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the face of the earth
The researchers suggest: in some ponds they will build, in another they will nest
By Rinat Zafarir
What will happen to the birds nesting in the salt ponds in Atlit and Eilat, which may become a built-up area in the future
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Pemingo in salt ponds in Atlit last week. The ponds are the only nesting place in Israel for sea gulls and pygmy gulls
Photo: Guy Bar-Oz
The migration of the birds passing through Israel on their way to Africa has already ended, but as in the past, some chose to stay, and one of their favorite places is the Atlit salt pools. In the last weeks, you can see many water birds in the ponds, including flamingos. However, this winter may be one of the last in which the birds will be able to use the ponds as a winter residence.
The salt ponds in Atlit are intended to become a mostly built-up area, according to an agreement between the Israel Lands Administration and the Salt Industries Company that operates them, which was recently approved by the Administrative Council. A similar fate is expected for the salt ponds in Eilat, which are also visited by many birds. The deal sparked a public protest due to the many construction rights granted to the salt company.
Recently, the Society for the Protection of Nature even submitted a petition to the High Court against the agreement.
What particularly worries birders and nature conservation experts is not the extent of the construction rights that will be given to one party or another, but the fact that the ponds serve as a refuge for an abundance of waterfowl species. According to the naturalist Dr. Uzi Paz, the pools in Atlit are a hot spot (staying in the winter) and a nesting place for several species of seagulls. Their main importance is that they are the only nesting place in Israel for sea gulls and dwarf gulls. In addition to seagulls, you can find in the ponds in winter and spring also terns and tadorna (a species of duck). The flamingos come to Atlit from a lake in the north of Iran and they feed on crustaceans that live in salty soil.
"This is a particularly important place, but it should be emphasized that this is an artificial habitat created by the salt producers," says Paz. "It is impossible to demand that they continue to produce salt just to continue supporting the birds." Paz believes that an attempt should be made to formulate a compromise under which it would be possible to build on part of the salt ponds. The rest of the area will be defined as a park and will continue to be visited by birds. To help the birds that will be left without part of the ponds, artificial nesting islands will be established, which will be mainly intended for seagulls.
Together with the nature photographer Yossi Ashbul, who has been documenting the birds in Atlit for more than twenty years, Paz initiated an experimental plan four years ago to establish an artificial nesting island in the nearby fish ponds of Maagan Michael. According to Paz, the project was carried out with the financing of a fund established by the Ford company for the sake of the environment. The island attracted seagulls and they successfully nested there. Ashbol and Paz intended to continue the project, but in the meantime they could not find additional funding for it.
One of the claims raised by the Society for the Protection of Nature in its petition against the real estate deal is that according to various outline plans, at least part of the area of the ponds is intended to be preserved, and it is even defined in one plan as a nature reserve. However, even if the company's position is accepted and it is decided that the ponds, or some of them, will be preserved, it is still unclear which party will continue to operate them so that birds can reach them.
In several places in the world, they recognized the importance of industrial salt ponds for birds and decided to define them as nature reserves for everything. One of the prominent examples are the salt pools in Trapani in western Sicily. Salt has been produced in these ponds for more than a thousand years and almost 200 species of birds visit them during their migration from Europe to Africa. This is the last waterhole where they find shelter and food before they cross the Mediterranean Sea.
The Italian government and the international nature conservation organization "The Fund for the Conservation of Wild Animals" turned the area into a nature reserve, thus stopping the spread of construction into it. In the pool area there are areas where there are various prohibitions on activities that harm birds or vegetation. This is how the salt mining activity continues while water birds look on from the side. Eggs laid by birds that decided to nest there are sticking out of stones in the banks of the ponds.
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