State of Israel

Ministry of Environmental Protection

ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN October

2006
volume 31

Ministry of Environmental Protection

Cover Photo: Construction Ayalon

Lake Kinneret – and Park
Sea of Galilee Demolition
Waste
8
20
www.environment.gov.il
From the Minister of Environmental Protection, Mr. Gideon Ezra
Dear Reader:
Minister Gideon Ezra shares his thoughts on environmental challenges
and priorities. 3 Volume 31 of Israel Environment
Bulletin is being published in
First Look
News in brief about a diversity of environmental issues.

Targeting Construction and Demolition Waste: A Top Priority

5 the aftermath of the recent
war in Israel’s North. In future
New initiatives to rid open spaces of construction waste and
transform this waste from nuisance to resource. 8 months, Israel will invest major
efforts to rehabilitate burned
out forests, dispose of asbestos
Israel Launches Green Building Standard
A look at Israel Standard 5281 for buildings with reduced
environmental impact. 12 waste and treat the huge
heaps of construction and demolition waste that have
accumulated due to rocket hits.
Readying for Euro 4
Euro 4 standards will come into effect for heavy diesel
vehicles in October 2006. 14 The determination to press forward has led to new
Entering the Carbon Market: CDM Projects in Israel projects, many of which will focus on the area hardest
Fourteen projects, expected to deliver 1.9 million tons of
CERS, have been approved by Israel’s Designated National
Authority for the CDM.
16 hit by the recent war – the North. Thus, a cleanliness
campaign will be inaugurated in Lake Kinneret, the Sea
of Galilee, during the upcoming Jewish holiday season
Adapting to Climate Change in Israel
Towards the initiation of a national research and action
program on vulnerability and adaptation to climate
change.
18 and top priority will be focused on the treatment and
recycling of construction and demolition waste, not only
in the North but throughout the country. At the same
time plans for preserving large expanses of open spaces

20
Moving Ahead on the Ayalon Park
Establishment of a government company should advance for the benefit of the public are continuing – whether
plans for this major metropolitan park. an initiative to establish a biosphere region in an 18,000
Biosphere Region on the Way hectare area in Ramat Menashe between Haifa and Tel
An initiative to transform the Ramat Menashe area,
between Haifa and Tel Aviv, into the Central Park of Israel. 22 Aviv or advancement of plans for the Ayalon Park in an
area spanning 800 hectares just south of Tel Aviv.
Planning for Development and Conservation in the 21st
Century
National Plan 35 addresses development needs while
promoting open space protection.
26 The past few months have also seen some major changes
in the ministry: the appointment of Mr. Gideon Ezra as
the new minister and Shai Avital as the new director
Abating Noise from Ben-Gurion Airport
A look at measures to reduce aircraft noise from Israel’s
main airport.
28 general and a change in the very name of the ministry.
The new name, Ministry of Environmental Protection, is
meant to reflect the urgent need to actively protect the

32
International Cooperation – "Deserts and Desertification environment in Israel.
– Challenges and Opportunities"
An international conference in Israel will highlight the challenges
and opportunities inherent in drylands. As Israel readies to welcome the Jewish New Year, we can
only hope that this year will usher in better times of peace

34
With a Face to the Public – Focus on Clean Up Israel
Simple actions by simple people are what Clean Up Israel is all and wellbeing for our people and our environment. As
about. always, we invite our readers to stay informed about
environmental developments in Israel by visiting our English
Cover photo: A view of Lake Kinneret - Sea of Galilee website – www.environment.gov.il/english.
Back cover photo: Motti Sela
Photos: Ronen Alkalay, Ayelet Arad, Eitan Aram, Amir Balaban, Clean Up Israel,
Shoshana Gabbay
Yoav Hagoel, Ilan Malester, Nature and Parks Authority, Galia Pasternak, Eyal Shani,
Motti Sela, Liron Shapira, Edna Shaviv, Na’ama Tessler, Gil Vaadia, Eyal Yaffe, Roi Editor
Zini, Elad Zohar

2 Production: Publications and Information Unit

Ministry of Environmental Protection
 From the Minister of Environmental Protection:
Mr. Gideon Ezra
M Mr. Gideon Ezra was sworn in as Israel’s Minister
of Environmental Protection on May 4, 2006
and has served as Acting Environmental
Protection Minister since January 2006.
What are your initial impressions of the Ministry
of Environmental Protection?
The Ministry of Environmental Protection has gone
a long way in promoting the subjects under its
responsibility.
Fifty eight years ago we founded a state – it was
not easy to contend with a population that dou-
bles itself at an impressive rate, it was not easy to
establish an economy, infrastructures, elementary
operational systems, and all within a reality of
continuing warfare. Environmental protection is-
sues were not top priority issues for our pioneers
– they were more concerned with fortifying the
sovereignty of the state. Today, we have reached
a stage where relinquishing environmental issues
is tantamount to relinquishing our future and that
of future generations. The road we must take to
reach our goal is long and arduous – but this is a
fascinating area and I am happy to have been
granted the opportunity to stand at the head of
a system which will determine, in many ways, the
future of us all.
In June 2005, the Israel Cabinet approved your
request to change the name of the ministry to
the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Why
the change in name?
In a country as small as Israel, we must invest all
of our efforts in protecting the environment so
that it can continue to serve present and future
generations. This has to take the form of "active
protection." At the request of the country’s green
organizations, I asked for a change in name that
would express, more powerfully, the importance
that we give to the active protection of the envi-
ronment not only for the sake of the present but
for the sake of the future. The change in name
reflects our perception of the ministry’s aims: the
environment in Israel needs protection and we
intend to do this day by day, hour by hour.
What are the main subjects you would like to
promote during your tenure as minister?
There are many and diverse subjects that I would
like to promote. Some of the priorities include
tackling such subjects as air pollution which has
become a national scourge, treatment of Israel’s
rivers – true treasures that have been badly dam-
aged in past years, solid waste and recycling and,
of course, treatment of hazardous substances.
Above all else, environmental legislation and
enforcement are the most important tool at our
disposal and I will put special emphasis on them. In a country
But the most important subject is education for as small as
the protection of the environment. In my opinion,
it is incumbent upon us to make every effort to Israel, we must
ensure that environmental studies are officially invest all of
recognized at every level, beginning with kinder-
our efforts in
garten and ending in high school and university.
This is the key that will allow us to effect a real protecting the
change in the quality of our environment. environment
so that it can
What are your expectations of the government
and the Knesset with regard to environmental continue to
subjects? serve present
I am sure that the current government is a "green and future
government," a government which sees the treat-
ment of environmental issues as an important tar- generations.
get. The issues with which we are concerned at the
Ministry of Environmental Protection relate to most
of the other ministries so that the advancement
of environmental subjects very much depends
on cooperation among the ministries. Based on
my recognition of the current members of the
government, the results will be significant.
Israel has just emerged from a devastating war
in its North. Would you like to comment on the
issue of war and the environment?
War is the foremost enemy of the environment,
causing damage to all sides, including those not
even involved. It is our obligation as environmen-
talists to do our utmost to prevent needless wars
3

and struggles. The issue of environmental protec-
tion best lends itself to initiating talks even among
bodies which were previously involved in wars.
Environmental agencies worldwide have much
to learn from one another. The cross fertilization of
ideas – on environmental laws and other issues – is
of top importance. The Ministry of Environmental
Protection is most interested in the feedback and
suggestions of other environmental agencies and
I hope the day will soon come when we can
publish a joint Bulletin with all of our neighboring
states.
What is your central message to the residents
of Israel at this junction?
For years, we have longed for a country of our
own, for a State of Israel. We saw many casual-
ties in the difficult struggle for the fulfillment of
our rights to this land. But we have not really
protected this small piece of land – we litter our
environment and we destroy nature, at times for
no justifiable reason. We must protect this land for
it is our homeland. The protection of nature, open
spaces and the environment is the protection of
our homeland.
Shai Avital:
New Director
General of
the Ministry of
Environmental
Protection
On July 17, 2006, the Israel Cabinet approved
the appointment of Major General (Reserves)
Shai Avital as director-general of the Ministry
of Environmental Protection. Shai Avital pre-
viously served as a commander of several
army units during his long service in the Israel
Defense Forces.
4
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN
On Israel’s
water
sources:
Photo: Eyal Yaffe
We are intent on protecting Israel’s unique natural resources,
which are the heritage of all of the world’s people and religions
– including Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), the Jordan River
and the Dead Sea. We are seeking ways to rehabilitate these
precious sources under a reality of water scarcity, in which we
continue to supply water to Jordan and to the Palestinian Author-
ity as well. We are determined to do our utmost to protect these
sites. We will focus on cleanliness in our upcoming campaign to
clean up the Kinneret, and in the future, we will do our utmost
to allow water to flow once again in the Jordan River and to
rehabilitate the shrinking Dead Sea.
On
construction
and
demolition
waste:
Photo: Eitam Aram
Israel generates more than 7 million tons of construction and
demolition waste, of which only about 15% find their way to
landfills and the rest defile the landscape of our country, caus-
ing health and environmental damages. We are relating to this
subject according to the "polluter pays" principle. The process
of discovering polluters and bringing them to justice is not easy,
and can take years. As part of our efforts, we have been forced
to bring criminal charges against mayors who shirked their re-
sponsibilities and allowed construction and demolition waste to
be illegally disposed in open spaces. We are now looking for
new ways to deal with the problem – tackling issues related to
landfilling costs, transport distances to landfills, recycling, and
cleanup of areas in which construction and demolition waste
has accumulated.
vol. 31
 FIRST LOOK
The Environmental Costs
of War –
Summer 2006
A special report issued by the Chief Scientist of
the Ministry of Environmental Protection on the
environmental damages of the recent war in
Israel’s North reveals the following:
Environmental damages: more than 1200 square
kilometers of planted forests and 4000 square kil-
ometers of natural scrubland burned, destruction
of flora and fauna, 12,000 buildings hit by rock-
ets generating thousands of tons of construction
waste, 20,000 square meters of asbestos structures
damaged, damages to wastewater treatment
facilities and hazardous substances storage con-
tainers.
Environmental/economic costs: more than 20
million shekels (about $4.6 million) for extinguish-
ing some 450 fires; between 5.15 million shekels
(minimum) to 36.3 million shekels (maximum) for
crushing and landfilling hundreds of thousands
of tons of construction and demolition waste;
tens of thousands of shekels for treating asbes-
tos structures destroyed by rocket hits, including
professional removal and disposal.
shores will indeed be clean and worthy of the Kinar coast
general public." on Lake Kinneret
Photo: Ilan Malester
The multi-annual Kinneret Clean Coast project,
"Going for Cleanliness which will include coastal cleanups, education
– It’s Our Kinneret" and information, and inspection and enforce-
ment, is targeted at cleaning up the Kinneret’s
Cleaning up Lake Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee, open natural coastlines – some 23 kilometers out
Israel’s only natural freshwater lake, is the next of the total coastline of 55 kilometers.
target of the Ministry of Environmental Protection
within the framework of its comprehensive cam-
paign to clean up the country. Under the slogan
"Going for Cleanliness – It’s Our Kinneret," plans
are being drafted to launch the project during
the upcoming holiday season in Israel, coinciding
with the beginning of the Jewish New Year. Litter left behind
Minister Gideon Ezra: "The shores of Lake Kin- on Kinneret coasts
neret are a national asset. The pollution of these Photo: Elad Zohar
beaches due to neglect is unacceptable. One
million people visit these beaches each year
and expect to find them clean. I intend to do
everything necessary to ensure that the Kinneret

5

Marine Turtles
Released to Sea
With the conclusion of the nesting season
for marine turtles, which saw an impres-
sive number of marine turtle eggs laid
along Israel’s Mediterranean coast, the
new hatchlings were released to sea in
the summer of 2006. This year’s release is
part of a national program for the pro-
tection of endangered marine turtles, in
which nests discovered during the nest-
ing season by rangers of the Israel Nature
and Parks Authority are relocated to a
hatchery. The rangers, accompanied by
volunteers of the Ministry of Environmental
Protection and other enforcement bod-
ies, visit the hatchery each morning to
release the new hatchlings to sea.
Minister Ezra with marine turtles.
Photo: Nature and Parks Authority
6
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
Reading power plant.
Photo: Ilan Malester
Reading Power Plant
Converted to Natural Gas
Tel Aviv’s Reading power plant was converted
to natural gas during a ceremony, attended by
the Minister of Environmental Protection and Min-
ister of Infrastructures, on July 3, 2006. Minister Ezra
stated: "The transfer to gas is cause for celebration
for the residents of Tel Aviv and its metropolitan
area, but it is only the beginning. It is necessary to
act quickly and seriously to solve the air pollution
problem in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area which,
for the most part, originates in the huge number of
cars entering the city center on a daily basis."
The Reading power station produces about 450
MW of electricity or about 5% of the total produc-
tion of the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). It is the
second IEC plant to run on natural gas, after the
Eshkol Power Plant in Ashdod.

25 Schools Certified
Green
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and
the Ministry of Education granted Green School
certification to 25 schools in a June 8, 2006 cer-
emony.
The project, initiated some three years ago, is de-
signed to encourage schools, with the coopera-
tion of administration, students, parents and com-
munity, not just to teach environmental subjects
but to act in a sustainable manner. Only those
schools which meet three criteria – integration of
environmental subjects in the curriculum, rational
use of resources and contribution to the commu-
nity - are eligible for Green School certification.
New Regulations on Noise
Restrictions in Banquet
Halls and Gardens
New regulations on restricting noise in banquet
halls and gardens were promulgated on June
14, 2006. According to the regulations, the maxi-
mum noise level in the seating area of the guests
during events will be 85 decibels. The regulations
establish the physical means necessary to assure
compliance. If noise levels exceed 85 decibels,
a warning light, installed in the hall, will flicker for
thirty seconds, followed by a cut in electricity sup-
ply to the amplifier system in the hall.
Dr. Stelian Ghelberg, director of the Noise Abate-
ment and Radiation Safety Division, has stated:
"Promulgation of the regulations is a breakthrough
in protecting the health of the public, in essence
a "captive audience" exposed to excessively high
noise levels, as well as in protecting sensitive popu-
lations such as the elderly and children.
the option of choosing to drive hybrid vehicles
available in Israel. In a letter to Dalia Itzik, Minister
Ezra stated: "You are spearheading a process in
which we, as public representatives, can set a
personal example in a subject as important as
the protection of the environment. I believe that
others will opt for the solution of "clean" vehicles
and I thank you for the speed and seriousness
with which you addressed this subject."
30 Experts to Check Air
Pollution in Haifa
Minister Gideon Ezra has initiated the establish-
ment of a professional team to assess air pollution
in Haifa Bay and its impact on public health. The
team is to present its conclusions and operative
recommendations for action on abating air pol-
lution in the near future. The 30 member team
includes experts in atmospheric sciences, health
and chemical engineering and is coordinated
by the Neaman Institute for Advanced Scientific
and Technological Research. Prof. Yoram Avnime-
lech, who served as the first Chief Scientist in the
Ministry of Environmental Protection, heads the
team. Dr. Peter Preuss, Director of the National
Center for Environmental Assessment in the US
Environmental Protection Agency voluntarily as-
sisted the committee in his field of expertise in
early September 2006.

Knesset Members May

Drive Hybrid Vehicles
Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik has complied
with a request of Environmental Protection Minister
Gideon Ezra to provide Knesset Members with

7
 Treating municipal, industrial
and agricultural waste
Clean Coast
Targeting Project: and
Construction
Facts And
Demolition Figures
Waste: a Top Priority
Treating
municipal,
industrial and
agricultural
waste
T Transforming construction waste from
nuisance to resource is at the top of the
ministry’s "to do" list
Growing piles of construction waste along
roadsides and open spaces are a grim reality
in Israel. Their association with landscape blight
Reducing air
and environmental problems is indisputable. Yet,
pollution from
transportation to date, despite a three year old government
and industrial decision to regulate the treatment of construction
sources waste, little has been done to solve the problem.
Out of some 7.5 tons of construction waste that
are generated in Israel each year, only 1.5 million
reach authorized landfills. Yet the problem cannot
Improving the be solved by landfilling alone. Israel does not
environment
and preseving have sufficient land resources to absorb the ever
open spaces growing amounts of dry waste that are generated
annually. Steps are urgently needed to turn
construction waste from nuisance to resource.
Over the past year alone, two plants for the
Catalyzing
economic
growth and
Composition of Waste Generated on
national
interests Residential Construction Sites
A research study commissioned by the
Ministry of Environmental Protection and
conducted by Dr. Hadassah Baum and Dr.
Amnon Katz of the Technion – Israel Institute
of Technology in 2004 has found:
• Construction waste generated on resi-
dential construction sites includes such
materials as concrete, iron, wood, bricks,
tiles, plastic and paper.
• Non-inert materials, such as plastic, alu-
minum and gypsum, constitute some
36% of the waste.
• Nearly two thirds of the waste may be
recycled, consisting of 12% paper, 8%
iron and 44% inert materials.
• Residential building generates an esti-
mated 20 tons of waste for each 100
square meters of built space.
8
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
crushing and treatment of construction waste
were inaugurated in Israel’s central region, one
operational since August 2005 in Bareket and the
second operational since January 2006 in Hiriya.
The plants are expected to reach a recycling
capacity of 100,000 tons per year and 150,000 tons
per year, respectively. Other plants are already
operational in other parts of the country – in
Ashkelon, Ramat Zvi in the Beit She’an Valley and
Dudaim in the south, complemented by mobile
on-site facilities throughout the country.
Working on Solutions
Finding a comprehensive solution to the problem of
construction waste is not easy, largely because of
the large number of stakeholders involved in every
part of the chain, including waste generators,
waste transporters, waste contractors and local
authorities. What’s more, basic infrastructures for
collection, transport and transfer are inadequate
and vital parts of the system are unregulated.
Yet, despite the difficulties, stakeholders believe
that the time is ripe for market forces to play their
part in ridding the country of unsightly heaps of
construction waste and promoting environment-
friendly solutions. Building contractors are
beginning to discover the economic potential
inherent in using recycled aggregates from
construction waste as fill in construction or as a
road base, and efforts have been initiated to
formulate appropriate standards.
Local authorities, too, should be interested in
solving the problem. Not only does such waste
detract from the aesthetic appearance of cities
and their environs, but it takes up valuable land,
with an economic value for real estate purposes.
It is in the interest of local authorities to make
derelict land available for building and to clean
up these spaces.
Upgrading the Role of Local Authorities
Local authorities should play a key role in
coordinating the safe disposal and treatment

What is the Ministry of Environmental
Protection Doing to Effect a Change?
• Promoting the establishment of standards
for recycled construction waste through
the Standards Institution of Israel;
• Advancing legislative changes: an
amendment to the Maintenance of
Cleanliness Law imposing responsibil-
ity on local authorities for the transport
and disposal of construction waste and
a model municipal bylaw on the disposal
of dry waste;
• Initiating a pilot project, with the par-
ticipation of all stakeholders, based on
the Environmental Problem Solving Ap-
proach;
• Stepping up enforcement: catching of-
fenders "in the act," launching investiga-
tions, filing criminal charges and, at times,
seizing offending vehicles to be used as
evidence during trials.
• Providing financial support to local au-
thorities for planning and establishing
infrastructures for dry waste: in 2005, 11
million shekels in financial aid were al-
located to about 45 local authorities.
• Identifying abandoned quarries which
may be used for the disposal of con-
struction waste, in cooperation with
the Quarry Rehabilitation Fund and the
Israel Lands Administration. Once filled
and rehabilitated, the quarries may be
transformed into parks for the benefit of
the population.
• Issuing warnings and Cleanup Orders
for the clean up of open spaces to the
owners of land or to the polluters them-
selves. If not implemented, a contrac-
tor is hired and the owner or polluter is
charged double the expenses.
of construction waste – but they don’t. While
municipalities are legally bound to collect municipal
solid waste, they are not obligated to dispose and
treat construction and demolition waste.
To overcome this barrier, the following amendments
to planning and building regulations have been
promulgated:
Photos top to bottom:
Ilan Malester,
Ayelet Arad,
Galia Pasternak
• Local planning and building
committees must require building
permit holders to transfer their waste
to an authorized site for disposal.
• Contractors applying for a
building permit must prove to local
planning committees that they
have contacted an authorized
construction waste landfill for the
purpose of disposing of all of the
waste expected to be generated
by the project.
• Occupancy permits for building
must not be issued until proof is
provided that all of the waste
stipulated in the building permit
was transferred to an authorized
site.
Yet, despite the regulations, local
planning committees have largely
continued to issue building permits
without addressing the problem of
construction and demolition waste.
And when it comes to small home
renovations, building permits are not
required at all.
The Model Bylaw for the Disposal of Dry Waste The time
To help address the problem, the Ministry
is ripe for
of Environmental Protection has drafted a
model bylaw on the disposal of construction market forces
and demolition waste which is currently being to play their
"marketed" to local authorities. The bylaw relates
to the obligations and powers of local authorities
part in ridding
in establishing both the necessary infrastructures the country
and the necessary systems for supervision and of unsightly
control including permits and fees.
In parallel, the possibility of having municipalities
heaps of
publish tenders for authorized transporters of construction
construction waste that will serve the city is being waste and
examined. Today, this is one of the weakest links in
the chain leading from generation to disposal since promoting
the transport sector is inadequately regulated. environment-
The goal is to select, by tender, a number of friendly
official municipal transporters, thereby also giving
residents who renovate their homes the option of solutions.
choosing an official transporter, at a lower price
and with the assurance that the waste collected
will indeed reach an authorized site.
9
 Treating municipal, industrial
and agricultural waste
Solving
the Problem of Construction
and Demolition Waste
Ilan Nissim of the problem and are ready to cooperate.
Treating Director, Thirdly, our regional offices, in cooperation with the
municipal, Enforcement Coordination Division, have issued
industrial and Solid Waste Division
agricultural hundreds of cleanup warnings in recent years,
waste which have both raised awareness and made a
difference in the field. When this was not enough,
warnings were followed up by cleanup orders. In
What has changed for
Reducing air cases where cleanup orders were ignored, we
the better since the
pollution from ourselves undertook the cleanups and charged
government decision of
transportation the municipalities double the sum, as per the
and industrial 2003 to regulate the treatment of construction
provisions of the law.
sources and demolition waste?
It’s important to mention that the Green Police
The issue of construction and demolition has played a critical role in discovering offenders
waste is the realm of responsibility of numerous in the very act of dumping construction waste
stakeholders, including the key players in the field in prohibited areas, collecting evidence, seizing
Improving the of building and development in Israel – the Ministry
environment dump trucks when necessary as part of the
and preseving of the Interior, local planning authorities, the evidence gathering process, and issuing cleanup
open spaces Ministries of Construction and Housing, Transport warnings and orders.
and Defense, and the Israel Lands Administration.
Three years ago, these bodies were not sufficiently
aware of the magnitude and consequences of What else is being done to bring about a
Catalyzing the problem. Today, both government ministries solution to the problem?
economic and agencies and local authorities are beginning We are sitting with local authorities to help them
growth and
to recognize the high price that they are paying implement a comprehensive solution – from the
national
interests – environmentally and economically. The waste level of local planning authorities which must
which finds its way to open spaces and roadsides ensure that building and occupancy permits are
affects more than our environment and our health not issued until solutions to construction waste
– it impacts on land values, hurts tourism and are implemented to the level of transporters of
harms our economy. construction waste which must be more strictly
regulated. Local authorities are not familiar with
What has changed to make you more the legal tools which are available to them to
optimistic about the possibilities of tackle the problem. We are helping by providing
improvement today? them with guidelines on such tools as licensing and
As far as the Solid Waste Division is concerned, permit systems and fees for different aspects of the
this is our greatest challenge. We succeeded in treatment of dry waste. Once rules and regulations
regulating the area of municipal waste. Now are set in bylaws, and are accompanied by fees
we must turn all of our efforts to the problem of and fines, progress would be possible.
construction waste. At the same time, we are continuing to promote
We are seeing progress. Firstly, within the Ministry the establishment of infrastructures for crushing
of Environmental Protection, the subject has been construction and demolition waste. The huge
upgraded in priority. In fact Minister Gideon Ezra has amounts of construction waste which were
identified this as the highest priority. Secondly, local generated in the North following the recent war
authorities are much more aware of the seriousness are catalyzing the process.

10
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
Applying the Environmental Problem Solving
Approach to Construction Waste
To further expedite a solution, a pilot project, based
on the Environmental Problem Solving Approach,
has been initiated by three departments in the
Ministry of Environmental Protection (Solid Waste,
Business Licensing and Enforcement Coordination)
along with regional solid waste coordinators. The
main aims of the project, which will be conducted
in three cities – Modi’in, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv,
with additional cities such as Haifa, Rehovot,
Ramat Gan and Bat Yam showing an interest
as well, are to regulate the work of renovators
and building contractors and to assure that they
comply with business licensing conditions.
Top Priority to Construction Waste
Soon after entering the office, Environmental
Protection Minister Gideon Ezra declared his
intention to place the subject of construction
and demolition waste at the top of his agenda:
"I intend to spearhead a comprehensive program
that will integrate greater allocations of funds for
enforcement, on the one hand, and cooperation
with local authorities and other government
ministries in preparing an immediate work plan,
on the other hand."
Clearly, a comprehensive approach is vital in order
to deal with the complex problems associated
with the generation, disposal, transport, recycling
and reuse of construction waste. As obstacles are
overcome, chances are good that a market for
recycled construction waste can be developed
for the good of both the environment and the
economy.
Photo: Eitan Aram
Truck Seizure as a Tool for
Stopping Illegal Dumping:
Case Study in the Haifa District
Shai Ilan and Abed Mahamid
Illegal dumping of dry waste is one of the major problems of solid waste
management in Israel, largely because generators of dry waste are often
tempted to seek "free" ways to dump their waste.
The Green Police of the Ministry of Environmental Protection is responsible for
the bulk of inspection and investigation activities. When an environmental
nuisance is discovered and the identity of the owner of the waste or of
the land is known, an enforcement procedure is initiated – from calls and
letters, to public hearings, to cleanup orders (under the Maintenance of
Cleanliness Law 1984). Yet the procedure is cumbersome and may take up
to six years: from finding evidence on the origin of the waste, to identifying
the offender, to opening a criminal case, etc. Another possibility is to trace
the owner of the land and order him to clean it up, a procedure that, if
contested, can lead to a lengthy trial.
Over the past five years, criminal charges were filed against about 15
out of the 30 large waste transporters working in the Haifa district, which
encompasses 970 km2 and a population of one million. Enforcement was
targeted at every pile of waste larger than 40 m3 and criminal investigations
were initiated against mayors for illegal waste dumping. Yet, the problem
has not disappeared.
On September 2004, a new step was initiated – truck seizure. This is based
on a provision in the Penal Law, which permits the seizure of the tool used
to commit an offense until trial and, in case of conviction, may allow this
tool to become state property. The truck is seized for 30-40 days and the
owner pays storage fees, or, if determined to release the truck, bail. Truck
seizure is only possible if a member of the Israel Police (blue-uniformed
police office) is present. As cooperation is good between the green and
blue police in the Haifa district, shared supervisions were held for the
purpose of discovering waste offenders. In the past year alone, eleven
trucks were seized and transferred to state custody pending trial.
The impact of this experiment is significant, resulting in:
• Less administrative enforcement – in the first seven months of 2006, we
opened 8 cases of illegal dumping in comparison to the parallel period
in 2004 when 22 cases were opened – a drop of 60%.
• 30% more dry waste reaching landfills.
• Less waste in open fields.
The deterrent effect of this procedure is evident in the attitude of waste
transporters. While previously they knew that a criminal investigation and
trial could take years and result in a fine, today they know that if they
illegally dispose their waste, they risk losing their trucks and an identical
or larger fine in just 30 days. While this is not the final solution, the new
technique has been shown to save time and increase deterrence.
11
 Treating municipal, industrial
and agricultural waste

Israel Launches
Green Building
Standard
I
Treating
municipal, Israel’s recently approved green building
industrial and standard offers environmental, social and
agricultural economic benefits
waste

There’s good news and bad news. The bad
news is that buildings are major consumers of
Reducing air energy (reaching some 40% of total energy
pollution from
transportation consumption in some countries), water and
and industrial raw materials and significant generators of
sources greenhouse gas emissions and waste. The good
news is that green building is helping to overcome
these problems. In Israel, and worldwide, green
building initiatives are helping to provide
Improving the higher quality of life and the environment to
environment
residents, while reducing the building's negative
and preseving
open spaces environmental impact. When properly run,
green buildings, also known as sustainable
buildings, will conserve natural resources and
reduce waste, cut down operational costs
Catalyzing and improve the health and well-being of
economic residents, while providing a safer and more
growth and effective living and working environment.
national
interests A Green Building Standard for Israel
When setting out to draft its own green building
standard, based on international experience, Israel
recognized that "green building" is a multidisciplinary
Why Build Green in Israel?
• Households in Israel consume some 30%
of the total electricity production.
• Households in Israel consume about 12% of
the total electricity production for heating,
cooling and lighting.
• The commercial sector consumes some
30% of the total energy consumption,
largely for heating, cooling and lighting.
• Israel generates some 7.5 million tons of
building waste per year.
• Households consume some 30% of the
Weizmann Institute total quantity of fresh water produced
of Science building. each year.
Photo: Edna Shaviv
Natural lighting in Haifa courthouse.
Photo: Yehuda Olander
subject, which is widely dispersed among academic,
governmental, institutional and private frameworks.
Clearly, the multiplicity of subjects inherent in the very
concept of green or sustainable building – including
energy, water and other environmental subjects
– necessitated close cooperation and coordination
among such professionals as architects, engineers
and environmental experts and the formulation of
uniform criteria, methodologies and review and
classification mechanisms for "green buildings."
This is how Israel Standard 5281 for buildings with
reduced environmental impact (green buildings)
was born.
Green Building Standard and Rating System
The green building standard, approved in
November 2005, is a voluntary standard which
is awarded to new or renovated residential and
office buildings that comply with the requisite
requirements and criteria. The standard is
comprised of four chapters: energy, water, land
and other environmental subjects. A building
which meets the prerequisites in each chapter and
accumulates the minimum number of credit points
in every environment-related sphere is eligible
for "green building" certification. A cumulative
score of 55-75 points entitles a building to a
"green building" label, while a cumulative score
of more than 75 points allows it to be certified as
an "outstanding green building."
Following are some specifics:
• Energy (29 points, of which 14 are threshold
conditions): The energy chapter has the most
points and therefore carries the most weight. It
includes a climatic review of the building and its

12
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
 Growth of Electricity Consumption by Sector
million kwh
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Residential Consumption Public & Commercial Consumption
Source: Israel Electric Corporation
environs and calls for planning the building to provide thermal comfort
in all seasons of the year. It relates to such elements as orientation of
the building, use of passive techniques for heating, cooling and air
flow, improvements of air conditioning/heating systems, use of natural
light and insulation and energy efficiency and conservation.
To comply with the energy chapter, it is also necessary to fulfill some
of the requirements set in the recent Standard 5282 on the energy
rating of residential buildings, especially with regard to insulation
and windows.
• Land (19 points, of which 8 are threshold conditions): This chapter
relates to such elements as average density of the building,
maximization of land use (both aboveground and underground),
land conservation and ground contamination.
• Water, wastewater and drainage (17 points, of which 5 are threshold
conditions): This chapter deals with the conservation of fresh water,
reuse and recycling of drainage and grey water, and preservation
of runoff from unpolluted areas.
• Other environmental subjects (27 points, of which 10 are threshold
conditions): This chapter relates to seven different subjects:
environmental management of the building process and of the
construction waste, air quality and ventilation, noise, radiation,
separation of solid waste into components, bicycle stands, and use
of "green label" materials and products.
• General Assessment: The person responsible for assessing compliance
with the provisions of the standard, both at the planning and
implementation stages, is authorized to grant additional credit points
for subjects that reduce adverse environmental impact but are not
included in the previous chapters. These may include roof gardens,
renewable energy systems and more.
Green Building: A "Win-Win" Situation
Green building is a true "win-win" situation. The standard will provide
developers with a marketing advantage and will serve as a measure
of the quality of the building for consumers. Studies show that green
Green Buildings in Israel
The principles underlying green building are not
new to Israeli scientists and researchers. Nearly all
of Israel’s academic institutions engage in different
aspects of research on the subject. Some prominent
examples include the National Building Research
Institute in the Technion-Israel Institute of Technol-
ogy and the Desert Architecture Unit of Ben-Gurion
2003 2004 2005
University’s Desert Research Institute. In these and
Industrial Consumption other institutions, research findings are being trans-
lated into actual design projects in an effort to apply
accumulated expertise to specific problems.
The International Center for Desert Studies in Sde
Boker is one notable example of the application of
such "green building" principles as energy efficiency
and conservation through natural and innovative
techniques for heating, cooling and lighting. An-
other is the Environmental Sciences Building at the
Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot which was
planned in conjunction with a Technion expert in
climatic-energetic building, Prof. Edna Shaviv, and
includes 12 different technologies for electricity con-
servation.
Following the recent publication of the green build-
ing standard, four requests for a green building label
have already been submitted – for the Intel Corpo-
ration’s Research and Development Center in Haifa,
the offices of the Dan Region Association of Towns for
Sanitation, a private house in Israel’s south, and the
visitor center of the Yad Hanadiv Gardens in Zichron
Yaakov on the coastal plain, south of Haifa.
buildings can generate savings ranging from 20%-50%
of electricity and gas bills. According to Nir Kedmi of the
ministry’s Economic Division, investment in green building
should not necessarily be greater than in conventional
buildings since most of the effort is concentrated in
the planning stage, prior to actual building. Additional
investment, if any, should not amount to more than
one to two percent, and will certainly be recovered in
a reasonable amount of time, due to savings in energy
and water.
13
 Reducing air pollution from Photo: Ilan Malester
transportation and industrial sources

Treating
municipal,
industrial and
agricultural
waste

Reducing air
pollution from
transportation
and industrial
sources
Readying for Euro 4
Improving the

B
environment Beginning in October 1, 2006, all new diesel
and preseving vehicles will have to comply with stringent
open spaces Euro 4 standards
How to determine acceptable limits for exhaust
emissions of vehicles? Israel’s policy is to com-
Catalyzing
ply with European Union Directives which define
economic
growth and emission standards for vehicles sold in EU member
national states. In fact, some 97% of all of the vehicles
interests comply with European directives and the other
3% with American regulations.
Israel has made a decision to comply with Direc-
tive 70/220/EEC and its attendant amendments,
which introduce increasingly stringent standards
– with stages ranging from Euro 1 to Euro 5. The
Euro 4 standards, introduced in Europe in 2005,
will substantially reduce the levels of nitrogen
oxide gases and particulate matter emitted by
Photo: Roi Zini
cars – with demands for nitrogen oxides stricter
by some 30% and particulates by some 80% com-
pared to Euro 3.
In Israel, the standard for new models of light ve-
hicles was adopted in January 2005 and since
January 2006 all new light vehicles are imported
according this standard. Heavy vehicles will be
subject to the standard beginning in October
2006. In Europe, new vehicles were subject to the
standard beginning in October 2005 and existing
vehicles beginning in October 2006.
How to comply with Euro 4?
Compliance with Euro 4 requires a combination
of advanced engine technologies and effective
systems for the treatment of exhaust gases. To
meet the standard, two technologies are avail-
able: Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) tech-
nology, which satisfies both Euro 4 and the future
Euro 5 standards, and Exhaust Gas Recirculation
(EGR), which meets the Euro 4 standard only. The
former reduces the particle matter at the mo-
ment of combustion in the engine and uses a
catalytic converter and a urea-based solution
to transform nitrogen oxides passing through the
exhaust system into nitrogen and water.
Gasoline (petrol) and diesel fuel also complies
with the requirements of Euro 4, which calls for a
maximum diesel and gasoline sulfur content of 50
ppm and a reduction in aromatic hydrocarbons
from 42% to 35% in 2005. In this case, Israel actually
preceded the date set for Europe and reduced
the sulfur content of its diesel fuel from 350 ppm
to 50 ppm since January 2004.
The problem, according to Avi Moshel, in charge
of vehicular emissions in the Environmental Pro-

14
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
tection Ministry, relates to the availability of both
Motor Vehicles in Israel
urea and 10 ppm sulfur diesel fuel, a prerequisite
for reducing emissions from heavy diesel vehicles 2,500
to the level required by Euro 4. Adoption of SCR
2,038
technology will require a regular supply of urea. 2,000 1,831 1,915 1,960 1,982
1,730
Compliance with EGR will require the introduction 1,543
1,617
1,675

1,500 1,459
of even cleaner fuel, with a sulfur content of 10 1,176 1,261
1,373
1,075
ppm or less. Problems related to the supply of both 1,000
1,015

very low sulfur diesel fuel and urea have delayed

the implementation of Euro 4 for heavy vehicles 500

by a year, although, as stated, the delay relates

0
only to new models – which are a minority of the 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

models in use in Israel.

In order to facilitate the establishment of the nec-

essary infrastructure in gas stations, an intermin- tons NOx Emissions from Vehicles by Fuel Gasoline
Diesel
isterial coordination team was set up including 60,000

representatives of the relevant government min- 50,000

istries – Transport, Environmental Protection and
40,000
Infrastructure, the Association of Car Importers, the
oil refineries, gas stations and the urea importer. 30,000

Its aim: to ensure availability of the urea additive 20,000

and of the 10 ppm sulfur diesel fuel. 10,000

0
As of October 2006, the Ministry of Transport will 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

require importers of diesel vehicles, above 3.5 tons,

to comply with Euro 4 standards, with some ease- Source: Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
ments for multistage assembly vehicles, for which
the standard will come into effect in April 2007.

And as for the future, light vehicles equipped with
direct fuel injection will be required to use gasoline
with a 10 ppm sulfur content, leading to a decision
by Israel to reduce the sulfur content in 98 octane
gasoline to 10 ppm by October 2006.
Compliance with Euro 4 standards, with its attend-
ant reduction in vehicular pollutant emissions, is
expected to gradually reduce pollutant emissions
from transportation sources. At the same time,
however, the continuous increase in Israel’s ve-
hicle fleet and number of kilometers traveled will
mitigate the efficiency of this reduction, requir-
ing complementary steps within the framework
of transportation policy. Such steps should ensure
transportation efficiency and respond to the needs
of the population and economic development,
on the one hand, along with low pollution and
reduced adverse impacts on the health of the
population, on the other hand.
Stricter Emission Testing during Annual Car Registration
As of March 27, 2006, all gas-powered vehicles in Israel,
beginning with 1995 models, are undergoing more stringent
air pollution checks within the framework of the annual car
registration test. The new test is significantly different from its
predecessor and calls for concentration measurements of
pollutant emissions from gasoline vehicles at higher engine
speeds of at least 2000 rpm.
The new emission test checks the roadworthiness of the vehicle
and its air pollution control systems, especially the catalytic
converter and the oxygen sensor. It checks CO content and
lambda value (the air/fuel ratio injected to the motor).
The new requirements are based on the provisions of European
Council Directive EC 96/96 on the approximation of the laws
of the member states relating to roadworthiness tests for motor
vehicles.

15
 Reducing air pollution from
transportation and industrial sources
Entering the Carbon
Treating
Market: CDM
municipal,
industrial and
agricultural
waste
Projects in Israel
I
Israel’s entry into the carbon market promises
Reducing air a winning combination: greenhouse gas
pollution from reductions and revenues
transportation
and industrial Much has happened since Israel first established
sources
its Designated National Authority (DNA) for the
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in 2004.
Interest in CDM projects has risen, consultancies
specializing in CDM services were established and
Improving the
environment fourteen projects were presented to the DNA for
and preseving approval.
open spaces Israel’s entry into the global carbon market
was highlighted in a May 2006 conference on
the CDM and emissions trading as means of
financing greenhouse gas reduction projects.
Catalyzing
The conference organized by Israel’s DNA
economic
growth and featured presentations by representatives of
national the Ministry of Environmental Protection and of
interests companies specializing in the development and
implementation of CDM projects.
Although never glossing over the bureaucratic and
financial complexities that are part and parcel
of the required procedures for preparing CDM
projects, conference participants emphasized
the unique possibilities that this mechanism offers
for turning greenhouse gas reduction projects into
attractive economic opportunities. According to
the Kyoto Protocol, developed countries have the
possibility to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions,
inter alia, through the purchase of carbon credits
from developing countries. Since Israel is classified
as a developing country under the Kyoto Protocol,
entrepreneurs who implement emissions reduction
projects in Israel will be able to sell their carbon
emissions credits to developed countries.
According to the head of the Air Quality Division
in the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ms.
Shuli Nezer, greenhouse gas emissions in Israel
16
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
CDM Projects Worldwide
• More than 1000 CDM projects in the pipe-
line
• More than 1.2 billion tons expected CERs
by the end of 2012
• 278 projects registered by September 1,
2006
• 76 projects requesting registration by Sep-
tember 1, 2006
• 640 million tons of expected CERs from
registered and nearly registered projects
by the end of 2012
currently exceed 80 million tons per year, with
80% of the emissions generated by the energy
and transportation sectors. Therefore, Ms. Nezer
utilized the conference to urge industrial plants
and entrepreneurs to identify CDM projects in
Israel so as to advance the reduction of pollutant
emissions and to earn benefits in terms of revenues
generated from the sale of certified reduction
credits (CERs). "Within the framework of discussions
on the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment
period (2013 and beyond), the State of Israel may
find itself obligated to comply with some kind of
emission target; therefore, anyone entering the
market in advance of this date only stands to
profit," she added.
Why Israel?
Israel, which is classified as a non-Annex I country
under the Climate Change Convention, provides
an especially attractive option for CDM projects
for a wide variety of reasons, including:
• Technological and scientific expertise, inclu–
ding wide experience in the field of "clean"
technologies.
• Open access to a wide range of environmental
Electricity Production and CO2 Emissions
data, including monitoring data.
Electricity Production (MMWh/yr) Annual Emissions (1000 tons/year)
• Availability of local professionals, including 50 40000

scientists, engineers and lawyers. 45 35000

• Stable democratic and economic climate which 40

30000
35
is favorable for investment. 25000
30

25 20000

Israel’s CDM offers investors from Annex I countries 20 15000

numerous opportunities for implementing projects 15

10000
10
in a wide variety of subjects, including energy, 5000
5
transportation and waste projects. In fact, the 0 0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
carbon credit market from CDM projects in Israel Electricity Production (MMWh/yr) Emission (1000 tons/yr)

is estimated at about 15 million Euros per year.

These funds will play a pivotal role in advancing
environmental projects in Israel.
103 tons
Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Emissions – 1996-2000 1996
2000

Hiriya Landfill Project: Israel’s First 58,000

Registered CDM Project 48,000

The Hiriya landfill was the main disposal 38,000

facility for the municipal solid waste of the 28,000

greater Tel Aviv metropolitan area (Dan

18,000
Region) between 1954 and 1998 when it
was finally shut down. The waste which 8,000

accumulated in this "garbage mountain" -2,000

for more than two decades led to serious Energy Industry Agriculture Land Use Change
& Forestry
Waste

environmental degradation as well as to

the emission of methane gas as a result of
anaerobic degradation. Methane (CH4)
To date (September 2006), fourteen Contribution of Sectors to CO2
is a powerful greenhouse gas whose glo-
projects, relating to such fields as Equivalent Emissions (100 years)
bal warming potential (GWP) is 21 times
landfill reclamation, renewable Waste
greater than CO2. 12%
and clean energy, production Agriculture
3%
efficiency and waste treatment, Industry
The Dan Region Association of Towns for
have been submitted to Israel’s DNA 4%

Sanitation, which operates the Hiriya landfill

site, has set up a methane gas collection
system at the landfill. Gas collected from
some 63 drills is concentrated in a central
transport pipeline and transferred to a flare
at the base of the mountain for treatment.
The biogas is being used as an energy
source in a nearby industrial plant.
The Hiriya Landfill Project was officially
registered on February 2, 2006 and is the
first project in Israel to be registered by the
Executive Board of the CDM. It is expected
to generate 93,000 CERs per year.
for approval. They will be assessed
according to nine sustainable
development indicators. Once
Energy
approved, they should deliver about 81%
1.9 million tons of carbon dioxide
equivalent (CERs) per year.
Adv. Lior Shmueli, Israel’s CDM-DNA Coordinator, expects additional
projects to be submitted to the DNA by the end of 2006, mostly in the
area of renewable energy. According to Shmueli, "Israel presents an
excellent venue in which to develop CDM projects because, although
categorized as a developing country under the Kyoto Protocol, it has
all the characteristics of a developed country."
For updated information on the CDM in Israel, please see the website of the
Ministry of Environmental Protection: www1.sviva.gov.il/e_cdm

17
 Reducing air pollution from
transportation and industrial sources
Adapting to Climate
Treating
Change in Israel
municipal,
I
industrial and Israel is readying to embark on a national
agricultural research program on adaptation to climate
waste
change
Climate change should be addressed in three
Reducing air
pollution from ways:
transportation • Developing climate change scenarios and
and industrial models that look at such parameters as
sources temperature, precipitation, extreme weather
events, winds and humidity.
• Developing mitigation options for reducing
the factors responsible for climate change,
Improving the
environment
specifically greenhouse gas emissions.
and preseving • Developing mechanisms for adaptation to
open spaces climate change.
In Israel, all three components have been at
the center of scientific research. Yet, as extreme
Catalyzing weather events occur and recur worldwide, Israel
economic recognizes that the wheel cannot be turned back.
growth and
national It has therefore begun to focus on adaptation
interests measures to diminish the risk of damage from
future climate change and from present climate
variability, on discovering the most optimal and
environment-friendly ways of adapting to the
consequences of climate change.
Adaptation or Maladaptation?
How best to adapt to the consequences of
climate change? Israel recognizes that some
adaptation methods are better than others.
The idea is to move away from such possible
"maladaptations" as building a desalination plant
in order to compensate for inadequate rainfall
or constructing yet another power plant to meet
growing demands for air conditioners due to global
warming. Adaptations – or maladaptations - such
as these continue the vicious cycle of producing
ever-increasing quantities of greenhouse gas
emissions. Today’s efforts try to focus on innovative
tools that will get to the root of the problem – tools
18
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
On the Israeli Front
Several initiatives have been spearheaded
by the Ministry of Environmental Protection
over the past year to increase knowledge
about the potential impacts of climate
change:
• In 2005, the Chief Scientist of the Ministry
of Environmental Protection issued a
call for proposals for research studies on
the impacts of climate change in Israel
and means of adaptation. Ten research
projects were approved for funding on
subjects as diverse as the impacts of
vegetation on the urban microclimatic
to changes in biodiversity as a result of
climate change.
• In 2005, the Chief Scientist of the Ministry
of Environmental Protection catalyzed
the establishment of an interdisciplinary
steering committee on adaptation to
climate change.
• On June 21, 2006, the Ministry of
Environmental Protection along with
the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of
Science and Technology organized a well-
attended conference on "The Impacts
of Climate Change in Israel – Towards
a National Action Plan." Presentations
focused on climate change trends and
scenarios and their anticipated impacts
on energy demand, hydrological changes
in the Kinneret watershed basin, rise in
Mediterranean Sea level, agriculture,
health and economy.
that will give top priority to such goals as energy
conservation, green building, water sensitive
construction and creation of floodplains and
suitable riverbank vegetation.
Israel is no stranger to technological innovation.
In fact, the very scarcity of natural resources
 Flash flood in the Judean desert
has catalyzed the country to seek – and to
implement – cutting-edge technologies in such
fields as water treatment, recycling and reuse,
seawater desalination and desert agriculture
and afforestation. Although Israel has much
to learn from the world
community, it also has
much to contribute in
numerous fields – forest
management and re–
duction of forest fires,
combating desertification
or water conservation, to
name but a handful.
Joining the World
Community
The realization that certain
impacts of climate change are unavoidable
and that countries will need to adapt to these
impacts has led to the establishment, in 2004, of
CIRCLE – Climate Change Research Coordination
for a Larger Europe. CIRLE seeks to coordinate
European research on climate change impact,
assessment and adaptation in a way that will
provide decision makers with the information
they need to design effective and economically
efficient and feasible adaptation strategies. This is
being done by networking and aligning national
research programs in the 18 CIRCLE partner
countries, including Israel.
Preparing for Climate Change
Israel’s climate change conference, held in June
2006, put the question of adaptation on the table.
Its goal was to increase public awareness and to
identify subjects for further research on means of
adapting to climate change. And it did just that.
According to the Chief Scientist of the Ministry
of Environmental Protection, Dr. Yeshayahu Bar-
Or, European countries are spending millions of
euros on preparing national programs for climate
change, vulnerability and adaptation. The time
has come for Israel to do so as well.
Preparatory steps would include wide public
discussion on climate change issues in Israel
and worldwide, identification of major impacts,
literature surveys and research on means of
Drifted rock fragments on the Dimona –
Dead Sea highway
preparing
for and
Israel is
adapting determined
to the im– to discover
pacts of
climate change in different areas. The goal
the most
is to implement a national research program optimal and
and action plan which would encompass such environment-
subjects as energy, agriculture, the coastal aquifer,
coastal infrastructures and archaeological sites,
friendly ways
biodiversity and ecosystem services, intense floods, of adapting
public health, climate-sensitive public gardening, to the
climate-sensitive building and tourism.
Preparedness for the consequences of climate consequences
change should prevent large-scale economic, of climate
environmental and social damages while facili-
change.
tating the development of innovative technologies
and the export of such technologies to high-risk
countries in terms of climate change.
Climate Change in Israel: Findings of a 40 Year Comparative Study
• Minimum and maximum summer temperatures have increased
by one degree.
• There is no net change in annual temperature because winter
temperatures have declined.
• The probability of very hot summer days has increased threefold
– with temperatures exceeding 35º C in Jerusalem.
• Rainfall has increased in the center and south of the country and
has decreased in the Kinneret basin.
• The frequency of extreme events – major rainfalls, very hot days
and years which are either exceedingly wet or exceedingly dry
– has increased.
• Evaporation rates have decreased in the north and center (by
some 14%) and increased in the south (by some 19%).
19
 Improving the environment and
preseving open spaces
Moving Ahead
on the Ayalon Park
Treating
municipal,
industrial and
agricultural
waste
A A government company to administer the
Ayalon Park, backed up by governmental
and private funding, should go a long way
toward transforming the vision of Ayalon Park
into a reality
In mid-June 2006, Israel’s Registrar of Companies
Reducing air
pollution from approved the establishment of a government
transportation company to plan, develop, manage and maintain
and industrial the Ayalon Park, to preserve it as an open
sources public space, to rehabilitate the Hiriya garbage
mountain and to promote solutions to property
rights issues in the park area. The approval was
accompanied by an agreement between the
Improving the
environment Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Prime
and preseving Minister’s Office to allocate 50 million shekels from
open spaces the state budget to the company over the next
five years. These funds will be matched by the
Beracha Foundation, a philanthropic foundation
dedicated to promoting environmental and social
Catalyzing issues in Israel, bringing the total budget of the
economic
government company to 100 million shekels over
growth and
national the next five years.
interests Members of the company will include repre–
sentatives of all stakeholders - government
ministries, mayors or representatives of surrounding
local authorities, and representatives of green and
Ayalon River. academic institutions. According to Dr. Martin
Photo: Amir Balaban Weyl, who heads the Beracha Foundation and is
a key figure in plans for the park, "This is a winning
combination which will allow the company to go
forward and to initiate and implement detailed
plans. We have reached a point of no return and
will continue to invest major efforts to raise the
awareness of all stakeholders, especially in the
surrounding communities."
Major Components of the Park
The major element in the design of the Ayalon Park
will be the rehabilitated Hiriya landfill on the eastern
part of the park. The southern part of the park, within
the area of the floodplain, is designated mainly for
an urban wild and wetlands. The northern area
20
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
Facts to Remember
• On April 20, 2005, the Israel government
decided to establish the Ayalon Park in an
area spanning 800 hectares surrounding
the Hiriya landfill and to allocate 50
million shekels of state funds for the park's
development, on the basis of matching
funds: a shekel of budgetary allocation
for a shekel of donation.
• The area of the park has been reserved
as a floodplain for the Ayalon and
Shafirim Streams, which explains why it
has remained an open space in one of
Israel’s most densely populated areas.
• Statistically, the Ayalon River will flood
once every twenty years and will overflow
once every fifty years. Extreme floods are
expected once every 100 years, which
would fill up the stream’s floodplain.
• By 2020, the population of the Tel Aviv
metropolitan area should reach some
3.3 million, of which 1.2 million will reside
in the Tel Aviv region itself – half of them
in the area surrounding the Ayalon Park.
• The park will serve as a vast, seasonal
reservoir with a containing volume of about
4 million cubic meters, creating a flood
buffer, and protecting the surrounding
population from flood damages.
• The Dan Region Association of Towns,
Sanitation and Waste Disposal, which
receives waste from 14 local authorities,
spearheaded the Hiriya landfill restoration
project and plans for a recycling park at
the site.
will include an urban terrace with a promenade
boasting coffee shops, park areas, and walking
paths. Additional elements will include agricultural
fields, the Talmudic Bnei Brak archaeological site,
the historic Mikveh Yisrael agricultural school and
a recycling park and visitor center.

Focusing on Different Elements in the Park:
Rehabilitated Hiriya Landfill: Plans call for
transforming Hiriya’s waste into a resource
for recycling and reuse, with the leachates
transformed into water to irrigate the park (using
constructed wetlands) and the biogas transformed
into energy to meet the energy needs of both the
park and other facilities. To stabilize the slopes,
supports will be placed along the lower part
of the slopes and aggregates from the on-site
recycling of construction waste will be used to
complete the rehabilitation and stabilization of
the mountain. A 25 meter high terrace will support
the mountain, while an axis to the summit of the
landfill will allow visitors to enjoy an impressive
view of the park, the Tel Aviv metropolitan area
and the Mediterranean Sea.
Recycling Park: A 30 hectare recycling park, in
an area which currently includes a waste transfer
station, is under construction in Hiriya. Facilities
include:
• Bio-treatment of municipal waste: A biological
waste treatment plant, developed by Arrow
Ecology, handles about 200 tons of waste
per day, separates recyclable materials from
unsorted household waste and biologically
transforms the organic fraction of the waste
into biogas.
• Garden waste recycling system: The system
handles about 100 tons of garden waste per
day, with the recycled material used to cover
land and gardens.
• Biogas production: A system of gas wells for
pumping the methane gas trapped in the
Hiriya landfill is being established for electricity
production.
• Treatment and recycling of construction waste:
A construction waste recycling factory is
expected to treat some 2000 tons of waste
per day. Metals will be separated from the
concrete and the crushed waste will be used
for rehabilitating the garbage mountain.
• Additional facilities: These will include a used
battery collection center, a facility for tire
recycling, a biogas fueling station for cars and
anaerobic treatment (gasification).
Constructed Wetlands: The constructed wetlands
will harvest and treat alternative water resources,
including leachates and wastewater, helping to
Photos top to bottom:
Arrow Ecology reactors. Photo: Eyal Shani
Green Waste. Photo: Gil Vaadia
Gravel in front of Hiriya. Photo: Gil Vaadia
stabilize environmental problems such
as flooding and pollution. Parts of the
area will include trails and bridges for
the pleasure of the public.
Visitor Center: At the foot of the landfill
to the east of the park, a visitor center
will serve as a lobby into a total visitor
experience, including the wetlands,
observation points, and the recycling
center. Even prior to its inauguration,
some 3000 schoolchildren visit the site
on a monthly basis.
Moving Ahead
Plans for the Ayalon Park are going
ahead, both on the drawing board and
in the field. With the help of the Beracha
Foundation, the Botanical Garden at
the Mikveh Yisrael agricultural school
has been renewed and will be opened
up as part of the park. Bicycle paths
are already serving avid cyclists, and
different ways of covering the paths
to accommodate winter and summer
cycling are being examined. As night
descends, experiments on different
lighting possibilities are conducted to
highlight Hiriya’s standing as a gateway
to the Tel Aviv metropolis. And most "Hiriya landfill is the
importantly, detailed plans are being
drawn up in areas as diverse as floodwater symbol of the park. It is
protection and transportation access, the symbol of healing
in collaboration with such bodies as the
Drainage Authority and the National
and regeneration for
Roads Company. the polluted areas.
The foremost concern, for all involved, is a It is the symbol for the
commitment to transform this open space
into a place of refuge from the hustle and
rehabilitation of the
bustle of city life, an environmentally water system.
friendly public space and a model for It is the symbol for the
resource conservation and efficiency.
Hopefully, at a point not too far in the
creation of wildlife
future, residents and tourists will be communities and
able to look up at what was once an it is the symbol for
eyesore and will see, instead, a magical
mountain surrounded by green areas, people's spirit and
serving all sectors of the population emotional state."
– environmentally, aesthetically and (From the Ayalon Park International
recreationally. Charrette, published in 2004.)
21
 Tabor oak landscape. Photo: Liron Shapira
Improving the environment and
preseving open spaces

Treating
municipal,

Biosphere Region
industrial and
agricultural
waste

Reducing air
pollution from
on the Way
transportation

A
and industrial A biosphere region is in the making in the
sources Ramat Menashe region just south of the
Lower Galilee
How to attain a sustainable balance between
Improving the human and environmental needs? This is the
environment
and preseving classic dilemma, a major challenge, and there
open spaces is no magic solution. One possible answer,
currently advanced by the Regional Council of
Megiddo in the Ramat Menashe region, is the
establishment of a biosphere region (reserve) in
Catalyzing the 18,000 hectare green lung between Haifa and
economic Tel Aviv. According to "The Statutory Framework
growth and
national of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves" of
interests UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB),
biosphere reserves are created "to promote and
demonstrate a balanced relationship between
humans and the environment." This is what the
plan for Ramat Menashe is all about.
Biosphere Reserves:
Israel and Worldwide
• In the summer of 2006, there were 482
biosphere reserves in 102 countries
within the framework of UNESCO’s MAB
program.
• In Israel, one biosphere reserve, Mt.
Carmel was declared in 1996.
• Two more biosphere reserves are planned
for Israel: in Ramat Menashe, south of
the Lower Galilee and in the Judean
Hills in the transition zone between the
Mediterranean and desert biomes.
A Biosphere Region in the Making: The Case of
Ramat Menashe
Recognition of the high landscape value of Ramat
Menashe, a unique geographic entity between
the Lower Galilee, the Jezreel Valley, the Umm-el
Fahm mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, is not
a new phenomenon. In fact, all of Israel’s national
master plans, including the recently approved
National Outline Plan for Building, Development
and Conservation (National Plan 35) identify the
region as an area with the very highest landscape
sensitivity, designated for conservation.
However, plans aside and reality aside. In recent
years, the area has been subject to continuous
threats – from infrastructure development, new
cities and communities, a high-tension line of the
Israel Electric Corporation, a solid waste disposal
site, the Trans-Israel Highway, an industrial park,
an employment center, and more. Stakeholders
realized that if something is not done, amendments
and easements to plans of all kinds could well
change the unique rural character of the area.
They decided not only to guard against these
potential threats, but to do something positive
– to come up with a set of rules for managing the
area which would optimally balance between
human needs and environmental needs.
A strategic plan for the Megiddo Regional
Council, together with plans for a park spanning
about half the area of the regional council, were
the basis for advancing a biosphere region in
the Ramat Menashe region. During the course of
drafting the strategic plan for the regional council
some six years ago, a process based on broad

22
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
 Photos top to bottom:
Vineyards, wheatfields and oaks. Photo: Liron Shapira
Yokneam against backdrop of open space. Photo: Liron Shapira
Megiddo's green association cleans up. Photo: Na'ama Tessler

public participation, it was discovered that what communal settle–

united all stakeholders was the desire to preserve ments." The plan will
the special character of the open space in this ensure that all future
region. Based on this, decisions were made about development in the
activities in different areas of life – from tourism park area will be
to culture to development to environment. Most contiguous to existing
importantly, the strategic plan gave broad public building and "every
backing for plans for an 8,400 hectare park within plan will comply
the jurisdiction of the council, which is populated with environmental
by nearly 10,000 people living in 13 communities, stipulations on the
mostly moshavim and kibbutzim. protection of open
spaces and preven–
Statutory Recognition for the Ramat Menashe Park tion of pollution, which
The Ramat Menashe park plan was initiated by were determined in
the Regional Council of Megiddo, the Jewish the park plan."
National Fund, and by residents of the area
themselves. The process of declaring about half Following the
of the area of the Regional Council of Megiddo Biosphere Reserve
as the Ramat Menashe Park, with a set of rules Model
and regulations on planning and building, was As one of the largest
crowned with success in June 2006. The primary expanses of open
aim of the park, according to its planners, is to space in Israel, in–
preserve the land unit in such a way as to assure cluding a wide diver–
the optimal coexistence of humans, flora and sity of natural assets
fauna and agriculture, on the one hand, and alongside human
the preservation of the provincial atmosphere, settlements and ag–
rural intimacy and feeling of open spaces, on ricultural areas, Ra–
the other hand. mat Menashe is an
The park itself is being developed as a unique ideal candidate for
forest reserve of both man-planted and natural the development of
Tabor oak woodlands (Quercus ithaburensis), a biosphere region.
mixed pine forests, cypress, open spaces, fields, Although efforts are
orchards, springs and brooks. Some of the areas of currently invested
the park are already protected by law as forests in transforming the
or nature reserves; others are designated for the entire jurisdiction
development of tourism and recreation. The plan area of the Megiddo
divides the park into regions with different levels Regional Council – some 18,000 hectares – into a biosphere region, the
of conservation/development, based on the overall objective is to eventually include the entire geographic area of
carrying capacity of each area, such as nature Ramat Menashe (which includes the town of Yokne’am and the Alona
reserves and their environs, areas designated for Regional Council) within one biosphere region. The hope is that the future
conservation, forests, agriculture, livestock pasture, will see a continuous open space in the area which will encompass the
rural open areas and rural settlement areas. Ramat Menashe Park, the Alona Park to its west and the Carmel Park
According to Shlomo Brand, the director of the to the north.
Menashe region in the Jewish National Fund and In retrospect, the process initiated by the Megiddo Regional Council and
the coordinator of the project, "the plan for the by the Jewish National Fund unconsciously followed the concept of the
park doubles the areas which will be statutorily biosphere reserve developed by UNESCO, both in terms of the different
protected in comparison to the situation prior to protection levels given to different areas (zones) of the park and in terms
the plan’s approval. The plan will protect open of the democratic process which was an integral part of the process.
spaces against government plans to establish new For the Megiddo Regional Council, the biosphere reserve model is guiding

23
 Improving the environment and
preseving open spaces

Hagit power plant. Photo: Liron Shapira

balancing between
natural resource pro–
tection and response
to human needs.
• To create wide public
consensus about the
Treating council’s vision for
municipal, the year 2030 and to
industrial and define the significance
agricultural
waste of the region as part of
a biosphere region.

According to Joel Siegel,

Reducing air
pollution from
transportation
and industrial
sources
Improving the
environment
and preseving
open spaces
Catalyzing
economic all development. According to Hanan Erez, mayor
growth and
national of the council, "the intention in Megiddo is to
interests reach agreements through a process similar to
mediation, which is based on the good will of all
of the partners, rather than coercion from above
by means of legislation or court sentences."
Master Plan for a Biosphere Region for the
Megiddo Regional Council
Since 2005, a steering committee, composed of
different stakeholders including members of the
Megiddo Regional Council, the Jewish National
Fund and representatives of grassroots and
government organizations, has been working to
advance UNESCO’s declaration of the area as
a biosphere region.
Today, a formal process is under way: preparation
of a master plan for the development of a
biosphere region in the Megiddo Regional
Council. Its major objectives:
• To formulate policy and guidelines for planning
the regional council as a biosphere region,
the strategic planner of
the Megiddo Regional
Council, the master plan
for a biosphere region
will result in four primary
products:
1. Designation of land
uses including maps.
2. Preparation of policy
papers, based on a
consensus building
approach and on
agreements between
the political echelon,
professionals, communities and residents on
issues as diverse as agriculture, infrastructure
development, education and social and
ecological justice.
3. Development of the necessary municipal
frameworks to facilitate the flexible and
dynamic advancement of the process.
4. Transformation of some of the plans into
statutory plans and bylaws while allowing others
to remain in the form of covenants and joint
understandings.
Partnerships: At the Heart of the Plan
The process of formulating the plan toward
a biosphere region is based on the forging of
partnerships with all stakeholders. Today, partners
include the Jewish National Fund, the Megiddo
Regional Council, government ministries such
as the Ministry of Environmental Protection,
Interior, Agriculture, Tourism, Government Tourism
Company, UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Program
(MAB) and Haifa University. During the process,

24
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31

work teams will be set up, in which residents will be involved to the greatest
extent possible. The goal is to set up a community-municipal partnership
for sustainable development.
Challenges along the Way
While there is no hiding the excitement of the stakeholders, all are fully
aware that the process will not be easy. This is partially because the
process itself, in the words of the head of the council’s environmental
unit, Liron Shapira, "constitutes the very antithesis of the current system of
legislation, enforcement and court sentences. In the case of the Megiddo
Regional Council, the local authority is ready to relinquish its power and to
share it with the residents. The idea is to transfer responsibility to residents
themselves in an ongoing process, which will not be dependent on the
municipal administration in office at any specific time, or officials who
might be replaced in the next election."
What are some of the challenges? Joel Siegel believes that one of the
main difficulties is finding ways to transform an abstract vision into practical
reality – for example, to plan industrial areas and infrastructures, without
taking the soul out of the process. Ways will have to be found to maintain
voluntary involvement in the long term, to keep the pioneering spirit alive.
In more practical terms, human and financial resources will be needed to
move the process along. And further down the line, means will have to be
found to enlist the support and partnership of adjacent local authorities so
that the biosphere region would encompass the entire Ramat Menashe
region.
Why Promote a Biosphere Region?
The establishment of a biosphere region has a price tag, but the price
should be well worth it - economically, socially and environmentally.
Quality of life in such an area for present and future generations is a given,
but more than this, green branding of agricultural and industrial initiatives
should provide a competitive edge, both nationally and internationally.
With international recognition, improved business opportunities, quality
of life, and community pride and empowerment, biosphere regions have
much going for them.
Liron Shapira has labeled the Ramat Menashe area the "Central Park of
Israel," a large expanse of space bounded by the two population centers
of Tel Aviv and Haifa. Within this biosphere region, communities will be
able to act according to commonly agreed rules which define what they
should and should not do and in what fashion within each of the zones in
the biosphere region – core area, buffer zone and transition area.
The mayor of the Megiddo Regional Council, Hanan Erez, is fully convinced
that the bottom-up approach, which is part and parcel of the biosphere
region concept, works. September 2006 should see the selection of the
planning team that will prepare the master plan for a biosphere region in the
regional council, but already today, steps are being taken to raise public
awareness, through community meetings, websites, and an information
kit. In short, everyone is gearing up to transform vision into reality.
Balancing Conservation
and Development
in Ramat Menashe
Shlomo Katz
Director,
Northern Region
of the Ministry of
Environmental
Protection
The Ramat Menashe
region is not only rich in
natural assets, but it is equally "rich" in national
infrastructures, whether a planned 400 kV high-
voltage line of the Israel Electric Company, the
Hagit gas turbine, the Trans-Israel Highway (Road
#6), plans for a solid waste disposal site and plans
for a new city of Eron. Our challenge is to find
ways to allow essential infrastructures to exist with
minimum damage to the environment.
There are many dilemmas in planning biosphere
regions, including how to encourage high-density
building while preserving a rural atmosphere or
how to enable the coexistence of essential natio–
nal infrastructures and open space conservation.
To help answer these critical questions, a new
environmental unit was established for Yokneam,
Megiddo and Ramat Yishai, which should help
increase public awareness and promote a
comprehensive vision of future development in
this ecologically sensitive area.
Perhaps what is most distinctive is the level of
public participation and activism. Just last week,
at the end of August 2006, a first of its kind public
hearing was held on an initiative to transfer lands
from the Megiddo Regional Council to the town
of Yokneam in order to allow the latter to expand.
The greens of Megiddo did an impressive job of
raising public awareness of the issues at stake.
Residents made their voice known on behalf
of the conservation of open spaces through
thousands of petitions and participation in the
hearing.
I have no doubt that the process initiated by
the Megiddo Regional Council for establishing a
biosphere region, in which public participation
plays such an important role, is a healthy
process, which will prove effective in finding
the right balance between conservation and
development.
25
 Catalyzing economic growth and
national interests

Planning for Building

and Development
in the 21st Century
Treating
municipal,
industrial and
agricultural
waste
Map of Textures

R
Responding to Israel’s building
and development needs while National
Reducing air preserving open spaces and land
pollution from reserves for future generations Outline
transportation Plan 35
and industrial
sources The Comprehensive National Outline Legend
Plan for Building, Development and Urban texture
Rural texture
Conservation (TAMA 35), approved
Coastal texture
by the government at the end of Mixed conservation texture
Improving the 2005, addresses Israel’s development National conservation texture
environment needs in the first two decades of the Landscape ensemble
and preseving Built space
open spaces 21st century. Its approval constitutes River strip
an important milestone in the history Coastal strip
of physical planning in Israel. Landscape strip
Large special settlement
Outline Plan 35 consists of a series of Special settlement
Catalyzing statutory maps which give expression National installation
economic Port
growth and to a new planning language - the Existing airport
national language of "textures." The plan Proposed airport
interests identifies five "textures," two of which Border crossing
Roads and interchanges
are development worthy – urban Railway tracks and stations
and rural, and three of which are Subdistrict boundary
conservation worthy including coastal, Plan boundary

mixed conservation and national

conservation, the latter two relating to
the conservation of continuous areas
of open space, agriculture, natural
assets, landscape and heritage.
The plan consolidates physical
development into a concentrated
set of urban centers and strengthens
four metropolitan areas – Haifa, Tel
Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheba – while curbing urban areas and the urban shoreline as a public
suburbanization and urban sprawl and preserving open space. In these areas, development will
a continuity of open spaces. be severely restricted except for leisure and
Special protection is granted to previously recreation purposes. Areas of development and
unprotected areas such as open spaces along conservation are linked together with a public
watercourses, buffer zones between built-up transportation infrastructure.

26
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
 Environmental Guidelines Map
Map depicts areas of high landscape-environmental sensitivity
(green), water conservation areas (blue), aircraft noise impacted
areas and main infrastructures.
Components of the Outline Plan
The statutory component of the plan highlights
such principles as contiguous development,
minimum density for residential purposes, urban
renewal, and open space protection which goes
beyond the protection of nature reserves, national
parks and forests and includes the protection of
landscape ensembles, coastal strips, river strips and
landscape strips. At the same time, it promotes
public transportation, reduces social gaps, calls
for the integration of infrastructure corridors and
emphasizes the protection and improvement of
the environment.
The environmental regulations of the plan, which
are also displayed in map form (see above),
define more than half of the country as an area
of high landscape sensitivity, where additional
development is conditional on the performance
of landscape/environmental assessments. The
environmental requirements also define areas for
the protection of water resources and aircraft noise
impact areas and call for assessments of each
development plan which may threaten to harm
the environment. Additional requirements relate
to risk assessments in different areas, including
seismic risk areas, and contaminated land.
Objectives of National Outline Plan 35
The mega goals of National Outline Plan 35 are based on the princi-
ples of sustainable development, including economic growth, social
equity and quality of life and the environment.
Its major objectives:
• Responding to the planning and building needs of the State of
Israel, while directing the bulk of development to urban "textures"
and reducing suburbanization.
• Organizing Israel’s spatial environment into five distinguishable types
of textures (development-worthy and conservation-worthy) and
consolidating urban areas into four metropolitan areas (Haifa, Tel
Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheba) while emphasizing the principle
of open space continuity.
• Giving priority to the development of Jerusalem, as the capital
of Israel, the Galilee and the Negev – while emphasizing the
development of Beersheba.
• Promoting the development of public transportation.
• Responding to the varied demands of different sectors of the
population while narrowing gaps between different sectors and
regions.
• Preserving land reserves for future generations while protecting
natural assets, agriculture, landscape and heritage and the rural
character of agricultural settlement.
• Improving urban entities through gradual renewal, relatively
high density building and development of infrastructure systems
emphasizing public transportation, as a driving force for urban
development.
• Reducing environmental deterioration and nuisances, according
to sustainable development principles.
• Encouraging cooperation among local authorities and promoting
coordinated regional planning.
• Advancing outline plans and policy papers and following up on
development and conservation.
National Outline Plan 35 – Milestones in the Approval Process
29.12.04 Approval by the Committee for the Protection of the Coastal
Environment
3.1.05 Approval by the Committee for the Protection of Agricultural
Land and Open Spaces
4.1.05 Approval by the National Board for Planning and
Building
27.11.05 Approval by the Israel government
Side by side with the statutory guidelines, the plan includes recommendations
on complementary policy measures which should be taken by the authorities
to assure the fulfillment of the planning goals: socio-economic policy, urban
renewal, preservation and improvement of open spaces, accelerated
development of public transportation, accelerated development of the
Negev and Galilee, accelerated development of Arab communities and
strengthening of cooperative ties among adjacent municipalities.
27
 Catalyzing economic growth and
national interests

Abating Noise from

Treating
municipal,
Ben Gurion Airport
B
industrial and Ben Gurion International Airport is Israel’s main aerial gateway, with more than 73,000 landings
agricultural and takeoffs – of which 56,000 were international flights - in 2005. More than 8,917,531 pas-
waste
sengers passed through the airport in 2005, of which nearly 413,000 were internal passengers.

How to minimize aircraft noise and yet provide the • Placing operational restrictions on different types
Reducing air public with safe and efficient aviation services? of aircraft according to their noise output.
pollution from
The question is not unique to Israel, but represents • Acoustic protection.
transportation
and industrial a major challenge in the environs of Israel’s major • Monitoring aircraft noise and flight tracks.
sources airport, Ben Gurion International Airport, situated
in the midst of the densely populated Tel Aviv Noise Abatement Provisions under the Ben
metropolitan region. Gurion Airport Master Plan
In Israel, as elsewhere in the world, the response In view of its size and impact on the population,
Improving the is based on a multi-faceted approach based a separate master plan (National Plan 2/4) was
environment
on reducing noise at source (the aircraft itself), drawn up for Ben Gurion Airport, which defines the
and preseving
open spaces imposing restrictions on airport operations, and
controlling development in the noise impacted
Environmental Provisions of the Master
area through compatible land-use planning and
Plan for Ben Gurion Airport
noise mitigation (soundproofing).
Catalyzing • Establishment of noise contour maps
economic Minimizing Noise at Source which delineate the area in which land
growth and use and building restrictions apply.
national In accordance with noise standards set by the
• Commitment of the Israel Airports
interests International Civil Aviation Organization, which
Authority to minimize the impacts of
have been incorporated into Israel’s Aviation Law
aircraft noise, through such means as a
and its regulations, Stage 2 civilian aircraft have
preferred operational system for takeoffs
been banned from Israel’s airports since April
and landings and provisions on acoustic
2002. Today, with the exception of military flights
treatment for present and future buildings
which still include previous generation planes, only
which are exposed to aircraft noise.
Stage 3 civilian aircraft operate at Ben Gurion
• Setting of specific provisions on
Airport, and, in fact, in 2005, an increasing portion
environmental control and supervision,
of the planes landing and taking off actually
based on advanced technological
complied with the more stringent Stage 4 noise
mechanisms (including a noise monitoring
requirements.
system) and public mechanisms (including
a Public Committee, with representatives
Operational Restrictions
of residents from the impacted area,
In order to minimize the generation of noise from and a Professional Committee, with
Ben Gurion Airport, the Israel Airport Authority representatives from the Ministry of
has adopted a noise minimization policy, which Environmental Protection, Interior and Israel
addresses the following aspects, among others: Airports Authority, to prepare updated
• Controlling takeoffs at night. noise contour maps and recommend
• Using a preferred model of operation them to the Public Committee).
(optimizing use of flight paths and routes).

28
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
 Photo: Ilan Malester
noise impacted areas and includes a nuisance
abatement plan with specific directives on
land use and noise abatement. The master
plan, approved in July 1997, is unique in that
the boundary specified in the plan is the actual
boundary of the noise impacted area.
Acoustic Treatment
According to the master plan, acoustic treatment
is required for sensitive noise uses in areas
exposed to noise between 60 dB(A) and 65
dB(A) and sensitive land uses in areas exposed
to aircraft noise above 65 dB(A) are prohibited.
Unacceptably high aircraft noise is defined as an
average cumulative noise level of 65 decibels
or higher based on the Day-Night Sound Level
(LDN) method, as calculated by the Integrated
Noise Model.
As per the terms of the statutory master plan,
the Israel Airports Authority is required to provide
acoustic protection to residents in the environs of
Ben Gurion Airport. Eligibility for acoustic treatment
is determined by a legal expert based on a noise
contour map which is prepared each year. A
17-member public committee is responsible for
implementing the environmental provisions of the
master plan, including matters related to acoustic
treatment.
Ben Gurion Airport Noise Monitoring System
The noise abatement provisions under the master
plan are enforced through a monitoring system.
The noise and flight track monitoring system is in operation since 1996.
The system continuously measures the intensity of all aircraft noise, using
ten monitors located along the takeoff flight paths, with real-time data
collection capability and a central control and monitoring system to
correlate noise violations with flight data.
The system is designed to monitor and prevent excessive noise levels in
the populated areas under the westerly departure corridors. Maximal
noise levels are set for each noise monitoring terminal at each locality
in dB(A) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection receives monthly
reports on-line.
To further improve the monitoring system and to identify deviations
from the flight path, a radar-based path enforcement system has been
installed which enables correlation of noise events recorded by the
stations with flights along the flight path.
For any deviation from the noise levels at the monitoring stations which
is automatically identified by the system, a warning letter is printed and
sent to the airline company, demanding a detailed explanation of
the reason for the deviation. The system’s findings are discussed by an
interdisciplinary team responsible for dealing with excessive aircraft noise.
In case of deviations from permitted noise levels, the team takes steps
1997
square kilomters Noise Contours Around Ben Gurion Airport
2005
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
60 dBA 65 dBA 70 dBA 75 dBA
29
 Treating municipal, industrial
and agricultural waste

Treating
municipal,
industrial and
agricultural
waste

Reducing air
pollution from
transportation
and industrial
sources Photo: Ilan Malester

to stop the deviations. The possibility of introducing
some form of penalty, whether fines or fees based
Improving the
on the noise level generated, is currently being
environment
and preseving considered. In general, the number of violations
open spaces of noise standards has been less than 1% of the
total number of takeoffs from the airport.
A Look at Noise Contours around Ben Gurion
Catalyzing Airport in 2005
economic
growth and According to National Master Plan 2/4, an
national updated noise contour map is required every
interests year "to determine eligibility for treatment in
existing residential dwelling units for the purpose
of reducing noise in them."
A look at results over the past seven years shows
the following changes in the noise contours from
1999 to 2005:
• Reduction of 17.4% in the Ldn=60dB(A) noise
contour area;
• Reduction of 22.6% in the Ldn=65 dB(A) noise
contour area;
• Reduction of 34.4% in the Ldn=70 dB(A) noise
contour area;
• Reduction of 32.5% in the Ldn=75dB(A) noise
contour area.
The combination of measures taken in Ben Gurion
Airport appears to be working as evidenced by
the actual decrease in the population exposed
to noise in the vicinity of the airport despite the
significant increase in international air traffic
which characterized the last decade. Based on
the results of the LDN 65 dB(A) noise contours, no
new residential units were added to the eligibility
circle for acoustic treatment in 2005.
Airport Noise and Operations Monitoring
System
The noise monitoring system at Ben Gurion
Airport is a sophisticated, acoustic system
which monitors aircraft flight tracks, fleet
mix, and noise levels by time of day, season
and annually.
Among the basic capabilities of the system:
• Identification of flights that deviate from
permitted noise levels.
• Identification of noise events and flights
according to residents’ complaints.
• Identification of the location where
aircraft pass in relation to specific
areas (up to the level of streets and
buildings).
• Storage, display and analysis of aviation
data.
• Production of automatic reports, such as
letters of complaints to airline companies
for deviating from the noise threshold or
airway routes.
• Retrieval of system data by various
criteria and their display on maps and
photos.

30
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
 Steps to Reduce Noise
from Ben Gurion Airport
Stelian Ghelberg
Director,
Noise and Radiation Abatement
Department
What is the size of the area
impacted by noise from
Ben Gurion Airport today as
opposed to ten years ago?
The master plan for Ben Gurion Airport, which was
approved in 1997, equates the boundaries of the plan
with the boundaries of the noise impacted area –
60 km2. According to the most recent noise contour
map, there were 48.5 km2 which were impacted by
noise exceeding 60 dB(A) from the airport in 2005. The
reduction in the area exposed to aircraft noise over the
years is largely due to the new mix of aircraft, which
includes a larger percentage of quieter aircraft. Other
factors include reduced activity by the Air Force, which
was in the past responsible for major noise nuisances in
this central area of the country.
What role has the Ministry of Environmental Protection
played in reducing noise exposure from Ben Gurion
Airport?
Most of the environmental provisions in the Master Plan
for Ben Gurion International Airport were initiated by
the ministry. These included the provision of acoustic
protection to residential units exposed to noise above
65 dB(A). As a result, some 1000 residential units were
found to be eligible for acoustic treatment, including
treatment of windows and doors and installation of air
conditioners.
In addition, the ministry played an important part in
implementing the decision of the National Board for
Planning and Building regarding assistance to local
authorities in the noise impacted area. In this case, it helped
initiate a plan, along with the Israel Airport Authority, to
provide acoustic treatment to schools and kindergartens
in the area. As part of the program, acoustic protection
was granted to 23 schools and 77 kindergartens.
How is the problem of night flights being tackled?
The situation today is different than it was in 1997 when the
master plan for the airport was first approved. At that time,
aircraft were louder and there was no monitoring and
tracking system at the airport. Therefore, the restriction of
nighttime takeoffs was an important element in the noise
reduction program. Today this restriction bans nighttime
takeoffs between 01:40 am - 5:50 am, although some
exceptional takeoffs are allowed with the prior approval
of the Minister of Transport.
In practice, since November 1998, when implementation
of the government decision on limiting nighttime takeoffs
from Ben Gurion Airport began, there has been a sharp
increase in the number of takeoffs just before and
immediately after the banned hours, which are very
sensitive times from the point of view of the residents.
Therefore, we have been working with the Civil Aviation
Authority to advance an alternative program that will
allow the airport to operate at night but under the strict
stipulation that only fourth generation aircraft will be
permitted between 11:00 pm and 6:00 am. Thus, only
aircraft which generate 10 dB(A) less noise than today
will be allowed to take off from the airport during these
hours – 77 dB(A) instead of 87 dB(A), with the former
equivalent to the noise generated by a bus while driving
in an urban environment.
How is the Environmental Protection Ministry kept
informed about noise violations in Ben Gurion Airport?
We are connected online to the noise and flight track
monitoring system at the airport and its vicinity so that we
are updated in real time about noise levels. This information
allows us to conduct analyses and assessments, to review
the current situation, to discover weak points and to make
recommendations for improvement.The monthly reports
are also circulated among all relevant local authorities in
the area to assure maximum transparency so that there
is good cooperation between the Airports Authority, the
ministry and the surrounding municipalities.
31
 Treating municipal, industrial
and agricultural waste
INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATION
Desert landscapes top to bottom.
Photos: Ronen Alkalay,
Motti Sela, Yoav Hagoel
32
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN
"Deserts and Desertification:
Challenges and Opportunities"
An international conference in Israel will
A distinguish between deserts and desertifica-
tion as it highlights the challenges and op-
portunities inherent in the world’s drylands
It may be a well-kept secret or just a general
misapprehension, but the fact is that desertification
does not generally take place in deserts. A
conference titled "Deserts and Desertification:
Challenges and Opportunities," scheduled to take
place in Israel’s Negev desert on November 6-9,
2006, will set out to prove just this.
According to the concept document prepared for
the conference, “policy-makers and stakeholders
need to remember that the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
is an agreement to combat desertification,
not deserts. Indeed, the same conditions that
make deserts ostensibly inhospitable for human
habitation also endow them with special, often
unexploited advantages, due to their distinctive
agricultural potential (longer or multiple growing
seasons), access to solar radiation and eco-
tourism opportunities.”
The conference, sponsored by the Blaustein
Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion
University, and the United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification - Annex IV Nations,
will bring together some 300 experts from about
20 countries, including scientists, government
officials, practitioners and local community
representatives.
Conference Objectives
It is widely recognized that desertification is an
acute problem, responsible for a wide variety of
environmental, economic and social ills, including
loss of agricultural productivity, famine, population
displacement and escalation of poverty. The
conference will deal with the natural and human
drivers of desertification and the steps that can
be taken to confront and ameliorate them. At
the same time, it will deal with the flip side of the
vol. 31
challenge of "combating desertification," namely,
the opportunity to develop productive and
sustainable economic alternatives in drylands. It
will consider the effectiveness of different initiatives
to combat desertification and will highlight
available opportunities for ensuring quality of life
and sustainable livelihoods in drylands.
Academic and professional sessions will be
complemented by field trips, focusing on
local efforts to combat desertification and on
agricultural and economic development initiatives
in the local semi-arid and arid regions.
Why Israel?
Israel is a unique venue for an international
conference on deserts and desertification.
When the state was first established 58 years
ago, much of its semi-arid region was degraded
and the Negev desert in the south pushed its way
northward. A combination of drylands agriculture,
water management technologies, afforestation
and economic initiatives has helped to make
much of this land productive.
Israel’s leading desertification institute, The Jacob
Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research of the
Ben Gurion University of the Negev, engages
in a broad spectrum of desert research and is
a world leader in desertification research. This
renowned institution, located in Israel’s Negev
desert highlands, is the perfect setting for an
international conference on desertification.
Why Now?
2006 marks the tenth anniversary of the ratification
of the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification. 2006 also marks the International
Year of Deserts and Desertification, declared by
the United Nations General Assembly. Israel, as
one of the first countries to sign and ratify the
Desertification Convention in 1996, heeded the
call of the General Assembly to celebrate the year
and to support public awareness activities related
to desertification by hosting an international
convention in its own Negev desert.

Photo: Motti Sela
An estimated 344 million
people live in the world's
deserts, but a full 1,765
million make their homes in
non-desert drylands (semi-
arid and dry subhumid
climates). The challenge of
sustainable development is
therefore twofold:
• To exploit the opportuni–
ties inherent in desert
drylands without compro–
mising the ecosystem
services that support
their inhabitants or their
unique characteristics;
• To achieve economic
expansion for the benefit
of the population while
avoiding development
decisions that can lead
to desertification in non-
desert drylands.
Hopefully, the experts and
stakeholders that will gather
in Israel in November 2006
will pinpoint some ways in
which this double challenge
can be met.
For further details,
please see: http://www.
desertopportunities.org/site/
Combating Desertification –
Reviving an Environmental Commitment
Alon Tal
Blaustein Institutes
for Desert Research
Chairperson, Local
Organizing Committee
of the international
conference on "Deserts
and Desertification:
Challenges and
Opportunities"
When the Earth Summit convened in 1992,
two world treaties which address "first-world"
concerns of climate change and biodiversity
preservation were initialed. Yet many of the
developing nations demanded a third treaty to
attack the real obstacle to sustainability in their
countries – poverty. Combating desertification
was considered a compromise surrogate. The
fact is that over forty percent of the indigent
people on the planet live on drylands, and
desertification is decimating the economies of
dozens of indigent nations throughout Africa.
This dynamic is manifested in the full name
of the 1994 treaty that ultimately emerged
– the "United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious
Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in
Africa" – or typically the "UNCCD".
Israel, long heralded as an international leader
in innovations to prevent desertification, signed
and ratified the UNCCD in 1996. As one of the
only nations that had seriously embraced
the issue of "rolling back the desert," its views
were highly influential in the initial negotiations
and its opinions were sought out and
respected in subsequent efforts to expedite
implementation.
While some 190 nations ultimately signed the
treaty and joined the UNCCD framework,
progress over the past decade has been
disappointing, due for the most part to
inadequate funding. According to the treaty,
wealthier nations are expected to support the
specific activities outlined by poorer nations to
combat their desertification problem.
The lack of progress was highlighted this
past October in Nairobi when a thousand
representatives of the parties to the convention
convened for the third meeting of the “COP”
(the Conference of the Parties) to focus on
implementation. Yet initial signs of progress
emerged: China is making enormous efforts,
planting millions of hectares of trees a year,
some 49 African nations submitted programs last
year with measures to stop desertification with
special funding from the Global Environmental
Facility, several African nations presented
impressive projects. But the general absence of
funding leaves most African countries with little
improvement in trends during the past decade,
with most progress relegated to paper – rather
than restored or healing drylands.
Since the initial period of negotiations, Israel has
been represented by Professor Uriel Safriel – an
internationally renowned ecologist and one
of the two authors of the Millenium Report's
Drylands section. Thanks to his personal expertise
and integrity, the country still enjoys reasonable
stature and recognition among the community
of UNCCD diplomats. But as opposed to other
Western nations, Israel has not yet drafted an
action plan, has not dedicated additional
resources to assisting developing countries and
has not established a coordinated government
framework for addressing the issue locally.
The United Nations General Assembly declared
the year 2006 to be the International Year of
Deserts and Desertification. This constitutes an
opportunity for Israel to reinvigorate its efforts
to address local desertification issues and to
provide more meaningful assistance to the
many destitute drylands nations throughout the
world. An international professional conference
will be held at Sde Boqer in November 2006
showcasing Israel's innovations in afforestation
and agriculture. This is not enough. At the
very least, an inter-ministerial task force should
be established and an Israeli "Action Plan"
launched. As much as any other country on
the planet, Israel has indeed made its desert
bloom. But it is time to move forward to ensure
that these achievements are not lost, but
consolidated in a systematic, multi-faceted
national policy. Moreover, the lessons learned
should be shared with a planet thirsty to benefit
from the many blossoms emerging from Israel's
desert experience.
33
With
a Face
to the
Public
Focusing on Clean Up Israel
It takes vision to transform a tragedy into an
opportunity for change, for making things better.
In 1997 four Australian athletes who had come
to Israel to participate in the Maccabiah Games
lost their lives when a footbridge over the Yarkon
River collapsed. In Israel, the disaster brought the
issue of water pollution to the top of the public
agenda and led to a flurry of research studies
and surveys about the river. Yet the impacts of
the disaster were not confined to Israel alone.
Upon returning to Australia after the games,
Phillip Foxman, a member of the Australian Jewish
community, met with Ian Kiernan, Chairman of
Clean Up the World, to discuss the possibility of
34
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 31
setting up Clean Up Israel within the framework of
the international organization. This is how Clean
Up Israel was born.
What is Clean Up Israel?
Clean Up Israel is a non-profit organization and
a member of Clean Up the World, a community
based environmental program that inspires and
empowers individuals and communities from
every corner of the globe to clean up, fix up and
conserve their environment. Since the first Clean
Up the World event in 1993, millions of volunteers
have pitched in to make the world a cleaner
place.
In Israel, building partnerships between
business sponsors, governmental and
non-governmental organizations, local
authorities and educational institutions is
of top importance. As General Director
of Clean Up Israel, Israeli-born Eli Hadar
is intent on devoting his second career
to raising environmental awareness by
helping to build such partnerships after
retiring as a colonel from 27 years of
army service.
The Vision
The vision of Clean Up Israel is simple:
to raise environmental awareness
and education, especially among the
country’s youth. Cleanups integrated
with ecological education and local
environmental activities are the tools
used to achieve this goal. During
the course of each cleanup, young
and old, civilians and soldiers are
introduced to some of the country’s
major environmental issues, including,
among others, pollution, coastal
damage, protection of animals and
local history. The rationale behind this
approach is that a person who takes
part in such activities will be exposed
to vital environmental issues and will be
motivated to protect and enhance the
quality of the environment.
Partnering with Other Organizations for
a Cleaner Israel
Side by side with the events and
campaigns directly initiated and
organized by Clean Up Israel, the
organization responds to requests from
a wide variety of bodies – army and
navy units, local authorities, government
ministries and green organizations.
An especially worthy partnership
was launched with the Ministry of
Environmental Protection within the
framework of the Clean Coast Project.
Officials of Clean Up Israel are quick to
point out the excellent relations and the
welcome cooperation that exist between
the organization and the ministry for the
benefit of the environment.
Major Campaigns
Members of Clean Up the World are
encouraged to organize cleanup
events on or around the 3rd weekend
in September (Clean Up the World
Weekend), but any time of the year
is considered the right time for the
environment. In Israel, activities do
indeed take place all year round but
with a focus on the period before
the Passover holiday (March-April),
traditionally a time of physical cleaning
for the Jewish people, and during the
time of the High Holy Days (in September),
a time of spiritual cleansing.
Every year, Clean Up Israel invites the
public to join the international cleanup
campaign in September and to take
an active part in additional events
throughout the year. Preparations are
often coordinated with such bodies as
the Ministry of Environmental Protection,
the Nature and Parks Authority and the
Ministry of Education. The response to the
simple call "Clean Up Israel!!! Do the Right
Thing" has been excellent, with numerous
campaigns focusing on local cleanups
and beach cleanups, recycling and
resource recovery projects, educational
campaigns, competitions, exhibitions
and much more – all aimed at raising
environmental awareness among the
public and motivating all sectors of the
population to do something about the
environment.
For more information and a photo–
graphic history of just some of the
events that have been organized in
Israel in recent years, please click on
www.cleanupisrael.org.il
Phillip Foxman
President
and Founder
Clean Up
Israel
Simple actions by simple people – this
is what Clean Up Israel is all about.
Simple actions, such as cleaning up
a street or a local park, can have a
snowball effect, as proved by the
Australian example. I have seen
what people power can do to make
changes in Australia, drawing in not
only volunteers, but politicians, indus-
trialists and the media. The same can
happen – and is already beginning to
happen – in Israel. In fact, over the
past six months alone, some 10,000
people took part in cleanup cam-
paigns throughout Israel – whether
students, soldiers or ordinary citizens.
There is no doubt about it – if you be-
lieve, you can make things happen.
Special
Environmental
Award to Mr.
Phillip Foxman
In December 2005, Mr. Phillip Foxman
was awarded a Certificate of
Recognition for Special Activity as
part of an annual award ceremony
to voluntary organizations, groups and
individuals organized by the Ministry
of Environmental Protection and the
National Council for Voluntarism in
Israel. The certificate was awarded to
Mr. Foxman in recognition of his special
contribution to Israel’s environment
as expressed in the establishment of
"Clean Up Israel," in his extraordinary
voluntary activities and his personal
investment of both time and money in
promoting environmental education
and awareness in Israel.
35
Acacia in a desert landscape.
Photo: Motti Sela

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