GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinians showcased their innovative ideas for recycling, reclaiming water, extracting natural gas and making organic fertilizer at a Jan. 15 exhibition organized by the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority with the support of the European Union.

The exhibition, which highlights ideas for alternative energy and recycling projects in agriculture, housing, transportation and water, is one out of three expositions organized by the Environmental Quality Authority in Jenin and Hebron provinces and the Gaza Strip.

Ahmad Halas, the general coordinator of the environmental exhibition, told Al-Monitor, “The three exhibitions were part of the EU-funded SwitchMed program implemented by the United Nations Environment Program. This is a project of great magnitude that includes several countries of the Mediterranean. It resulted from the Barcelona Declaration, which aims to protect the Mediterranean Sea from pollution. Palestine and 22 other Mediterranean countries have implemented the plan in an effort to push the countries of the region to benefit from resources and recycled material. The objective is for this to become a trend to be used in production and to diminish pollution.”

Engineers Rana al-Ghossein, Fidaa al-Shanti and Haya al-Ghalayini created a device that increases humidity in the air in order to generate water droplets. The droplets, which do not have trace minerals that are good for people’s health, are mixed with regular water. The device can generate a liter of drinking water per hour.