The Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ) was created in 1990 and is an NGO based in Bethlehem on the West Bank. The organisation works to empower Palestinian communities through a better control of their natural resources, while contributing to sustainable development in the occupied Palestinian territories. For this, ARIJ is working in partnership with local authorities, municipalities and other associations or NGOs to implement environmental programmes.

ARIJ‘s role is mainly to identify environmental problems in order to provide practical solutions and appropriate technologies. For that, the NGO relies on the technical reports and the data published by its research department. Its scope is very broad, since it includes the areas of agriculture, renewable energy, waste management and water treatment.

Among its many projects, ARIJ is involved in the installation of wastewater treatment plants in Palestinian villages. This initiative has several objectives: it not only reduces environmental pollution, but mostly it generates new water resources to help develop crop production, and thus create new employment opportunities in agriculture. ARIJ subsequently helps farmers in the development of their activity.

So far, ARIJ has implemented 250 water treatment systems in Palestinian villages. They were designed with simple technologies, in order to minimize production costs and allow the transfer of technical knowledge to the mainly low-income families living in rural areas. ARIJ is also working on the construction of a centralised system of water treatment in the refugee camp of Arroub, situated in the south of the West Bank.

In addition to setting up these water treatment systems, ARIJ also works on awareness and installation of water saving devices. The NGO has launched an awareness campaign in Palestinian hotels to promote more responsible water consumption by comparing the consumption of water when using a water saving device to demonstrate to hoteliers its many benefits. At the same time hotel staff have been trained in the various techniques for responsible water consumption.