Environment Of Israel

The State of Israel is one of the smallest countries in the world, at around 20,000 sq. km, and has relatively few natural resources. Due to its limited space, semi-arid climate, high population growth and resource scarcity, Israel is highly susceptible to environmental crises. These include water shortages and pollution, shrinking of the Dead Sea, waste production and disposal, air pollution and population density. As a result, resource development, in particular water, has benefited from relatively high government support throughout most of the country's history. For example, Israel's water conservation and reclamation infrastructure is one of the most advanced in the world, with approximately half its water supply derived from reclaimed and treated waste water, brackish water and desalinated water.

Additionally, Israel is party to several international agreements regarding air pollution and climate change, including the Kyoto Protocol, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Montreal Protocol. Despite having taken these steps, Israel's environment continues to suffer as a rapidly growing population and standard of living contributes to increasing Green House Gas emissions and air pollutants, reductions in natural and open spaces via urbanization, over-pumping of water sources beyond their replenishment rates and deterioration of water used for drinking and irrigation.

Geography and climate

The State of Israel is a Middle Eastern country located along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea and the Northern border of the world's largest desert belt. Israel has a semi-arid climate, with lengthy summers and short winters. According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system Israel is composed of three climate zones. Areas on the Mediterranean coast are classified as "dry-summer subtropical", (Csa), and experience both the hottest and coldest months of the year. Closer inland Israel transitions into a dry semi-arid climate (Bsh), with an average temperature of 18 C. Southern Israel is classified as a “hot desert climate” (Bwh) and receives an average of 50mm to 200mm of rainfall annually. Rainfall is relatively higher in the North, where approximately 78%, around 1,100mm, of the country's precipitation occurs annually.

Environmental movement

While development in Israel has always been prioritized, environmental protection has not always received adequate attention by the government, resulting in the growth of a robust domestic environmental movement. The number of environmental NGOs has increased significantly in recent decades; currently there are over 100 registered organizations pursuing environmental campaigns with varying degrees of success.
According to environmental activist Alon Tal, despite the dramatic increase in number of Israeli environmental movements since the 1990s, their organizations lack efficiency and effectiveness due to narrow agendas, limited sources of funding and a lack of professional capabilities. Although there is high ideological homogeneity among the environmental NGOs, their lack of efficiency in addressing environmental issues has hampered efforts to prevent an escalation in Israel's environmental problems.

Contemporary issues

Air pollution

According to a 2002 study by the Israeli Journal of chemistry, Israel's efforts to minimize the effects of chemical pollution and improve environmental quality have proven less effective than those of the EU and other countries.

Due to substantial growth in vehicle use and emissions from power plants, the presence of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Sulfur Oxides (SOx) in the air near Israel's major urban centers have increased significantly between 1980 and 2002. Nitrogen oxides doubled twice during these years, CO₂ increased by 190%, and incidents of respiratory illness among children increased from 5%-17%.

Climate change

On 22 November 2016 Israel ratified the Paris Agreement. The country is part of 3 initiatives in mitigation and adaptation and 16 other action taken by non governmental actors.

According to the INDS of Israel, the main mitigation targets is to reduce per capita greenhouse gas emissions to 8.8 tCO2e by 2025 and to 7.7 tCO2e by 2030. Total emissions should be 81.65 MtCO2e in 2030. In business as usual scenario the emissions should be 105.5 MtCO2e by 2030 or 10.0 tCO2e per capita.

To reach it, the government of Israel wants to reduce the consumption of electricity by 17% relative to business as usual scenario, produce 17% of electricity from renewables and shift 20% of transportation from cars to public transport by 2030.

In an effort to comply with GHG emission reductions, Israel formed a committee with the goal of evaluating the country's potential to reduce emissions by the year 2030. Their findings have confirmed that Israel's power sector generates approximately half of the country's total GHG emissions. The second largest offender is the transport sector, which produces approximately 19% of total emissions.

Although greenhouse gas emissions have steadily risen from 1996 to 2007, as of 2010 concentrations of Nitrogen oxides and other pollutants have decreased around major traffic sites. Additionally, falling Sulfur oxide levels have been observed and attributed to more efficient fuel use in industrial power plants. However, despite the effects of technology in lowering per-capita emissions, rapid population growth and increased per-capita consumption have led to an overall decrease in air quality.

Forests

The created forests are the primary forests in Israel and consist primarily of a number of native and exotic Mediterranean conifers under an afforestation program, that began under the German Templar settlers in 1860s and continued to modern times. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) was founded in 1901, to buy land and encourage Jewish settlement, has planted over 240 million trees, built 180 dams, developed 250,000 acres of land and developed more than 1,000 parks. In 2006, the JNF signed a 49-year lease agreement with the State of Israel which gives it control over of Negev land for the development of forests.Professor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University of the Nege
"National Report of Israel, Years 2003–2005, to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)"
; State of Israel, July 2006

The JNF has been criticized by some for planting non-native pine trees which are unsuited to the climate, rather than local species such as olive trees. However, counter critics have claimed that the area would not be forested without the efforts of the JNF. Concern about the high concentration of single age, monocultural forests was seen in the 1970s as the forests had a high level of susceptibility to potential destruction by pests, disease, fire, drought and snow.

Israel had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.14/10, ranking it 135th globally out of 172 countries.

Wildfires

In a 2016 study it was reported that wildfires were supposed to increase in Israel as a result of global warning and greater concentration of woody vegetation from afforestation. The same study found that the majority of the wildfires were smaller fires with some larger ones, with maps showing hotspots in the lower Galilee Mountains, the Jerusalem Mountains, near Modi'in and were spread between May and October.

Population density

Israel is one of the world's most densely populated countries, with most people living in the center and on the Mediterranean Coast. Israel's total population is approximately 8,463,400, with an annual growth rate of 2%. Some authors suggest this rapid population growth is a product of pro-natal/immigration policies pursued by the Israel government throughout its formative years. However, with little room to expand this rate of growth is putting unsustainable pressure on the environment in the form of increased consumption, transportation, destruction of natural spaces and waste production. On the Coastal Plain, rapid urbanization, pollution, the introduction of predatory weeds and habitat fragmentation have damaged or destroyed many natural spaces. Reduction in public beach space, and pollution along the coastlines of the Mediterranean and Red Sea have forced the Israeli government to pursue varied cleanup and inspection programs, including being party to the Mediterranean Action Plan

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