About Baraa Hashem

Baraa Hashem is an Environmental Engineer with core areas of expertise being sustainable waste management and climate change adaptation. She is currently pursuing her MS degree in Environmental Sciences from Macquarie University, Australia. Baraa is an active member at the Arab Youth Climate Movement “AYCM” - Palestine, which works to create a generation-wide movement across the MENA to solve the climate crisis. She is also a volunteer at “Zero Waste MENA”, which is a new initiative driven by environmentalists to promote sustainable practices to create zero waste communities in the MENA. Baraa believes that each of us has a role to play in saving our earth and in turn protecting humanity

Trash Talk from Gaza

Solid waste management is considered to be one of the most severe environmental and civic problems in the Gaza Strip. Solid waste in the Gaza strip consists mainly of household waste, building debris, agricultural waste, industrial waste (mainly from worksites), medical wastes, and wastes from car workshops. Solid waste in the Gaza Strip is dumped in the same landfill without separation except for medical waste, which is dumped separately in the main Gaza landfill site. The solid waste generation rate varies between 0.35 to 1.0 kg/capita/day. Scale of the Problem Trash generation in the Gaza Strip varies between 830 to 894 tons/day … Continue reading

The Rapid Degradation of Wadi Gaza

In recent years, environmental crisis has worsened in the Palestine, Gaza Strip in particular, with solid waste, sewage and air pollution being the major issues. The key reason for environmental degradation in the Gaza Strip has been the difficult economic situation and an unending Israeli blockade. Wadi Gaza (or the Gaza Valley) which is located in the middle of Gaza Strip has been transformed from being the most substantial natural ecosystems in Palestine to the most deteriorated regions. Wadi Gaza can be described as one of the largest natural wetlands in Palestine with a length of 105 km. This area has … Continue reading