Israel Enviroment bulletin 2006 - vol31

State of Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection

ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN

October

2006 volume 31

Ministry of Environmental Protection

Cover Photo: Lake Kinneret – Sea of Galilee

Construction and Demolition Waste

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Ayalon Park

www.environment.gov.il

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From the Minister of Environmental Protection, Mr. Gideon Ezra Minister Gideon Ezra shares his thoughts on environmental challenges and priorities.

First Look News in brief about a diversity of environmental issues.

Targeting Construction and Demolition Waste: A Top Priority New initiatives to rid open spaces of construction waste and transform this waste from nuisance to resource.

Israel Launches Green Building Standard A look at Israel Standard 5281 for buildings with reduced environmental impact.

Readying for Euro 4 Euro 4 standards will come into effect for heavy diesel vehicles in October 2006.

Entering the Carbon Market: CDM Projects in Israel Fourteen projects, expected to deliver 1.9 million tons of CERS, have been approved by Israel’s Designated National Authority for the CDM. Adapting to Climate Change in Israel Towards the initiation of a national research and action program on vulnerability and adaptation to climate change.

Moving Ahead on the Ayalon Park Establishment of a government company should advance plans for this major metropolitan park.

Biosphere Region on the Way An initiative to transform the Ramat Menashe area, between Haifa and Tel Aviv, into the Central Park of Israel.

Planning for Development and Conservation in the 21st Century National Plan 35 addresses development needs while promoting open space protection.

Abating Noise from Ben-Gurion Airport A look at measures to reduce aircraft noise from Israel’s main airport.

International Cooperation – "Deserts and Desertification – Challenges and Opportunities" An international conference in Israel will highlight the challenges and opportunities inherent in drylands.

With a Face to the Public – Focus on Clean Up Israel Simple actions by simple people are what Clean Up Israel is all about.

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Cover photo: A view of Lake Kinneret - Sea of Galilee Back cover photo: Motti Sela Photos: Ronen Alkalay, Ayelet Arad, Eitan Aram, Amir Balaban, Clean Up Israel, 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 Zini, Elad Zohar

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Dear Reader: Volume 31 of Israel Environment Bulletin is being published in the aftermath of the recent war in Israel’s North. In future months, Israel will invest major efforts to rehabilitate burned out forests, dispose of asbestos waste and treat the huge heaps of construction and demolition waste that have accumulated due to rocket hits.

The determination to press forward has led to new projects, many of which will focus on the area hardest 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 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 for the benefit of the public are continuing – whether an initiative to establish a biosphere region in an 18,000 hectare area in Ramat Menashe between Haifa and Tel Aviv or advancement of plans for the Ayalon Park in an area spanning 800 hectares just south of Tel Aviv.

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 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 environment in Israel.

As Israel readies to welcome the Jewish New Year, we can only hope that this year will usher in better times of peace and wellbeing for our people and our environment. As always, we invite our readers to stay informed about environmental developments in Israel by visiting our English website – www.environment.gov.il/english.

Shoshana Gabbay Editor

Production: Publications and Information Unit Ministry of Environmental Protection

From the Minister of Environmental Protection: Mr. Gideon Ezra

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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 doubles 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 issues 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 environment 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 damaged 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.

But the most important subject is education for the protection of the environment. In my opinion, it is incumbent upon us to make every effort to ensure that environmental studies are officially recognized at every level, beginning with kindergarten and ending in high school and university.

This is the key that will allow us to effect a real change in the quality of our environment.

What are your expectations of the government and the Knesset with regard to environmental subjects?

I am sure that the current government is a "green government," a government which sees the treatment of environmental issues as an important target. 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.

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.

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 environmentalists to do our utmost to prevent needless wars

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and struggles. The issue of environmental protection 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.

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 Authority as well. We are determined to do our utmost to protect these

What is your central message to the residents of Israel at this junction?

sites. We will focus on cleanliness in our upcoming campaign to

For years, we have longed for a country of our own, for a State of Israel. We saw many casualties 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.

to allow water to flow once again in the Jordan River and to

clean up the Kinneret, and in the future, we will do our utmost rehabilitate the shrinking Dead Sea.

On construction and demolition waste: Photo: Eitam Aram

Shai Avital: New Director General of the Ministry of Environmental Protection

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, causing 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-

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 previously served as a commander of several army units during his long service in the Israel Defense Forces.

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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.

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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 kilometers of natural scrubland burned, destruction of flora and fauna, 12,000 buildings hit by rockets generating thousands of tons of construction waste, 20,000 square meters of asbestos structures damaged, damages to wastewater treatment facilities and hazardous substances storage containers.

Environmental/economic costs: more than 20 million shekels (about $4.6 million) for extinguishing 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 asbestos structures destroyed by rocket hits, including professional removal and disposal.

"Going for Cleanliness – It’s Our Kinneret" Cleaning up Lake Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee, Israel’s only natural freshwater lake, is the next target of the Ministry of Environmental Protection within the framework of its comprehensive campaign 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.

Minister Gideon Ezra: "The shores of Lake Kinneret are a national asset. The pollution of these 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

shores will indeed be clean and worthy of the general public."

The multi-annual Kinneret Clean Coast project, which will include coastal cleanups, education and information, and inspection and enforcement, is targeted at cleaning up the Kinneret’s open natural coastlines – some 23 kilometers out of the total coastline of 55 kilometers.

Kinar coast on Lake Kinneret Photo: Ilan Malester

Litter left behind on Kinneret coasts Photo: Elad Zohar

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Reading power plant.

Photo: Ilan Malester

Marine Turtles Released to Sea

Reading Power Plant Converted to Natural Gas

With the conclusion of the nesting season for marine turtles, which saw an impressive 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 protection of endangered marine turtles, in which nests discovered during the nesting 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 bodies, visit the hatchery each morning to release the new hatchlings to sea.

Tel Aviv’s Reading power plant was converted to natural gas during a ceremony, attended by the Minister of Environmental Protection and Minister 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 production of the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). It is the second IEC plant to run on natural gas, after the Eshkol Power Plant in Ashdod.

Minister Ezra with marine turtles.

Photo: Nature and Parks Authority

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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 ceremony.

The project, initiated some three years ago, is designed to encourage schools, with the cooperation of administration, students, parents and community, 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 community - 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 maximum 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 supply to the amplifier system in the hall.

Dr. Stelian Ghelberg, director of the Noise Abatement 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 populations 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 establishment 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 pollution 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 Avnimelech, 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 assisted 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

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Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Clean Coast Project: and Targeting Construction Facts And Figures Demolition Waste: a Top Priority Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Reducing air pollution from transportation and industrial sources

Improving the environment and preseving open spaces

Catalyzing economic growth and national interests

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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 and environmental problems is indisputable. Yet, to date, despite a three year old government decision to regulate the treatment of construction 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 be solved by landfilling alone. Israel does not have sufficient land resources to absorb the ever 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

Composition of Waste Generated on 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 residential construction sites includes such materials as concrete, iron, wood, bricks, tiles, plastic and paper.

• Non-inert materials, such as plastic, aluminum 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 estimated 20 tons of waste for each 100 square meters of built space.

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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 environmentfriendly 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

Photos top to bottom: Ilan Malester, Ayelet Arad, Galia Pasternak

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 responsibility 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 participation of all stakeholders, based on the Environmental Problem Solving Approach; • Stepping up enforcement: catching offenders "in the act," launching investigations, filing criminal charges and, at times, seizing offending vehicles to be used as evidence during trials.

• Providing financial support to local authorities for planning and establishing infrastructures for dry waste: in 2005, 11 million shekels in financial aid were allocated to about 45 local authorities.

• Identifying abandoned quarries which may be used for the disposal of construction 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 themselves. If not implemented, a contractor 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:

• 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 To help address the problem, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has drafted a model bylaw on the disposal of construction and demolition waste which is currently being "marketed" to local authorities. The bylaw relates to the obligations and powers of local authorities in establishing both the necessary infrastructures and the necessary systems for supervision and control including permits and fees.

In parallel, the possibility of having municipalities publish tenders for authorized transporters of construction waste that will serve the city is being examined. Today, this is one of the weakest links in the chain leading from generation to disposal since the transport sector is inadequately regulated.

The goal is to select, by tender, a number of official municipal transporters, thereby also giving residents who renovate their homes the option of choosing an official transporter, at a lower price and with the assurance that the waste collected will indeed reach an authorized site.

The time is ripe for market forces to play their part in ridding the country of unsightly heaps of construction waste and promoting environmentfriendly solutions.

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Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Solving the Problem of Construction and Demolition Waste Ilan Nissim

Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Reducing air pollution from transportation and industrial sources

Improving the environment and preseving open spaces

Catalyzing economic growth and national interests

Director, Solid Waste Division

What has changed for the better since the government decision of 2003 to regulate the treatment of construction and demolition waste?

The issue of construction and demolition waste is the realm of responsibility of numerous stakeholders, including the key players in the field of building and development in Israel – the Ministry of the Interior, local planning authorities, the Ministries of Construction and Housing, Transport and Defense, and the Israel Lands Administration.

Three years ago, these bodies were not sufficiently aware of the magnitude and consequences of the problem. Today, both government ministries and agencies and local authorities are beginning to recognize the high price that they are paying – environmentally and economically. The waste which finds its way to open spaces and roadsides affects more than our environment and our health – it impacts on land values, hurts tourism and harms our economy.

What has changed to make you more optimistic about the possibilities of improvement today?

As far as the Solid Waste Division is concerned, this is our greatest challenge. We succeeded in regulating the area of municipal waste. Now we must turn all of our efforts to the problem of construction waste.

We are seeing progress. Firstly, within the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the subject has been upgraded in priority. In fact Minister Gideon Ezra has identified this as the highest priority. Secondly, local authorities are much more aware of the seriousness

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of the problem and are ready to cooperate.

Thirdly, our regional offices, in cooperation with the Enforcement Coordination Division, have issued hundreds of cleanup warnings in recent years, 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 cases where cleanup orders were ignored, we ourselves undertook the cleanups and charged the municipalities double the sum, as per the provisions of the law.

It’s important to mention that the Green Police has played a critical role in discovering offenders in the very act of dumping construction waste in prohibited areas, collecting evidence, seizing dump trucks when necessary as part of the evidence gathering process, and issuing cleanup warnings and orders.

What else is being done to bring about a solution to the problem?

We are sitting with local authorities to help them implement a comprehensive solution – from the level of local planning authorities which must ensure that building and occupancy permits are not issued until solutions to construction waste are implemented to the level of transporters of construction waste which must be more strictly regulated. Local authorities are not familiar with the legal tools which are available to them to tackle the problem. We are helping by providing them with guidelines on such tools as licensing and permit systems and fees for different aspects of the treatment of dry waste. Once rules and regulations are set in bylaws, and are accompanied by fees and fines, progress would be possible.

At the same time, we are continuing to promote the establishment of infrastructures for crushing construction and demolition waste. The huge amounts of construction waste which were generated in the North following the recent war are catalyzing the process.

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.

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.

Photo: Eitan Aram

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Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Israel Launches Green Building Standard Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Reducing air pollution from transportation and industrial sources

Improving the environment and preseving open spaces

Catalyzing economic growth and national interests

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Israel’s recently approved green building standard offers environmental, social and economic benefits

There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that buildings are major consumers of energy (reaching some 40% of total energy consumption in some countries), water and raw materials and significant generators of 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 higher quality of life and the environment to residents, while reducing the building's negative environmental impact. When properly run, green buildings, also known as sustainable buildings, will conserve natural resources and reduce waste, cut down operational costs and improve the health and well-being of residents, while providing a safer and more effective living and working environment.

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?

Weizmann Institute of Science building.

Photo: Edna Shaviv

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• 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 total quantity of fresh water produced each year.

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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

Green Buildings in Israel

Growth of Electricity Consumption by Sector million kwh 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Residential Consumption

1999

2000

2001

2002

Public & Commercial Consumption

2003

2004

2005

Industrial Consumption

Source: Israel Electric Corporation

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•

•

•

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

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 Technology and the Desert Architecture Unit of Ben-Gurion University’s Desert Research Institute. In these and other institutions, research findings are being translated 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. Another 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 conservation.

Following the recent publication of the green building standard, four requests for a green building label have already been submitted – for the Intel Corporation’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 transportation and industrial sources

Photo: Ilan Malester

Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Reducing air pollution from transportation and industrial sources

Improving the environment and preseving open spaces

Catalyzing economic growth and national interests

Readying for Euro 4

B

Beginning in October 1, 2006, all new diesel vehicles will have to comply with stringent Euro 4 standards

standard beginning in October 2005 and existing vehicles beginning in October 2006.

How to determine acceptable limits for exhaust emissions of vehicles? Israel’s policy is to comply with European Union Directives which define emission standards for vehicles sold in EU member states. In fact, some 97% of all of the vehicles comply with European directives and the other 3% with American regulations.

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 available: Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology, 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 moment 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.

Israel has made a decision to comply with Directive 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 cars – with demands for nitrogen oxides stricter by some 30% and particulates by some 80% compared to Euro 3.

Photo: Roi Zini

In Israel, the standard for new models of light vehicles 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

14

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How to comply with Euro 4?

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-

tection Ministry, relates to the availability of both urea and 10 ppm sulfur diesel fuel, a prerequisite for reducing emissions from heavy diesel vehicles to the level required by Euro 4. Adoption of SCR technology will require a regular supply of urea.

Compliance with EGR will require the introduction of even cleaner fuel, with a sulfur content of 10 ppm or less. Problems related to the supply of both very low sulfur diesel fuel and urea have delayed the implementation of Euro 4 for heavy vehicles by a year, although, as stated, the delay relates only to new models – which are a minority of the models in use in Israel.

In order to facilitate the establishment of the necessary infrastructure in gas stations, an interministerial coordination team was set up including representatives of the relevant government ministries – Transport, Environmental Protection and Infrastructure, the Association of Car Importers, the oil refineries, gas stations and the urea importer.

Its aim: to ensure availability of the urea additive and of the 10 ppm sulfur diesel fuel.

As of October 2006, the Ministry of Transport will require importers of diesel vehicles, above 3.5 tons, to comply with Euro 4 standards, with some easements 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 attendant 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 vehicle fleet and number of kilometers traveled will mitigate the efficiency of this reduction, requiring 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.

Motor Vehicles in Israel

2,500

2,000 1,543 1,500 1,015

1,075

1990

1991

1,176

1,261

1992

1993

1,373

1,617

1,675

1,831

1,915

1,960

1,982

2000

2001

2002

2003

2,038

1,730

1,459

1,000

500

0

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Gasoline Diesel

NOx Emissions from Vehicles by Fuel

tons

2004

60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Source: Israel Central Bureau of Statistics

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 Market: CDM Projects in Israel

Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Reducing air pollution from transportation and industrial sources

Improving the environment and preseving open spaces

Catalyzing economic growth and national interests

16

I

Israel’s entry into the carbon market promises a winning combination: greenhouse gas reductions and revenues

Much has happened since Israel first established 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 fourteen projects were presented to the DNA for approval.

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.

The conference organized by Israel’s DNA featured presentations by representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and of 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

ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN

vol. 31

CDM Projects Worldwide • More than 1000 CDM projects in the pipeline • 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 September 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 data, including monitoring data.

• Availability of local professionals, including scientists, engineers and lawyers.

• Stable democratic and economic climate which is favorable for investment.

Electricity Production and CO2 Emissions Electricity Production (MMWh/yr)

Annual Emissions (1000 tons/year) 40000

50 45

35000

40

30000

35 25000

30

Israel’s CDM offers investors from Annex I countries numerous opportunities for implementing projects in a wide variety of subjects, including energy, transportation and waste projects. In fact, the carbon credit market from CDM projects in Israel is estimated at about 15 million Euros per year.

These funds will play a pivotal role in advancing environmental projects in Israel.

25

20000

20

15000

15 10000 10 5000

5 0

1991

The Hiriya landfill was the main disposal facility for the municipal solid waste of the greater Tel Aviv metropolitan area (Dan Region) between 1954 and 1998 when it was finally shut down. The waste which accumulated in this "garbage mountain" for more than two decades led to serious environmental degradation as well as to the emission of methane gas as a result of anaerobic degradation. Methane (CH4) is a powerful greenhouse gas whose global warming potential (GWP) is 21 times greater than CO2.

The Dan Region Association of Towns for 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.

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Electricity Production (MMWh/yr)

103 tons

Hiriya Landfill Project: Israel’s First Registered CDM Project

1992

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

0

Emission (1000 tons/yr)

Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Emissions – 1996-2000

1996 2000

58,000 48,000 38,000 28,000 18,000

8,000

-2,000 Energy

Industry

Agriculture

Land Use Change & Forestry

Waste

To date (September 2006), fourteen Contribution of Sectors to CO2 Equivalent Emissions (100 years) projects, relating to such fields as landfill reclamation, renewable Waste 12% and clean energy, production Agriculture 3% efficiency and waste treatment, Industry 4% have been submitted to Israel’s DNA 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

Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Reducing air pollution from transportation and industrial sources

Improving the environment and preseving open spaces

Catalyzing economic growth and national interests

Adapting to Climate Change in Israel

I

Israel is readying to embark on a national research program on adaptation to climate change

Climate change should be addressed in three ways: • Developing climate change scenarios and models that look at such parameters as temperature, precipitation, extreme weather events, winds and humidity.

• Developing mitigation options for reducing the factors responsible for climate change, specifically greenhouse gas emissions.

• Developing mechanisms for adaptation to climate change.

In Israel, all three components have been at the center of scientific research. Yet, as extreme weather events occur and recur worldwide, Israel recognizes that the wheel cannot be turned back.

It has therefore begun to focus on adaptation 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

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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 wellattended 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.

Drifted rock fragments on the Dimona – Dead Sea highway

preparing for and adapting to the im– pacts of climate change in different areas. The goal is to implement a national research program and action plan which would encompass such subjects as energy, agriculture, the coastal aquifer, coastal infrastructures and archaeological sites, biodiversity and ecosystem services, intense floods, public health, climate-sensitive public gardening, climate-sensitive building and tourism.

Preparedness for the consequences of climate change should prevent large-scale economic, environmental and social damages while facilitating the development of innovative technologies and the export of such technologies to high-risk countries in terms of climate change.

Israel is determined to discover the most optimal and environmentfriendly ways of adapting to the consequences of climate change.

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 BarOr, 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

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

Reducing air pollution from transportation and industrial sources

Improving the environment and preseving open spaces

Catalyzing economic growth and national interests

Ayalon River.

Photo: Amir Balaban

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 approved the establishment of a government company to plan, develop, manage and maintain the Ayalon Park, to preserve it as an open 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 Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Prime Minister’s Office to allocate 50 million shekels from 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 issues in Israel, bringing the total budget of the government company to 100 million shekels over the next five years.

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 academic institutions. According to Dr. Martin 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

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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.

Photos top to bottom: Arrow Ecology reactors. Photo: Eyal Shani Green Waste. Photo: Gil Vaadia Gravel in front of Hiriya. Photo: Gil Vaadia

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

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 importantly, detailed plans are being drawn up in areas as diverse as floodwater protection and transportation access, in collaboration with such bodies as the Drainage Authority and the National Roads Company.

The foremost concern, for all involved, is a commitment to transform this open space into a place of refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life, an environmentally friendly public space and a model for resource conservation and efficiency.

Hopefully, at a point not too far in the future, residents and tourists will be able to look up at what was once an eyesore and will see, instead, a magical mountain surrounded by green areas, serving all sectors of the population – environmentally, aesthetically and recreationally.

"Hiriya landfill is the symbol of the park. It is the symbol of healing and regeneration for the polluted areas.

It is the symbol for the rehabilitation of the water system.

It is the symbol for the creation of wildlife communities and it is the symbol for people's spirit and emotional state."

(From the Ayalon Park International Charrette, published in 2004.)

21

Tabor oak landscape. Photo: Liron Shapira

Improving the environment and preseving open spaces

Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Reducing air pollution from transportation and industrial sources

Improving the environment and preseving open spaces

Catalyzing economic growth and national interests

Biosphere Region on the Way

A

A biosphere region is in the making in the Ramat Menashe region just south of the Lower Galilee

How to attain a sustainable balance between human and environmental needs? This is the classic dilemma, a major challenge, and there 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 the 18,000 hectare green lung between Haifa and Tel Aviv. According to "The Statutory Framework of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves" of 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.

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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

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 united all stakeholders was the desire to preserve the special character of the open space in this region. Based on this, decisions were made about activities in different areas of life – from tourism to culture to development to environment. Most importantly, the strategic plan gave broad public backing for plans for an 8,400 hectare park within the jurisdiction of the council, which is populated by nearly 10,000 people living in 13 communities, mostly moshavim and kibbutzim.

Statutory Recognition for the Ramat Menashe Park The Ramat Menashe park plan was initiated by the Regional Council of Megiddo, the Jewish National Fund, and by residents of the area themselves. The process of declaring about half of the area of the Regional Council of Megiddo as the Ramat Menashe Park, with a set of rules and regulations on planning and building, was crowned with success in June 2006. The primary aim of the park, according to its planners, is to preserve the land unit in such a way as to assure the optimal coexistence of humans, flora and fauna and agriculture, on the one hand, and the preservation of the provincial atmosphere, rural intimacy and feeling of open spaces, on the other hand.

The park itself is being developed as a unique forest reserve of both man-planted and natural Tabor oak woodlands (Quercus ithaburensis), mixed pine forests, cypress, open spaces, fields, orchards, springs and brooks. Some of the areas of the park are already protected by law as forests or nature reserves; others are designated for the development of tourism and recreation. The plan divides the park into regions with different levels of conservation/development, based on the carrying capacity of each area, such as nature reserves and their environs, areas designated for conservation, forests, agriculture, livestock pasture, rural open areas and rural settlement areas.

According to Shlomo Brand, the director of the Menashe region in the Jewish National Fund and the coordinator of the project, "the plan for the park doubles the areas which will be statutorily protected in comparison to the situation prior to the plan’s approval. The plan will protect open spaces against government plans to establish new

communal settle– ments." The plan will ensure that all future development in the park area will be contiguous to existing building and "every plan will comply with environmental stipulations on the protection of open spaces and preven– tion of pollution, which were determined in the park plan."

Following the Biosphere Reserve Model As one of the largest expanses of open space in Israel, in– cluding a wide diver– sity of natural assets alongside human settlements and ag– ricultural areas, Ra– mat Menashe is an ideal candidate for the development of a biosphere region.

Although efforts are currently invested in transforming the entire jurisdiction area of the Megiddo Regional Council – some 18,000 hectares – into a biosphere region, the overall objective is to eventually include the entire geographic area of Ramat Menashe (which includes the town of Yokne’am and the Alona Regional Council) within one biosphere region. The hope is that the future will see a continuous open space in the area which will encompass the Ramat Menashe Park, the Alona Park to its west and the Carmel Park to the north.

In retrospect, the process initiated by the Megiddo Regional Council and by the Jewish National Fund unconsciously followed the concept of the biosphere reserve developed by UNESCO, both in terms of the different protection levels given to different areas (zones) of the park and in terms of the democratic process which was an integral part of the process.

For the Megiddo Regional Council, the biosphere reserve model is guiding

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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 council’s vision for the year 2030 and to define the significance of the region as part of a biosphere region.

Treating municipal, industrial and agricultural waste

Reducing air pollution from transportation and industrial sources

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all development. According to Hanan Erez, mayor of the council, "the intention in Megiddo is to 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,

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According to Joel Siegel, 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,

Balancing Conservation and Development in Ramat Menashe 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.

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 highvoltage 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.

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Planning for Building and Development in the 21st Century Map of Textures

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Responding to Israel’s building and development needs while preserving open spaces and land reserves for future generations

National Outline Plan 35

The Comprehensive National Outline Plan for Building, Development and Conservation (TAMA 35), approved by the government at the end of 2005, addresses Israel’s development needs in the first two decades of the 21st century. Its approval constitutes an important milestone in the history of physical planning in Israel.

Legend Urban texture Rural texture Coastal texture Mixed conservation texture National conservation texture Landscape ensemble Built space River strip Coastal strip Landscape strip Large special settlement

Catalyzing economic growth and national interests

Outline Plan 35 consists of a series of statutory maps which give expression to a new planning language - the language of "textures." The plan identifies five "textures," two of which are development worthy – urban and rural, and three of which are conservation worthy including coastal, mixed conservation and national conservation, the latter two relating to the conservation of continuous areas of open space, agriculture, natural assets, landscape and heritage.

Special settlement National installation Port Existing airport Proposed airport Border crossing Roads and interchanges Railway tracks and stations Subdistrict boundary Plan boundary

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 suburbanization and urban sprawl and preserving a continuity of open spaces.

Special protection is granted to previously unprotected areas such as open spaces along watercourses, buffer zones between built-up

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urban areas and the urban shoreline as a public open space. In these areas, development will be severely restricted except for leisure and recreation purposes. Areas of development and conservation are linked together with a public transportation infrastructure.

Environmental Guidelines Map

Objectives of National Outline Plan 35 The mega goals of National Outline Plan 35 are based on the principles of sustainable development, including economic growth, social equity and quality of life and the environment.

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.

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.

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Catalyzing economic growth and national interests

Abating Noise from Ben Gurion Airport

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

How to minimize aircraft noise and yet provide the public with safe and efficient aviation services?

The question is not unique to Israel, but represents a major challenge in the environs of Israel’s major airport, Ben Gurion International Airport, situated in the midst of the densely populated Tel Aviv metropolitan region.

In Israel, as elsewhere in the world, the response is based on a multi-faceted approach based on reducing noise at source (the aircraft itself), imposing restrictions on airport operations, and controlling development in the noise impacted area through compatible land-use planning and noise mitigation (soundproofing).

Minimizing Noise at Source In accordance with noise standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which have been incorporated into Israel’s Aviation Law and its regulations, Stage 2 civilian aircraft have been banned from Israel’s airports since April 2002. Today, with the exception of military flights which still include previous generation planes, only Stage 3 civilian aircraft operate at Ben Gurion Airport, and, in fact, in 2005, an increasing portion of the planes landing and taking off actually complied with the more stringent Stage 4 noise requirements.

Operational Restrictions In order to minimize the generation of noise from Ben Gurion Airport, the Israel Airport Authority has adopted a noise minimization policy, which addresses the following aspects, among others: • Controlling takeoffs at night.

• Using a preferred model of operation (optimizing use of flight paths and routes).

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• Placing operational restrictions on different types of aircraft according to their noise output.

• Acoustic protection.

• Monitoring aircraft noise and flight tracks.

Noise Abatement Provisions under the Ben Gurion Airport Master Plan In view of its size and impact on the population, a separate master plan (National Plan 2/4) was drawn up for Ben Gurion Airport, which defines the Environmental Provisions of the Master Plan for Ben Gurion Airport • Establishment of noise contour maps which delineate the area in which land use and building restrictions apply.

• Commitment of the Israel Airports Authority to minimize the impacts of aircraft noise, through such means as a preferred operational system for takeoffs and landings and provisions on acoustic treatment for present and future buildings which are exposed to aircraft noise.

• Setting of specific provisions on environmental control and supervision, based on advanced technological mechanisms (including a noise monitoring system) and public mechanisms (including a Public Committee, with representatives of residents from the impacted area, and a Professional Committee, with representatives from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Interior and Israel Airports Authority, to prepare updated noise contour maps and recommend them to the Public Committee).

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.

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 square kilomters

1997 2005

Noise Contours Around Ben Gurion Airport

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Ben Gurion Airport Noise Monitoring System The noise abatement provisions under the master plan are enforced through a monitoring system.

5 0 60 dBA

65 dBA

70 dBA

75 dBA

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Photo: Ilan Malester

to stop the deviations. The possibility of introducing some form of penalty, whether fines or fees based on the noise level generated, is currently being considered. In general, the number of violations 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 Airport in 2005 According to National Master Plan 2/4, an updated noise contour map is required every 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

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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.

Steps to Reduce Noise from Ben Gurion Airport Stelian Ghelberg

How is the problem of night flights being tackled?

Director, Noise and Radiation Abatement Department

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.

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.

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.

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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

"Deserts and Desertification: Challenges and Opportunities" An international conference in Israel will distinguish between deserts and desertification as it highlights the challenges and opportunities inherent in the world’s drylands

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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 ecotourism 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

Desert landscapes top to bottom.

Photos: Ronen Alkalay, Motti Sela, Yoav Hagoel

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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

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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.

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"

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 (semiarid 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 nondesert 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/

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.

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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

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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, industrialists 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 campaigns throughout Israel – whether students, soldiers or ordinary citizens.

There is no doubt about it – if you believe, 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.

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Acacia in a desert landscape.

Photo: Motti Sela

ENGLISH AND ARABIC WEBSITES NOW ONLINE

www.environment.gov.il/english www.environment.gov.il/arabic Looking for information about the environmental scene in Israel? Our website in Arabic and our constantly updated website in English provide up-to-date information on environmental policy and activity.

Our English website is constantly being expanded with updated information on:

• • • •

Key environmental topics Breaking news items Information on NGOs in Israel Summaries of environmental legislation • Environmental indicators • 16 environmental e-bulletins, each on a different topic

Everything you wanted to know about the environment: www.environment.gov.il/english or www.environment.gov.il/arabic