A northern extension of the bedrock in South Sinai gives the Eilat Mountains their special character. Wadies and mountains that rise up to about eight hundred meters above the bay constitute a different habitat than in the nearby areas.
A northern extension of the bedrock in South Sinai gives the Eilat Mountains their special character. Wadies and mountains that rise up to about eight hundred meters above the bay constitute a different habitat than in the nearby areas.
For the sake of reference, we will limit the area to which we refer: to the south of the Gulf of Eilat and the political border with Egypt, to the west of the political border. To the east of the Arabah - the border of Jordan, to the north Ma'ale al-Sayyir.
The basic rocks (trends - metamorphs, etc.) are the prominent and typical component. They stand out above the calcareous layers and in many places reveal the colored sandstone.
In the wadis, alluvium mixed with sedimentary material and calcareous pebbles, the clay that has accumulated forms the basis for the vegetation of the wadis: acacia, sedge, capercaillie and others. These form a food base for vegetarians: goats, rabbits, reptiles and birds and of course for those that prey on them: wolves, foxes and recently jackals.
The average rain (perennial) is twenty-five mm, which means nothing. Nevertheless, floods are caused by cloud fragments and irrigate the vegetation in the wadis, as well as add to the water level in the prairie to exclude the seasonal trickles and backwaters. There are no surface water sources.
Ein-Avrona is a dry well. That is why artificial water sources in agricultural fields and army camps are an important source for the animal population. There was a human settlement in the area already in the Paleolithic period, and since then without a break, when the settlements are seasonal agricultural farms, copper pad camps or guard and supply stations on the roads to the Gulf from which the significant permanent settlements were always to the east, due to the availability of water.
Significant permanent settlement in the western Gulf starting in 1951 - the establishment of Eilat. In historical times, the damage to the environment was caused by the copper miners who cut down the acacia trees, and by nomadic shepherds who hunted the deer and goats as a source of food and the large predators (wolves, tigers, cheetahs) because of competition, and to prevent predation of sheep, but the greater damage to the environment is caused by The new settlement. Piles of garbage, scrap, construction debris and vehicle remains in every wadi and "under every fresh tree", wild and harmful mining of materials for construction (gravel and sand), turning every road into an accumulation of dust by hundreds of vehicles that "grind" the roads, digging paths For pedestrians and their subsidence due to trampling and erosion by thousands of hikers, hikers who reach hidden and remote corners, leaving trash in them that is scattered over the entire area, acacia trees "grow" plastic bags.
But the worst damage is the drop in the groundwater level in the Arava and in the wadis that go down to it, since the start of the desalination plant and the pumping of brackish water from wells in the Arava, the water level has dropped by more than 12 meters. The fair can be seen in Ein-Avrona, a well that until the mid-seventies water flowed over its rim. Today the well is completely dry.
In the early XNUMXs I warned about this and ten years later I turned to the sources, the "authority" and the municipality of Eilat with a warning about what was happening and a demand to stop the lowering of the level by using more sea water, none of the bodies found it appropriate to respond. Today.. . Hundreds of acacia trees are drying up in the wadis and the steppe. The people of the "authority" have excuses and explanations. .. something for the sake of a solution.
About 12 years ago, I approached the "authority" and proposed conducting a survey that would show the carrying capacity of the desert surrounding Eilat and of the sea to the shores of the city. The beach has more than one visitor and in order to preserve them the number of tourists, the number of divers, the number of "snorkelers" must be limited, in short a survey would show that the human flood that washes the environment must be stopped. There is logic in the tourism minister's proposal to establish a casino in Eilat, a distorted "macabre" logic
Because... since the city's moneymakers and the authorities fail to maintain the natural centers of attraction that are special to the area, but instead do (in their ignorance) to neutralize, eliminate, destroy and lose the surrounding nature, it is clear that if you want to maintain sources of income you need to create another source of attraction, "the peak of wisdom" First they destroy the existing one and then look for a replacement.
Recently, following the "fiasco" around the fish cages, three distinguished professors proposed to conduct a carrier survey. …….. It seems that even in this case the impotence... will increase. In Eilat, more than many other places, the preservation of nature and the environment are important because Eilat makes a living from tourism, tourists come to the sun...and also to the sea and the desert, which need to be preserved.
Summary of the series about the south of Israel
The salt in Naot-HaKacher - "Yuk" - but still it is good for the local residents to pay attention to their surroundings and clean the hollow wadis from garbage that has accumulated over the years.
In Ein-Gadi and Eilat everything must be done to preserve and strengthen nature. With the "breakout" of peace with Jordan, everyone hopes for increased development. .. It is important that the "developing" authorities be aware of the need (accepted today in the world) of sustainable development. It is very likely that the human pressure on the environment will increase. In developed countries, carrying surveys are conducted for everyone and in every area, we are smarter
And so despite repeated offers, warnings, and advice to this day, the authorities have not found the need, time, budget, initiative or willingness to conduct a carrying capacity survey??? And this harms reserves, open areas, forests, nature and recreation sites, beaches and anywhere where there is an "excess" of visitors.
After a survey that will show what everyone knows, the number of visitors and travelers should be limited, this can be done by a "skull tax" and by dividing the load into seasons, this is not acceptable (popular) but it is not the role of the "authority" to be acceptable Its role defined by law is to protect the environment and nature. Then appear the sections explaining why to preserve and this is where all the other green bodies come into the picture as well as the bodies that deal with education. In the end it must be understood (something that probably the "authority" does not understand) that the authority was established by law, when its role defined by the law is simple and clear - to preserve nature ! Not as is customary today, to keep the authority. Even if it doesn't sound acceptable (popular), the authority has no role
Take care of travelers, provide "picnic" sites, educate, rescue and so on. According to the law of its establishment, the authority has one and only duty to protect nature. And you probably are. .. a little.. .forget
Elsewhere I praised the restoration project.. …. You have a reservation. It is known that our area is getting drier, in a process that has been going on for thousands of years, meaning: in the time of the Bible, the Negev was rainier than it is today. To date, three species have been reintroduced to the Negev: wild animals, rams and ostriches, both species: rams and wild animals are typical herbivores, i.e. herbivores, even if they "learn" to gather fruit under the acacia trees there is still not and will not be enough food in the area to allow their survival without the addition of artificial food, similarly They also have the ostriches, so it should be clear to the "respondents", spectators, tourists and all the authorities involved that the repatriation requires regular and constant feeding.
For the previous parts of the series:
