中——缺乏国际质量认证。事实上，另一个因以色列占领带来的后果是，行之有效的管理是不可能存在于缺少外部环境的城市的。至今巴勒斯坦尚无一部关于国际贸易标准的法律，也没有足以应对国际认证的实验室和知识。

All those factors today discourage people from working in agriculture. According to the MAS data the agricultural sector has felled to represent now only the 8% of the GDP, while the number of people dependant on food aid have risen in Palestine.

所有这些因素使务农的人越来越少。根据巴勒斯坦经济政策研究所的数据，农业生产对GDP的贡献现已跌至8%，而巴勒斯坦依赖粮食援助的民众却越来越多。

Haneen, describes also a coming emergency situation that is now involving the international food sector, and consequently the Palestinian agriculture and the Food Security of the Region.

Haneen同时提到了一个存在于国际粮食生产中的紧急情况，这同样将影响巴勒斯坦的农业生产以及该地区的粮食安全稳定。

A new kind of diseases is affecting the fruit trees also in the Occupied Territories: olives, almonds, dates, figs and grapes that are the main produce here, and 66% of those trees are affected.

一种新型的果树病毒正在肆虐着巴勒斯坦及其被占领土上的果树：橄榄树，杏树，椰枣树，无花果树以及葡萄树是当地的主要生产作物，而其中66%的果树受到了影响。

Even if there are not calculations of monetary losses in Palestine, at international level had been estimated that between 30% and 40% of the food production will be lost, affecting again the sector and the food availability in rural areas.

即便没有对巴勒斯坦的财政损失的计算，按照国际的标准估计，巴勒斯坦也将有30%到40%的粮食生产将受到损失，再一次影响到农村地区的粮食保有量。

Haneen explains how the primary sector is strategic in sustaining families living in rural areas with no access to the main markets: these families are permanently at risk to become Food Insecure.

Haneen如是解释着扶持农业区无法到达主要市场的家庭的战略措施：这些家庭将永远成为粮食生产的不稳定因素。

If most of the national and international institutions and organizations that are working in the Holy Land agree on the importance of the economy and the improvement of the living standard as the key to a better situation, the solutions would seem to be closer.

如果在圣城的国内以及国际机构和组织能意识到经济的重要性以及提高民众生活水平的紧迫性，解决问题的办法至少又进了一步。

[] MAS statistics/巴勒斯坦经济政策研究所统计

更多数据,请参考 (巴勒斯坦经济政策研究所网站)

[] 1 dunum = 1 square km / 1 dunum = 1平方公里