Senior expert for the Palestinians in the area of water negotiations

Fuad Bateh is Senior Adviser on Environment and Water in The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean. He was a Legal and Strategic Advisor to Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) in Ramallah (January 2007 – Present). He advises the Chairman of the PWA on bilateral and multilateral negotiations, donor relations, water governance reforms, and emergency management of water resources; guides the Water Authority’s participation in the Union for the Mediterranean, including participation at Ministerial Meetings on Water (Dead Sea, Jordan) and Sustainable Development (Paris, France), and leads the Palestinian delegation to the Water Experts Group (Paris, Greece), he is a member of its Technical Drafting Group. He contributes to the development of a Water Sector Strategy for the Palestinian Authority and provides legal advise on disputes with contractors to water infrastructure projects.

Fuad Bateh’s past professional experience includes: position of Legal Advisor on Water and Environment in Adam Smith International (Negotiations Support Unit), Ramallah, Palestine (April 2007 – January 2009), where it was in his responsibility to: advise Chairman of the Palestinian Water Authority on bilateral and multilateral negotiations, provide legal and policy advice to the Chief Negotiator for the Palestine Liberation Organization on Permanent Status Agreement negotiations under the Oslo and Annapolis framework; counsel Water and Environment Technical Committees at bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians; lead mission to Washington, Brussels, Paris, Stockholm, and London presenting Palestinian proposal to reallocate shared Israel-Palestinian water resources and advise Palestinian Authority Delegation to the World Bank Red Sea-Dead Sea Conveyor Feasibility Study and Environmental and Social Assessment.

Other positions held by Fuad Bateh include a Consultant working for the World Bank Group and an attorney for Project Finance and Infrastructure Development Practice Group in Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.

Fuad Bateh received education and training in area relevant for this Exercise:

• UNESCO-IHP Advanced Course for Trainers in Negotiation Skills relating to Cooperation Building on Water Resources in Middle East;
• UNESCO-PCCP: High-Level Training Seminar on Enhancing Negotiation Skills in the Resolution of International Resource Disputes with a Focus on Water Resources;
• SIDA Training Programme: Transboundary Water Management for MENA Region;
• UNITAR Fellowship on International Environmental Law;
• Georgetown University Law Center, Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law, “With Distinction”