Embassy of Israel

Washington, D.C.

Did You Know?

Israel and the Environment

Greenery has long played a vital role in the Israeli tion projects and helping establish Israel’s national
national consciousness. parks

Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion articu-
lated the national love of trees during the planting of
the President’s Forest in 1949.
“Of all the blessed acts in which we are engaged in
Israel Ministry of Tourism this country,” he said, “I do not know if there is a more
fruitful enterprise, whose results are so useful, as the
Blooming anemone flowers planting of trees, which adds beauty to the scenery of
grow in the Ela Valley
our country, improves its climate and adds health to
its inhabitants.”
The process of greenification had begun even before
Israel’s establishment in 1948. Early pioneers came to
Israel in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to find
a country bare due to centuries of uncontrolled
grazing. Pioneers drained swamplands, tilled the soil
and planted trees throughout the land; laying the
early foundations of the state.
Israel Ministry of Tourism
Keren Kayemet Le-Yisrael—Jewish National Fund
Trees and cyclamen (KKL-JNF) was founded in 1901 to buy and develop
flowers bloom in land in Palestine for Jewish development and settle-
the Ben-Shemen Forest ment.
By 1935 KKL-JNF had planted 1.7 million trees in
Israel. Since Israel’s establishment in 1948, KKL-JNF
has planted over 200 million trees to aide in Israel’s
development. Thanks in large part to their efforts,
Israel was the only country in the world to enter the
21st century with a net gain in its number of trees.
The holiday of Tu bi-Sh’vat is celebrated on the
fourteenth day of the Hebrew month of Sh’vat
(around the month of January) is widely celebrated
and considered the New Year for Trees. The first
mention of this holiday appears in the Talmud in
200 C.E. Tu bi-Sh’vat is marked by the planting of
trees throughout the country.
New trees planted
in Israel

Since it was founded, KKL-JNF has been at the

forefront of Israel’s greenification and sustainability
efforts, planting forests, developing water conserva- Netafim

www.israelemb.org
 Blossming Protecting the environment is a high priority for the such, Israel takes seriously its commitment to environ-
Timna Israeli public, and both public and private institutions. mental action. This commitment has driven Israeli
Park in In 1973, the government established the Environmen- scientists and government officials to further develop
the Negev
tal Protection Service (today called the Ministry of the and push for innovations towards conservation,
Desert
Environment). preservation, and sustainability.

The Ministry of the Environment monitors both the A combination of sophisticated applied science,
environment of Israel and its agricultural practices. It rugged determination, and government support have
works to ensure that the use of pesticides and fertiliz- helped Israel's farmers to modernize and adapt to
ers is controlled and that organic waste is disposed of changing geopolitical, market and climatic conditions
properly. and has given Israeli farmers the tools they need to
ensure continued success in the future.
Israel Ministry of Tourism Israeli concern for the environment extends to conser- Animals
Haifa’s vation as well. In the past ten years recycling levels in . in Haifa’s
Carmel Park Israel have increased tenfold, and the government Carmel
hopes to reach a fifty percent recycling rate by 2010. Park
The Nature and Parks Authority is responsible for the
operation of Israel’s 287 national parks and animal and
nature reserves. The Nature and Parks Authority
maintains an extensive list of protected flora, fauna
and minerals. Protected flora in Israel include anemo- Israel Ministry of Tourism
nes and irises, protected fauna include gazelles and
For more information, please visit:
hawks, and protected minerals include fossils, stalag-
• Ministry of the Environment
mites and stalactites.
www.environment.gov.il
• The Nature and Parks Authority
Agriculture and agricultural development play signifi-
www.parks.org.il
cant roles in Israeli history, industry and culture. As
• KKL-JNF
Israel Ministry of Tourism www.kkl.org.il

Water Conservation
and Israeli Technological Innovation
One of Israel’s most substantial environmental irrigation and sprinkler irrigation.
challenges is the preservation of its precious water
resources. Israel is situated in an arid zone and the Drip irrigation is an Israeli-born innovation that is used
natural resources are insufficient to meet the ever- worldwide for watering plants and crops. Drip
rising demand for water. A majority of the country’s irrigation consists of small tubes that are buried in the
water is derived from very little rainfall, necessitating ground alongside crops, plants, and trees. Water is
the development of bold and innovative water strate- regularly released from small openings in the tubes to
gies. Israeli water conservation serves as a global provide precisely enough water for each plant. This
model and its desalination endeavors are among the ensures the continued growth and health of Israel’s
most sophisticated in the world. plants, crops and trees while sparing needless waste of
one of Israel’s most precious resources.
Israel’s limited water resources caused water rationing
and the enactment of the Water Law in 1959. The
Water Law ended the private ownership of water
resources and established an administrative water
allocation mechanism. Passing the Water Law has
earned Israel the respect of many nations around the
world for Israel’s ability to allocate its limited water
Netafim
resources for a long period of time in a manner that is
Lettuce crops in Israel lined beneficial to resources and users alike.
with drip irrigation tubes
Israeli companies have developed a series internation-
ally renowned irrigation methods that are designed to Israel Ministry of Tourism
make maximum use of its limited water resources.
These include; drip irrigation, buried irrigation, spray Clean water streams through the Yarkon River