Governance fragmentation and water data management in Palestine

ABSTRACT Ample studies exist on water governance in Palestine, but none have specifically examined the influence of governance fragmentation on water data management, which is associated with inconsistent data collection and reporting practices, isolated databases, and poor coordination among actors. This paper investigates the factors that cause fragmentation in data management in the Palestinian water sector. Using the criteria of extent and coherence, we assess the practices of key water-related databases and identify governance factors regarding fragmentation. The assessment results reveal mostly low scores for both extent and coherence, indicating a high degree of fragmentation driven by financial and human resource constraints, which perpetuate competition over limited resources instead of collaboration. Power asymmetries in the organizational structure grant certain actors a privileged access to data while excluding others. The lack of standardized data management practices and a shared digital strategy intensify the fragmentation, as actors operate in silos which further complicate integration efforts. The wider political context, including mainly the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, adds to these challenges through control over data, restrictions on data collection, and technology embargoes, leading to a multi-layered fragmentation.