The international journal Landscape and Urban Planning recently published the results of a joint study by the Hebrew University and the Tel Aviv University that examined the state of water bodies in Israel. The area was reduced from 27 square kilometers to 2.4 square kilometers; The condition of the dunes is also deteriorating
The reserves of the open areas in Israel are usually calculated using the built-up area figure, and according to this method of calculation the situation is not bad at all. Only 5% of the area is built (5.5% including roads), while north of Beer Sheva it is about 11%. Outline plans, such as TMA 35, are supposed to ensure, by directing new construction to urban areas, that the situation does not deteriorate.
But when you look at data recently published by researchers and planning bodies, it becomes clear how severe the damage caused by development and construction activities is. This is mainly about the almost complete loss of unique landscape and nature areas, primarily water bodies and sand dunes in the coastal area, in the Negev and the Arava.
In the international journal Landscape and Urban Planning, the results of a study that examined the state of water bodies in Israel were recently published. The research was carried out by Noam Levin from the Hebrew University, in collaboration with Eldad Elron and Avital Gazit from Tel Aviv University.
squeeze every drop
The researchers checked - using maps, aerial photographs and other sources of information - the condition of the water bodies (mainly marshes and winter pools), compared to the past. According to sources from the 19th and 20th centuries, they found 192 water bodies that existed in the past, of which only 35 (18%) remain today - a direct result of draining the watercourses and building in or around them.
The researchers added to the list 69 smaller water bodies on which information was accumulated only from the last decades. They calculated the remaining area of all the water lines - and came to the conclusion that their area had shrunk from 27 square kilometers to only 2.4 square kilometers.
Today in Israel there are only 14 wetlands and winter ponds located in protected areas, and the researchers emphasize the need to include additional water bodies within the protected areas. Also, according to them, it is necessary to continue to establish artificial wetlands, which are used, among other things, for sewage treatment, a role that the natural wetlands played in the past.
One of the examples of the fragile status of water bodies is the story of the Dora Pool in Netanya. Although the municipality and the Israel Land Administration recognized the importance of preserving the pool, they still plan to carry out extensive construction plans adjacent to it - which will harm the pool's ability to absorb rainwater and destroy one of the centers of growth of the rare crimson iris, which grows on the hill adjacent to the pool.
Two residents of Netanya and the Adam Teva and Din association petitioned the District Court in Tel Aviv regarding the construction plans, but Judge Michal Rubinstein rejected the petition. In response, they filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, which ordered about a month ago to freeze the construction work in the pool area until a decision is made on the petition.
The Supreme Court will have to examine, among other things, Judge Rubinstein's conclusion that in the case of the Dora Pool it is not a national planning policy but a local-specific case, and therefore the impact of the construction at the national level should not be considered. It should be noted that the study of the water lines indicates the severity of the problem and the importance of every winter pool at the national level.
Sands of hope
The threats facing the sand areas can be learned from findings presented last month at a conference on the state of the sand dunes in Israel, which was initiated and organized by Professor Fua Kotiel from Ben Gurion University. The officials of the Nature and Parks Authority presented at the conference what the future holds for the large and continuous concentration of sand in Israel, located in the Western Negev, near the border with Egypt. It turns out that even in this area, which is far from the demand areas, the threats of development are significant.
Azeri Alon and Keren Lev from the South District of the Nature and Parks Authority presented a mapping of the threats to the sands of the Western Negev. This is, among other things, the establishment of three new settlements for evacuees of the Gaza Strip on an area of 10,000 dunams and the expansion of agricultural areas to existing settlements three times larger. If you add the military activity and the plan to build a solar power plant in the area - it becomes clear that the large block of sand is expected to shrink significantly.
The largest surviving block of sand on the coastal plain is in the Nitsanim area, between Ashdod and Ashkelon. The conference presented a comprehensive study carried out by Trinh Paz from Ben Gurion University, who examined the history of the area and the struggles to save it.
Today, the vast majority of the area (21 thousand dunams) is designated as a nature reserve, as part of an overall arrangement that led to the allocation of part of the area for the benefit of construction for evacuees from the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a holiday village. In return, the state responded to the Greens' request and declared the nature reserve.
However, the greens' achievement is overshadowed by the resort complex project east of Nitzanim beach, whose construction, according to sand researcher Oded Cohen, will severely damage the natural texture of the Nitzanim area: "This is an area that is near the beach, while on the other side areas have already been damaged by quarrying, construction and military activity. This is actually the last area that serves as an ecological corridor for the passage of animals." And without a corridor, it is very difficult to organize a comfortable house for all residents.
One response
It is very sad.