Air Quality in Israel: Now and Tomorrow A look at air quality monitoring results in Israel. Targeting Vehicular Pollution A government decision brings new hope for reducing air pollution from transportation sources. Restraining Private Car Use for Commuting Proposing new government and employer policies to reduce the number of commuters choosing private cars to get to work. Hazardous Waste Treatment Site: Remediation Begins A 220 million shekel remediation program in the Ramat Hovav hazardous waste treatment site gets under way. Construction and Demolition Waste Plan for Jerusalem A government decision aims at cleaning up Jerusalem and keeping it clean. No to the Western Expansion of Jerusalem Israel's national planning agency thwarts the Safdie Plan for developing the open space to the west of Jerusalem. Recognizing Israel's World Heritage Israel earns a respectable place on the World Heritage List with five inscriptions, representing ten Israeli sites. WATEC - Israel 2007: Focusing on Environmental Technologies Israel's international environmental technologies exhibition and conference is a huge success. International Cooperation Spotlighting roadmaps on Climate Change and OECD accession. With a Face to the Public Greening the educational system.
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Dear Reader: Volume 33 of Israel Environment Bulletin looks at some of the main issues on Israel's environmental agenda in 2007.
photo: Menachem Zalutzki
Contents
Articles in this issue focus in depth on priority issues: air quality including updates on air pollution monitoring reports, steps to reduce vehicular pollution and ways to restrain private car use, remediation of the Ramat Hovav hazardous waste site, a new program to clean Jerusalem of construction and demolition waste and new victories in stopping urban encroachment on open spaces. In 2008, the reduction of air pollution in Israel will figure high on the Ministry of Environmental Protection's priority list, yielding a double benefit - cleaner air for Israelis to breathe locally and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, as part of Israel's contribution to combating climate change on the global level.
Additional articles focus on Israel's place on the global agenda: Israel's place on the World Heritage List, preparatory steps for accession to the OECD and the convening of a major international exhibition on environmental technologies in Israel. Finally, in 2007, the Ministry of Environmental Protection began to develop its vision and long-term goals, based on a future oriented approach. High on the list of priority for 2008 are some of the issues covered in this Bulletin: reduction in air pollution, treatment of the country's pollution hotspots in Ramat Hovav and Haifa Bay, reduction of risks from hazardous substances, minimization of the quantity of waste transferred to landfills, preparedness for climate change and more. Meanwhile, to stay updated about other environmental developments in Israel, please visit our English website
www.environment.gov.il/english Shoshana Gabbay Editor
Inquiries should be addressed to: Israel Environment Bulletin P.O.B. 34033, Jerusalem 95464, Israel Telephone: 972-2-6553777, Fax: 972-2-6535934 http://www.environment.gov.il/english E-mail: shoshana@environment.gov.il
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Production: Publications, Information and Internet Division, Ministry of Environmental Protection Design: Studio Gideon Dan, Jerusalem
| vol.32 ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN Cover photo: Eli Ratner, View of Western Jerusalem.
NOW AND TOMORROW “Air quality monitoring results reveal a continuing trend of improvement in vehicular air pollution in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. We expect this trend to continue as we continue our intensive activities. However, elevated ozone concentrations have degraded air quality in Israel's inland areas, underlining the importance of further reducing hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxides emissions from vehicles, gas stations, power plants and industry.�
Haifa bay/photo: Ilan Malester
AIR QUALITY IN ISRAEL: particles (PM 2.5) are all too frequent, reaching 120%-214% of the annual target and as much as 233% in the vicinity of major transportation arteries. Tackling Air Pollution in Israel The reduction of air pollution ranks high on the priority list of the Ministry of Environmental Protection. In the words of Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra, the ministry's aim is ''to continue to improve air quality in Israel for our health, for the health of our children and for future generations.'' Therefore, in recent years concerted efforts have been invested in reducing population exposure to air pollution through a wide variety of measures targeted at both vehicular and industrial sources.
There's good news and bad news when it comes to air quality in Israel. On the one hand, Israel's annual monitoring report for 2006 reveals improvements in air pollution, especially when it comes to pollution from transportation sources in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. On the other hand, the situation is far from good as witnessed by the fact nitrogen oxides levels throughout the country remain high, ozone concentrations are on the increase and exceedances of the target standard for fine respirable
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Haifa
Hadera
Tel Aviv Ashdod Metropolitan Area
Ashkelon
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Tel Aviv/photo: Eitan Mazeh
Dr. Levana Kordova-Biezuner, Scientific Director, Israel National Air Monitoring Network
Targeting vehicular pollution: > All light vehicles (up to 3.5 tons) imported into Israel comply with Euro 4 standards since January 2006 and all heavy vehicles (above 3.5 tons) comply with this standard since October 2006. > The sulfur content in 98 octane gasoline has been reduced to 10 ppm. > 10 ppm sulfur diesel fuel has been introduced into some 15 gas stations throughout the country. > More stringent air pollution checks were introduced into the annual car registration tests for gas-powered vehicles, beginning with 1995 models, since March 2006. > More stringent regulations on smoke emissions from diesel vehicles, which apply to the annual car registration test, beginning with 2001 models, came into force in June 2007.
> Taxes on hybrid cars were reduced to 30%, within the framework of a new policy that will link the external costs of air pollution and tax levels. > The government adopted a national plan for the reduction of vehicular pollution in September 2007. > In January 2008, the government approved the recommendations of the Green Tax Committee, which link tax rates on vehicles and fuels to the pollution and environmental damage they cause. > Environmental assessments of carcinogens, including toluene, benzene, xylene, benzo(a)pyrene and heavy metals, have been initiated in Israel's main metropolitan areas - Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa - in comparison to background levels measured in the Appolonia Nature Reserve in Herzliya.
Haifa bay/photo: Ilan Malester
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Firefighters (Ramat Gan)
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Central Bus Station
Antokolsky
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Holon
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Yad Avner
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Givatayim
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> An inventory of industrial emissions in Israel was conducted, helping to identify major polluters. > Requirements for best available techniques (BAT) are introduced within the framework of business licenses or personal decrees under the Abatement of Nuisances Law. > TA Luft 2002 standards are required from industrial plants in the Haifa Bay industrial area. > Characterization of air quality in the Haifa Bay industrial area has been undertaken, based on measurements of chemical pollutants, including carcinogens and suspected carcinogens. > The recommendations of the Almog Committee on ''Ambient Guideline Values for Chemical Pollutants in the Air'' were published and adopted in 2006, with guideline values for 110 chemical pollutants in the air which are considered to be harmful to public health. > Preparations are in the making for introducing Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC) into industrial plants identified as major polluters, requiring them to obtain emission permits, based on BAT, which aim at minimizing pollution as a whole. Smaller and medium sized plants will be subject to TA Luft 2002 and European Directive requirements which will be incorporated into their business licenses. > A Clean Air Bill has been drafted which incorporates IPPC and other requirements aimed at improving air quality in Israel.
> 59 high air pollution days in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area in 2006, compared to 61 days in 2005 and 65 days in 2004. > 32 high air pollution days in Jerusalem, compared to 52 days in 2005 and 55 days in 2004. > Low concentrations of sulfur dioxide, with the highest annual concentration in the industrial area of Ashdod – 26% of the annual standard of 23 ppb. > Annual exceedance of the target standard for PM 2.5 in all monitoring stations which measure fine respirable particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers. > Annual exceedance of the standard for respirable particles smaller than 10 micrometers (PM10) in Haifa's French Carmel neighborhood, Tel Aviv, Givataim, Modi'in, Nir Galim in the Ashdod region, Bat Hadar in the Ashkelon region and in transportation stations in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. > Deterioration of air quality in Haifa for ozone and respirable particles. > Increased ozone concentrations in the Neve Sha'anan neighborhood in the Haifa region, Beit Shemesh, Gush Etzion and Kiryat Malachi. > Isolated exceedances of the ozone standard in the Haifa area (Neve Sha'anan, French Carmel, Nesher, Kiryat Ata and Kiryat Tivon), Givat Ha'More and Afula, Moshav Kerem Maharal and Kibbutz Ha'mapil, Beit Shemesh, Gush Etzion, Kiryat Malachi and Ramat Hovav's ''Shemen site.'' > Exceedance of the World Health Organization's annual standard for nitrogen dioxide in the old central bus station of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Ramat Gan and Kfar Hayarok Junction in Ramat Hasharon.
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> Annual exceedances of the nitrogen dioxide standard in all of Israel's transportation stations.
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> Isolated exceedance of the World Health Organization's 1-hour standard for nitrogen dioxide in the Ahad Ha'am transportation station in Petach Tikva.
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> High annual concentrations of nitrogen oxides in areas adjacent to main roads in different parts in Israel, dozens of exceedances of the half-hour standard in Holon and the center of Tel Aviv and isolated exceedances in Ramat Gan and Jerusalem.
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Safra 1999
Findings of the Annual Air Quality Monitoring Report for 2006:
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> Downward trend of annual concentrations of nitrogen oxides measured in transportation monitoring stations in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and Jerusalem since 1998.
Efrata 2002
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> Low half hour averages and eight hour averages of carbon monoxide throughout Israel.
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Mobile emission monitoring unit
Targeting Industrial Pollution:
Main Findings of the Annual Air Quality Monitoring Report for 2007: > 45 high air pollution days in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area in 2007, compared to 59 days in 2006. > 33 high air pollution days in Jerusalem, compared to 32 days in 2006. > 7 high air pollution days in Haifa, compared to 15 days in 2006. > 12 high air pollution days in the Krayot, compared to 17 days in 2006. > 12 high air pollution days in Beersheba, similar to 2006. > 7 high air pollution days in Afula, compared to 13 days in 2006. > 12 high air pollution days in Beit Shemesh, compared to 22 days in 2006. > 22 high air pollution days in Modi'in, compared to 18 days in 2006.
> 9 high air pollution days in Karmiel, similar to 2006. > 10 high air pollution days in Rehovot, compared to 15 days in 2006. > Downward trend of annual concentrations of nitrogen oxides measured in transportation monitoring stations in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. > Air quality improvements in Afula, Beit Shemesh, Rehovot, Haifa and the Krayot, largely due to decreases in diurnal exceedances of respirable particles (less dust storms) and significant reductions in ozone exceedances. > Degradation of air quality in Jerusalem and Modi'in, due to construction of a light train in Jerusalem and accelerated building in Modi'in. > No changes in air quality in Beersheba and Karmiel.
Air pollution maps/Erez Hatna
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Traffic on the Ayalon Highway/Photo: Ilan Malester
TARGETING VEHICULAR POLLUTION It's a major polluter of the air. It is responsible for emissions of fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and ozone. It affects large segments of the population in every part of the country. But something may finally be done to ameliorate the problem of vehicular pollution in Israel. Recent years have seen a flurry of activity to reduce vehicular pollution in Israel: fuel quality improvements, research studies, innovative technologies, regulatory and enforcement mechanisms, roadside inspection and public awareness campaigns. Yet, without doubt, the real breakthrough came in the form of a far-reaching government decision on the reduction of air pollution from transportation sources, which was approved in September 2007.
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while helping to reduce fuel consumption, dependence on imported oil and traffic congestion. The decision was preceded by years of painstaking work by an interministerial team which was specifically set up to submit recommendations on the reduction of vehicular pollution. The plan includes a wide variety of measures based on economic, legislative and technological steps to reduce vehicular emissions and allow Israel's residents to breathe easier.
Transportation Facts and Figures > In 2006, vehicles in Israel traveled 43.2 billion kilometers, an increase of 6% from the previous year. > In 2006, road density increased: relative to 1990, annual kilometers traveled grew by 132% and the vehicle fleet grew by 114%, while the area of roads grew by 61% and the length of roads by 34%. > In 2006, the rate of motorization in Israel stood at 306 vehicles per 1,000 residents (302 at the end of 2005). > In 2006 there were 2,176,000 motor vehicles in Israel - an increase of 3.2% compared with 3.4% in 2005 and 2.8% in 2004. The growth rate of private cars was 3.6% compared with 3.8% in 2005 and 3.1% in 2004.
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Parking/Photo: Eli Ratner
Pollutant emissions from transportation sources are a major cause of air pollution in both large cities and more remote areas located downwind from pollutant sources, where they endanger public health. The problem is exacerbated by the dramatic increase in cars on Israel's congested roads - reaching over 2.1 million in 2006 - and the continuous rise in kilometers traveled by vehicles each year. The newly approved action plan will make a real contribution toward the reduction of toxic air
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National Action Plan for Reducing Vehicular Pollution The government decision calls for the following steps, among others: • Setting stricter mandatory emission standards for smoke emissions from diesel vehicles and carbon monoxide emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles, adapted to each vehicle model; • Authorizing Green Police inspectors to order drivers to stop their cars for pollution inspection, and, in case of non-compliance with emission limits, instructing owners to stop using their vehicles; • Calling on the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety to prepare a pollution reduction program for the center of Tel Aviv which is based on restricting the movement of polluting vehicles, as of February 2008; • Implementing, as of January 2009, a plan for the scrapping of old vehicles,
which will offer owners payment for transferring their old vehicles for scrapping and metal parts recycling; • Calling on the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety to renew roadside air pollution tests for vehicles by its enforcement patrols which check the working order of vehicles; • Calling on the relevant officials in the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Authority to present a program for encouraging employees to reduce their private car use and switch to public transportation or other alternatives that reduce private car use; • Imposing a differential tax on vehicles, based on the ''green index'' published by the Green Tax Interministerial Committee; • Prohibiting the movement of heavy vehicles on main traffic arteries during peak hours, with the exception of
vehicles designated for passenger transport; • Giving preference in tenders for service vehicles in government agencies to fuel-efficient, environment friendly vehicles; • Establishing a national vehicle laboratory to assist in checking vehicle compliance with advanced standards and to contribute to wise decision making on the subject. In addition, the decision calls for reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars charged from the national electricity grid and recommending policy within a year. The plan also calls for significant economic incentives for promoting alternative fuels, which are not oil-based, as well as diesel substitutes within 90 days.
Total motor vehicles Private vehicles
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Ministerial Steps Toward Clean Air
The Ministry of Environmental Protection's Green Police inspectors checked 15,402 vehicles, fined 3,356 drivers and took 1,485 vehicles off the road for air pollution violations in 2007. Violators are fined 500 shekels, and total fines in 2007 reached 1,678,000 shekels.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection is investing major efforts in advancing national plans for pollution reduction, which relate to different aspects of pollution generation: fuel quality, technology, working order of vehicles and reduced private car use. These plans, which have found expression in recent government decisions with technical, behavioral and economic components, are a first and necessary stage in the pollution reduction process. The ministry intends to do all in its power to implement these plans and promote follow up processes in future years so as to reverse the current trend of increase in kilometers traveled and fuel consumed and bring about the desired behavioral and economic changes in transportation use. "Such changes are vital if we are to prevent our cities from being blocked by traffic and if we are to avoid significant health and economic damages," says Moshel.
Translating Words to Actions According to Avi Moshel, in charge of vehicular pollution in the Air Quality Division of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, implementation of the action plan will significantly reduce pollutant emissions from vehicles, and the test of the plan will lie in its implementation. Moshel expects most of the elements of the action plan to be implemented this year. And progress is indeed being made. Within a few months of the government decision on vehicular pollution reduction, in January 2008, yet another government decision was unanimously approved - this time on green taxes. The decision represents the first time that the government has decided to link the tax rate imposed on vehicles and fuels to the level of pollution and level of environmental damage they cause. According to the decision, the most highly polluting vehicles will be subject to additional purchase taxes of up to 15,000 shekels while taxes on clean vehicles will be reduced. Much lower taxes will be imposed on electric cars: a tax rate of up to 10% until the end of 2014 and up to 30% between 2015 and 2019. The rationale: to motivate people to drive greener cars by providing tax breaks for the purchase of these cars. In parallel, the Green Tax Committee related to a number of other issues, including a gradual tax increase on polluting fuels, such as crude oil, so that they too would be linked to the pollution emitted during their use.
According to Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra, ''Air pollution is an especially severe environmental and health problem. More than 1000 people die each year as a result of air pollution in the Greater Tel Aviv area alone. I am convinced that approval of the plan will bring about a better and healthier Israel.''
Israel Prepares for Electric Cars One component of Israel's national plan for the reduction of vehicular pollution relates to electric cars. This issue has been highly publicized in Israel and worldwide due to an initiative by Project Better Place to make electric cars available on the Israeli market. On January 21, 2008, the Renault-Nissan Alliance signed an agreement with Project Better Place for the conversion of conventional cars to run on electric motors. On its part, Project Better Place expects to build and operate a network of recharging stations and battery replacement stations throughout Israel. The vehicles will run on lithium-ion batteries. The vision is to make Israel a testing ground for electric cars, with the state offering tax breaks to purchasers and the new company, with an initial investment of $200 million, to begin construction of recharging facilities. Shai Agassi, the entrepreneur behind the venture, expects the first electric cars to be available in Israel in 2011.
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Parking in Tel Aviv/Photo: Ilan Malester
Green Police Takes Action
>The most highly polluting vehicles will be subject to additional purchase taxes of up to 15,000 shekels while taxes on clean vehicles will be reduced<
Day without Air Pollution: Yom Kippur 2007 A drastic reduction in nitrogen oxides concentrations was measured on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, celebrated in Israel from the afternoon of September 21 to the afternoon of September 22, 2007. Nitrogen oxides concentrations, which are indicators of pollution from transportation sources, plummeted in transportation monitoring stations in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area (Gush Dan) and in Jerusalem. Dr. Levana Kordova, scientific director of the air quality monitoring network of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, noted that the phenomenon of very low air pollution on Yom Kippur is unique to Israel. Yom Kippur is the only day in the year when traffic in Israel is reduced to a near halt. Thus, the holiday provides a singular opportunity to investigate the impact of vehicular air pollutants on concentration levels. As in past years, the significant improvement in air quality on this day clearly illustrates the impact of transportation as the major source of air pollution in large cities.
Air Quality Monitoring Data on Yom Kippur in Jerusalem
Air Quality Monitoring Data on Yom Kippur in Greater Tel Aviv
Air Pollution from Transportation > About 95% of total emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) are from transportation sources. Monitoring reveals zero deviations from the half-hour standard for CO. > About 85% of total hydrocarbons (HC) emissions from transportation sources are from gasoline-powered vehicles. > About a third of total nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions are from transportation sources, mostly (about 70%) from diesel-powered vehicles. Monitoring data show dozens of exceedances of the NOx standard.
Measuring vehicular air pollution/Photo: Roi Zini, Green Police
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> About 10% of total suspended particulate matter (SPM) emissions are from transportation sources, of which about 85% are attributed to diesel-powered vehicles.
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As more and more commuters rely on their private cars to get to work, government and non-governmental organizations seek innovative ways to encourage alternative forms of transportation to work. Recent decades have seen a major increase in private car use in Israel. What's more, a survey of commuter transportation patterns, conducted by the Brandman Institute, has revealed that most commuters opt to use a private car for their daily commute to work, thus significantly contributing to traffic congestion. In fact, some 62% of all employees use private cars to get to work and only 16% use public transportation.
One of the reasons may be traced back to a policy of financial benefits which encourages daily use of the private car to get to work. To assess the problem and come up with possible solutions, the Ministry of Environmental Protection joined forces with Transport Today & Tomorrow (an NGO) in 2003. Using budgetary allocations by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and funding by several environmental philanthropic foundations, the two bodies set out to review the current situation in Israel and abroad and to suggest solutions. In the beginning of 2007, the results of the study were published in a special report: ''Commuter Transport in Israel - Restraining Private Car Use.'' The Hebrew document proposes changes in current government and employer policies designed to reduce the number of commuters choosing private cars for travel to work. Largely based on experience worldwide, the document includes some 20 policy steps for restraining the use of private cars for work, which transfer responsibility for the manner in which employees get to work to the employer.
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The Role of the Employer Employers play a critical role in the commuting practices of their employees and can serve as agents of change in transport practices. Today, employers support private car use through various channels: high car-related benefits as part of the salary, free parking at work, and attractive car leasing arrangements. The transport policies of employers are, in turn, supported by the Israeli government through its tax policy and the transport system it provides, both of which encourage, in financial and other ways, private car use.
Commuting to Work in Israel
Source: Brandman Institute, 2003
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Photo: Ilan Malester
RESTRAINING PRIVATE CAR USE FOR COMMUTING
>Ideas for dedicated rapid lanes for public transport, bicycle commuting lanes, closure of city centers to traffic, plans for light trains within cities are on the table<
These private car incentives include: • Car allowances - payments available to most employees which are not linked to the type of work performed. • Parking - provision of free parking space to public sector employees near their workplace. • Company cars - provision of company cars with all expenses paid, including parking, to medium and high ranking staff, especially in the private sector. The main barrier to reducing private car use for work-related trips seems to be Israel's widespread policy of wage agreements in both the public and private sectors which include perks and related tax concessions that encourage and/or subsidize private car use. Among government workers, these may reach 30% of the salary. In the private sector, use of a company car has become a status symbol, reflecting the employer's appreciation of the employee. And, of course, when a private car is available for work, there is a greater tendency to use it for other purposes, without any consideration of the marginal cost of car use, including its environmental impact. Thus, employees may opt to move out of the city to less expensive and lower density residential areas which cannot justify the establishment of regular public transport, thereby increasing the daily use of cars and creating a cycle of urban sprawl. According to Yossi Gamlieli, in charge of planning in the Ministry of Environmental Protection, there is an internal contradiction in Israel's transport policy. On the one hand, the government's declared policy is to promote public transport, smart tickets, subsidies and overall improvements as demonstrated by its budgetary allocations, to the tune of billions of shekels. Furthermore, the government devotes considerable
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resources to mitigating air pollution, improving fuels and monitoring air quality. However, on the other hand, and at the same time, in order to meet growing demand, the government invests in roads and, through its tax system, is a major agent responsible for promoting private car use, with its attendant impacts on air pollution and noise. Clearly, maintenance and use of a private car should have no part in employer-employee relations.
What's Happening Worldwide? In several Western countries - including the USA, the UK and the Netherlands - some employers have begun to recognize the role they can play in reducing private car use and supporting the use of sustainable transport by their employees. Efforts have largely focused on two types of measures: • Changes in tax and other policies that reduce the attractiveness of carrelated benefits, for both employers and employees, and encourage alternative transportation measures. • Measures to encourage employers to develop Employer Transport Plans in which they recognize their responsibility for the problem and identify measures on how to reduce car use among employees.
>Some 62% of all employees use private cars to get to work and only 16% use public transportation<
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The policy paper, which was published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Transport Today & Tomorrow, proposes similar steps for Israel in two main areas: 1. Balancing the tax system: Israel's current tax system for home-to-work trips treats private car and sustainable means of transport inequitably. Changes are needed on both sides. On the one hand, the existing tax benefits which relate to company leased cars and workplace parking have to be reduced or eliminated and the legal basis for linking salary payments to car ownership in the public sector must be revoked. On the other hand, new tax breaks should be introduced to stimulate users to employ sustainable means of transport to the workplace. These may include, among others, tax benefits to employers who purchase public transport tickets for their employees or tax incentives to stimulate carpooling. 2. Encouraging Employer Transport Plans (ETP): Currently employers have no reason to reconsider their existing policies on transport-related benefits. However, explicit encouragement, by means of financial incentives, support centers or other means, may stimulate medium and large-scale employers to develop Employer Transport Plans (ETP) for their employees. These plans consist of measures, taken at the company level, that enable employees to choose among several different transportation options. These measures may include incentives for carpooling (such as preferential or free parking), for cycling (company bicycle and maintenance schemes), for public transport use (low price tickets purchased in large quantities by employers) or for working from home (legally acceptable).
The policy paper details these and other measures and outlines their implications for employers, employees and the government. The measures, especially if combined in a carefully balanced package, have the potential to substantially reduce car use in home-to-work travel and limit the negative implications of commuting for the economy, the environment and society in Israel.
>Employers can serve as agents of change in transport practices<
Tel Aviv traffic/Photos: Ilan Malester
Policy recommendations
And What Next? In parallel to the efforts invested by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Finance has begun to address this issue by means of internal research papers on the externalities of private car use and on travel demand management and efforts to change the distortion in the tax structure which encourages commuters to use a private car. According to the Tax Authority, leased cars are an undervalued benefit given to employees by their companies, which costs the State of Israel billions of shekels in lost tax revenues. However, its intention to raise the value of leased cars for tax purposes met with major opposition by leasing companies, recipients of company cars and employer organizations such as a ''CFO Forum.'' In 2007, the struggle, which was widely covered by the Israeli media, reached a Knesset Committee and ended with a compromise solution whereby tax levels on the use of company cars will be raised at a graduated rate over the next few years, but compensation in the form of tax breaks will be given to intermediate wage earners.
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Although progress has been slow, the reality of congested roads and inadequate parking, alongside air pollution and noise, has begun to sink in. Ideas for dedicated rapid lanes for public transport and high occupancy vehicles, bicycle commuting lanes, closure of city centers to traffic, plans for light trains within cities and railroad lines between cities are on the table, and in some cases, are already being promoted. Hopefully, the combination of economic, environmental and social interests will indeed bring about more sustainable patterns of commuting to and from work.
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HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT SITE:
REMEDIATION BEGINS
Ramat Hovav, aerial view /Photo: ESC
A seven year remediation program for the hazardous waste treatment site situated at the Ramat Hovav Industrial Zone begins.
of a comprehensive pollution abatement action plan for the Ramat Hovav industrial park, formulated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
A 220 million shekel remediation (more than $55 million) program, one of the largest and most complex environmental projects in Israel ever, has begun in the Environmental Services Company's hazardous waste treatment plant. According to an agreement signed between the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Services Company (ESC), a seven year remediation project, administered by ESC on behalf of the state, has gone into effect. At its conclusions, the plant should be transformed from a contaminated site into a state-of-the-art plant for the treatment of hazardous waste, complying with the most stringent safety and environmental standards. Preparing for Remediation Calls for the remediation of the site have been sounded repeatedly in recent years. A November 2004 government decision, in particular, called for accelerating the remediation of the national hazardous waste treatment site within the context
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While bureaucratic obstacles have delayed the implementation of the decision until now, the groundwork for remediation has been carefully laid by the Ministry of Environmental Protection over the past several years in the form of business licensing conditions, field surveys and a master plan which sets out both the remediation targets and the remediation sequence. Moreover, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has prepared technical specifications for
Environmental Services Company Ltd (ESC): ID ESC Ltd. is a government-owned company founded in 1990. The company is responsible for operating the plant for the treatment of hazardous waste at the Ramat Hovav industrial zone in the southern part of the country. The hazardous waste treatment plant is Israel's national site for the disposal and treatment of hazardous waste originating in all parts of the country. It handles inorganic, organic, liquid and solid hazardous waste using different treatment processes and technologies: neutralization, detoxification, recycling and, in the future, stabilization for inorganic waste; on site incineration, transfer for thermal treatment or recycling abroad or biological treatment for organic waste; and secured landfilling.
the remediation of two acidic tar ponds, which were identified in the master plan as the most contaminated areas at the site and for plot 181 in the older southern part of the site. These specifications were incorporated in international tenders issued by ESC for pond remediation. Objectives of the Remediation Process The agreement for the remediation of ESC's plant is designed to facilitate the achievement of two critical objectives: the remediation of the acidic ponds and old waste reservoirs in what is known as plot 181 in the southern part of the site and, in parallel, upgrading the treatment of inorganic solid waste before landfilling by means of a solidification/stabilization process. Some 220 million shekels will be allocated toward the remediation of plot 181. Prior to the establishment of ESC in 1990, this area included evaporation and sedimentation ponds and temporary reservoirs and landfills. The two acidic ponds in this area, containing hazardous effluents from oil recycling processes, are targeted for first priority in the remediation sequence. This entire area will be remediated using state funds under the administration of ESC. Another 10 million shekels of state funds will be allocated toward the establishment of a solidification/stabilization facility. ESC has high hopes for this 50 million shekel facility which will treat the wastes
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destined for a new on-site landfill designed to meet the needs of Israeli industry over the next ten years. The stabilization facility, originally envisioned as a 30,000 ton per year facility to provide for the company's day-to-day needs, will be expanded to 60,000 to serve the additional function of treating some of the waste of the remediation process. The product of the solidification/stabilization process will comply with the values stipulated in the European Directive on landfilling (2003/33/EC). According to Dr. Eitan Silbiger, General Manager of ESC, the stabilization technology represents the last word in hazardous solid waste secured landfilling. It will prevent the leaching of toxic components to groundwater and to the air for a period of more than 1000 years, even when in contact with water, as opposed to existing technologies which can only guarantee such protection for about 100 years.
Preliminary Steps Toward Remediation • Environmental Protection Ministry publishes an international tender for the preparation of a historical survey, field survey and master plan for the remediation of ESC's hazardous waste treatment site in 1999. • Environmental Protection Ministry updates and upgrades the business licensing conditions to ESC in 2000. The conditions include, inter alia, requirements for site remediation. • The historical survey is published in 2000, the field survey in 2001 and the remediation master plan in 2003. • The Ministry of Environmental Protection prepares technical specifications for the design and remediation of two acidic tar ponds in 2005 and for the remediation of the old southern area (known as plot 181). • The Ministry of Environmental Protection and ESC sign contracts for the remediation of the Ramat Hovav hazardous waste site in September 2006.
Different Technologies – Common Goal
in making the ESC treatment plant safer and environmentally compliant. Alongside new treatment technologies and improved storage and handling procedures, the first steps toward remediation have already been taken including remediation of six leaking ponds at a cost of about $3 million and an organic sedimentation pond using biological treatment.
In general, different remediation plans and technologies will be implemented in different parts of the site. In some areas, material will be taken out, treated, landfilled or incinerated. In others, in situ treatment and capping to prevent leaching will be the methods of choice. The choice of technologies was based on safety, environmental and economic considerations. The activities themselves will either be implemented by ESC or by external contractors, under the supervision and funding of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
The contractual agreements signed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and ESC represent a major milestone on the road to remediation. The agreements clearly set out criteria for remediation, timetables and priorities, supervision and reporting requirements and environmental conditions that must be met throughout the process to avoid nuisances and adverse impacts. As stated, the state will fund the remediation in the southern part of the site, while ESC will be responsible for funding the remediation in the northern part.
Meeting the Challenge
To date, liaisons and professional teams have been set up by both ESC and the Ministry of Environmental Protection to make sure remediation proceeds in full coordination and in an optimal manner. Moreover, the Ministry of Environmental
Since a fire broke out in the lithium batteries temporary storage shed at the Ramat Hovav site in August 1998, major efforts have been invested
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Protection has commissioned supervision and consultation services to make sure that remediation proceeds according to plan. At the completion of the remediation process, past degradation at the site will be treated, pollution sources will be eliminated, and, most importantly, the site will no longer be a source of pollution and nuisances. As the ambitious remediation plan is translated from words to action, a new era of environmentally sound hazardous waste treatment should be initiated in Israel.
Signing the agreement /Photo: ESC
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Remediation in Ramat Hovav: The Role of ESC What changes have been made in ESC since you were appointed General Manager in 1999?
Eitan Silbiger General Manager, Environmental Services Company
Firstly, we introduced a wide variety of technologies for the treatment of hazardous waste (such as biological treatment, wastewater treatment based on membrane technology, thermal treatment and stabilization), and we adapted them to specific types of waste. This allows ESC to treat hazardous waste according to the most advanced standards defined in European Directives.
Secondly, as per our business licensing conditions, we are committed to remediation in three stages: 1) remediation of six acidic ponds at a cost of $3 million, which was carried out between 1999-2004, with government funding; 2) ongoing treatment of organic waste, at a rate of 5000 tons per year beginning in 2000; and 3) large-scale remediation, which was initiated in September 2006 after prolonged negotiations. Why was ESC chosen to administer the large-scale remediation on behalf of the state? The hazardous waste treatment plant, which is operated by ESC was not established on virgin ground but rather on land which was used as a hazardous waste site since the late 1970s. The site was operated using the methods and knowledge and under enforcement standards, which were in practice at that time.
that the state had to finance the remediation. After considering different possibilities, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Finance decided to entrust the project to a company with a special orientation to the place and with proven ability to manage the remediation. The reasons for selecting ESC, which has operated the site since 1990, were clear: Firstly the contaminated area is part of the operational area of ESC. We operate within this area, live in it and are impacted by it. Secondly, the company has accumulated wide experience over the past eight years in most of the technologies and operational requirements identified by the remediation master plan. In areas where we lack direct experience, the company will issue international tenders to purchase the necessary experience. What will happen at the conclusion of the project in 2013? Plot 181 (the contaminated area) will be fully remediated. Most of the materials taken from this area will be transferred into a landfill for the treated materials, with some of the area used for surface facilities such as a tank farm, reception area and a biological treatment area. Moreover, a state-of-the-art solidification/ stabilization facility will be established, making sure that all of the hazardous waste destined for secured landfilling does not pose a risk to the environment.
The risks of fire, potentially hazardous air emissions, water contamination and human health risks made it clear that something had to be done. There was no disputing the fact
One of our expectations is to get rid of the negative image that the company has carried from the past. Thus we view the remediation as an opportunity to use our experience to undertake the largest remediation project ever conducted in Israel, both in terms of funds and complexity. I personally do not know of another project which combines such scope, variety and complexity within one area. Therefore this will be both a huge challenge and a unique opportunity, allowing the company to position itself as a leading company in the field of hazardous waste treatment worldwide.
Sampling organic waste before treatment /Photo: ESC
Laboratory evaluation /Photo: ESC
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Ramat Hovav Remediation
Michal Bar-Tov Director, Hazardous Substances Division
Why did the ministry decide to let the Environmental Services Company conduct the remediation? We chose the company because the remediation will take place in its own premises. This is a longterm project which will impact on the employees and on the activities of the company. The company has the professionals, tools and means necessary to do the job in what we hope will be the most efficient manner possible. Our job will be to supervise rather than implement the actual work.
How does the Ministry of Environmental Protection view the solidification/stabilization facility for the treatment of waste destined for landfilling? The Ministry of Environmental Protection called for a stabilization facility within the framework of business licensing conditions as early as the year 2000 and incorporated this demand within the framework of plans for a landfill at the western part of the site. At the time, waste stabilization requirements were not yet incorporated in the European Directives and our demand seemed far-fetched and elicited major opposition. However, we persevered and I am gratified to see that the need for such a facility is now self-evident. There is no doubt that the establishment and operation of the facility will bring us to the forefront of hazardous solid waste treatment.
to oversee the implementation of the remediation plan. The inspector will be present at the site throughout the remediation process and will oversee the quality of the work, ensure that environmental degradation is prevented and supervise payment schedules since state funds will be used. Furthermore, the chosen company will also advise us on a variety of issues related to the remediation, including sampling, remediation, technologies, laboratory and statistical analysis and the setting of priorities. What has been the role of the ministry in the remediation process? The Ministry of Environmental Protection initiated and spearheaded the path toward site remediation. It was responsible for commissioning the surveys and the master plan and for the technical specifications for the remediation of the two most contaminated ponds. It signed the remediation contracts and recruited the necessary funds from the Ministry of Finance. I can't overemphasize the intensive activities which we undertook to reach this stage, and it is our intention to continue to closely inspect and supervise the work to make sure that the remediation is indeed conducted in the most optimal manner possible. In parallel, in cooperation with the ESC, we are working out plans to prevent nuisances during the remediation itself, and for this purpose monitoring will be undertaken both before and during remediation. If pollution risks are suspected, the necessary preventative steps will be put into effect.
How will the Ministry of Environmental Protection supervise the work? Last year, we prepared and published a supervision and consulting tender, which allowed us to hire a full-time supervisor
Conditions in Ramat Hovav today are already much better than they were in the past, and once remediation is undertaken, under the supervision and funding of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, this area will no longer pose a risk to the environment and to public health.
Landfill and storage area for organic waste before treatment /Photo: ESC
Stabilization facility/ ESC
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CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE TREATMENT PLAN FOR JERUSALEM Emek Tzurim, before and after cleanup /Photo: Ministry of Environmental Protection, Jerusalem District.
A construction and demolition waste treatment plan for Jerusalem aims at cleaning up Jerusalem and keeping it clean. On September 10, 2007, the Ministerial Committee on Jerusalem Affairs approved a construction and demolition waste treatment plan for Jerusalem, which has the force of a cabinet decision. The decision calls for the implementation of a wide-ranging program to treat construction and demolition waste based on a plan prepared by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The budget for implementation, totaling some 22 million shekels (about $5.5 million) for a two year period, will be distributed as follows: • Ministry of Environmental Protection (10 million shekels); • Israel Lands Administration (6 million shekels); • Nature and Parks Authority (3 million shekels);
The plan is based on principles for the treatment of construction and demolition waste which were formulated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in a 2003 government decision on construction and demolition waste and in the construction and demolition waste master plan for the Jerusalem region, which was prepared in cooperation with government agencies and local government and published in 2006.
Objectives and Targets of the Plan The ultimate goal of the master plan is: ''Jerusalem clean of waste,'' with a secondary objective of ''improving the appearance of the city of Jerusalem and especially the seam line area and the Old City Basin.'' The plan includes the following components: • Prevention by means of education, information and dissemination in Hebrew and Arabic as well as administrative arrangements; • Enforcement of existing laws and regulations; • Inspection and enforcement; • Establishment of physical infrastructures and cleanups and rehabilitation of disturbed sites.
Facts and Figures
• Jerusalem Municipality (2 million shekels);
The master plan for the treatment of construction and demolition waste in Jerusalem estimates that:
• Ministry for Jerusalem Affairs (1 million shekels). Until recently, the problems caused by the illegal disposal of construction and demolition waste have not been adequately addressed in Jerusalem, especially in the seam line area and the Old City Basin. This has not only hurt
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the image of Israel's capital city and its international tourism appeal, but has degraded open spaces, groundwater and air quality. However, increased enforcement on the part of the Ministry of Environmental Protection in recent years has led to initial steps to clean up illegal dump sites. Due to the severity of the problem in the seam line area and the Old City Basin, on the one hand, and the landscape, historic, religious and tourism value of these areas, on the other hand, the treatment plan focuses on the seam line and the Old City Basin of Jerusalem.
❉ Between 127,000 and 198,000 tons of construction and demolition waste are produced in the Jerusalem region annually; ❉ Between 0.5 to 2 million tons of surplus earth are produced in the Jerusalem region annually. ❉ Only a small fraction (less than 10%) of the construction and demolition waste which is produced in the region reaches approved sites.
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The main targets of the plan include:
Moving Toward a Solution
• Establishing two transfer stations for the sorting and recycling of construction and demolition waste in the north and south of the city;
Amir Erez, deputy director of the Jerusalem regional office of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, recollects the long and arduous road toward what will hopefully be environmentally sound treatment of Jerusalem's construction and demolition waste. According to Erez, the master plan and government decision came in the aftermath of repeated warnings, investigations and cleanup orders to the Jerusalem Municipality. Today, the municipality has internalized the message and is ready to assume responsibility for solving the problem.
• Cleaning up and disturbed areas;
rehabilitating
• Monitoring, enforcement and inspection of waste transporters and large construction sites; • Increasing public awareness of the problem and its solution; • Implementing laws and regulations (e.g., the Maintenance of Cleanliness Law, Building and Planning Regulations, etc.) by authorized bodies.
A key element in the success of the project, says Erez, will be supervision and enforcement. The legal instruments for
addressing the problem exist; the time for implementation has arrived. Enforcement and supervision will encompass all stakeholders, with special concentration on contractors and transporters who will have to abide by stringent regulations, building permit requirements and business licensing conditions. Wherever possible, efforts will be made to treat, recycle or reuse the waste at the site where it is generated. ''We do not want to start with cleanups,'' says Erez. ''The idea is to solve the problem, not to deal with the symptom. Our aim is to deal with all aspects of the problem, to address the entire cycle of construction and demolition waste from cradle to grave, and only then to clean up. The challenge is not to clean up Jerusalem but to ensure that Jerusalem stays clean.''
CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE: MOVING FORWARD By Uri Tal, Coordinator, C&D Waste Treatment From 2005 till today, there has been no change in the quantity of construction and demolition which is treated by the State of Israel. But something else has changed. Less of this waste now reaches landfills and more goes to recycling plants. In 2005, Israel treated some 1.5 million tons of construction waste in landfills. Today, the number has come down to 900,000 to a million, with the rest, some 600,000 tons, going to recycling. And this is only the beginning. Landfills themselves are opting to do more than just landfill the waste in an environmentally sound manner; they are beginning to recycle more and more of the waste in order to reduce landfilling volume, lengthen the life of the landfill and profit from the sale of raw materials.
facilities for the recycling of construction and demolition waste, such as in the case of Modi'in. The breakthrough in recycling has led to the establishment of some ten stationary recycling plants and dozens of approved mobile crushers which are providing a sound environmental solution to a problem which has long plagued Israel. From the Bedouin town of Rahat, located just north of Beersheba where residential expansion is reusing and recycling construction and demolition waste in situ, to the ''Jaffa Slope (Midron Yafo) Project'', where a garbage mountain, made up of dumped construction and demolition waste, is being crushed for reuse and recycling, largely for the establishment of a seaside promenade, good things are happening in Israel.
Today, specifications for infrastructure projects in Israel, which are implemented by public companies, enable the use of recycled construction and demolition waste as construction material. In fact, such waste is no longer regarded as waste but rather as surplus material for reuse and recycling. And recycling companies themselves are recycling as much as 95% of this so-called waste. Furthermore, local authorities have begun to recognize their responsibility for treating surplus construction material, as I prefer to call it. Tel Aviv, Modi'in, Jerusalem and Beersheba, for example, have taken concrete steps to deal with the problem by means of new municipal bylaws, transfer stations and establishment of View of Jaffa slope /Photo: Uri Tal
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Soreq Valley in the morning/Photo: Uri Ramon
NO TO THE WESTERN EXPANSION OF JERUSALEM Demonstration near Ein Heret/Photo: Yossi Kimhi
Jerusalem is Israel's largest city, both in terms of land area and number of residents. It stretches over 126 square kilometers, compared to 51.3 sq km in Tel Aviv and 59.3 sq km in Haifa. Its population reached 736,700 at the end of 2006, 10% of Israel's total population, and is expected to continue growing. The question of how best to accommodate this population within the jurisdiction of Jerusalem has occupied planners for decades. Plans for the expansion of Jerusalem's jurisdiction westward have been around for a long time. Committees and investigators reviewed them throughout the 1990s. The Safdie Plan for the expansion of Jerusalem westward was no exception. But without doubt, this plan elicited opposition at a scale previously unknown in Israel, marking a landmark in the development of public participation in environmental planning in Israel. Regional Outline Plan 37/1, better known as the ''Safdie Plan'' after the architect who designed it, is a regional master plan
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delineating the land area to be added to the municipality of Jerusalem. The plan area spanned 26.6 square kilometers of open space on the ridges to the west of Jerusalem and called for the construction of about 20,000 housing units. The Safdie Plan, first commissioned in 1997, was submitted to Jerusalem's Regional Planning and Building Commission in February of 2000. Exactly seven years later, in February of 2007, the National Planning and Building Board, Israel's highest planning body, canceled the plan.
Major Components of the Safdie Plan > Mount Heret, near Mevasseret Zion - 7,400 housing units plus an employment center; > Lavan Ridge, including Moshav Orah and Moshav Aminadav and the southern slopes of the ridge toward the Refaim River: 10,000 housing units; > Givat Mitzpe Niftoach (Emek Ha'arazim), near the Ramot area: 2,000 housing units (within the framework of another planning process); > Half a million square meters of commercial and industrial space; > Infrastructure network; > Roads and bridges including a western ring road; > Metropolitan park in large areas of the Arazim, Soreq and Refaim Valleys. The Evolution of the Plan It is not easy to plan for a city such as Jerusalem, Israel's capital city, holy to three major religions, poor in resources and home to a diverse, growing and often fragmented population, including
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Jews and Arabs, secular and religious. Planning decisions for Jerusalem must take into consideration not only social, environmental and economic considerations but the political, demographic, religious and historical realities in a city characterized by diversity. To understand the Safdie Plan, a short survey of the plans which preceded it is in order. In the late 1980s, in response to a request by the Jerusalem Municipality to annex areas to the west of the city, an investigation committee into Jerusalem's borders was commissioned by the government of Israel. The socalled Kubersky Committee (named after the director general of the Ministry of the Interior at the time) presented its recommendations in August of 1991. It recommended the annexation of some 16.5 square kilometers of land from the jurisdiction of the nearby Mate Yehuda Regional Council, although it stipulated that ''plans for residential development in the annexed area will only be approved after the existing land potential is exhausted for this purpose in the present boundaries of the city and as per the recommendations of a follow up committeeâ&#x20AC;Ś''
1990s by each of these bodies, without comprehensive planning of any kind, based on ownership rights and vested interests alone. These initiatives, many of them involving grandiose building, threatened to transform wide open green spaces into mere green spots within a block of massive development, clearly an intolerable situation from the viewpoint of Israel's green organizations.
>The story of the Safdie Plan highlights the ability of the public to make a difference<
According to Shony Goldberger, director of the Jerusalem region of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, ''There were dozens of plans by entrepreneurs prior to the Safdie plan, each pulling in a different direction. The Safdie plan, at the outstart, was meant to provide a comprehensive planning approach to the areas to the west of Jerusalem, rather than allowing each body to do as it willed, which was the case in the early 1990s. We, at the ministry, were determined to protect the open areas to the west of Jerusalem from future threats to the largest degree possible, to base decisions on long-term planning and professional considerations.''
thing - that isolated building initiatives in the Jerusalem hills must be stopped. We set out to present our professional input from the start. We concentrated on programmatic and planning aspects, countering the claims of the proponents of the plans with irrefutable facts about the value and sensitivity of this open space. As a government ministry, we were not indifferent to Jerusalem's needs, and therefore, we initially set out to minimize the damages posed by the Safdie Plan, reducing building and development in certain areas and promoting widescale national parks and protected areas in other areas, based on in-depth professional analysis.''
Menachem Zalutzki, director of the Open Space Division of the Ministry of Environmental Protection concurs: ''The ministry was convinced of one
Along with a Green Forum of major green organizations in Jerusalem, which included the Nature and Parks Authority, the Jewish National Fund, the Society for
The Jerusalem Municipality did not establish a follow up committee to review land reserves for development within the city, but rather, soon after the annexation, it commissioned Safdie Architects to determine the feasibility of developing these lands and to begin planning in the annexed area. But that's not all. At the same time, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Israel Lands Administration and the Ministry of Housing, as well as landowners in moshavim and other areas to the west of Jerusalem, began initiating a wide variety of unrelated plans in the newly annexed area. Initiatives for building schemes and roads on these lands were presented throughout the
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Schoolchildren in Mt. Heret observation point/Photo: Yossi Kimhi
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the Protection of Nature in Israel and the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Ministry of Environmental Protection invested major efforts in compiling and analyzing data on the natural, landscape, historic and archaeological assets in the Jerusalem hills. Based on studies conducted between 1997-1999, the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies then published a document entitled ''The Jerusalem Hills and the Judean Plain: Conservation and Sustainable Development Policy,'' which sought to balance conservation and development and to provide a basis for future development plans for this unique area. Yet, despite serious attempts to reconcile between opposing views concerning to the Safdie Plan, just when it seemed that an agreement could be reached in the spring of 2003 between the opponents and proponents of the plan, the compromise plan on the borders of the Safdie Plan fell through. The road toward cancellation of the Safdie Plan was set.
At the same time, the Coalition continued its professional efforts to refute claims of a shortage of land reserves in Jerusalem. To counter these arguments, the Coalition for a Sustainable Jerusalem prepared its own report in 2005 (prepared by Uri Barshishat), indicating that there is ample land in Jerusalem for the construction of some 60,000 housing units, more than enough to provide for Jerusalem's population growth needs in the next two decades.
Public Opposition to the Safdie Plan
Safdie Plan: Proponents and Opponents Proponents: Proponents, including the Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Israel Lands Administration, argued that the plan would create crucial land reserves for residential development and for employment that would save the city from negative migration and strengthen it economically. Opponents: Opponents, including Israel's green organizations, argued that the plan would weaken the core of the city by pulling people and financial resources away, would cause irreversible damage to ecosystems and species, would lead to the destruction of the green belt around Jerusalem which serves as a natural recreation area for residents of Jerusalem and central Israel and would cause environmental damage.
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hit home: green organizations, private citizens, public figures and professionals submitted a record 16,000 objections to the National Planning and Building Board. Objections related to the consequences of the project - harm to the city center, damage to the environment, ecosystems, archaeological sites and recreational areas, and loss of a primary green belt for residents of the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv metropolitan areas.
Hikers in Mt. Heret/Photo: Yossi Kimhi
Western Jerusalem/Photos: Yossi Kimhi, Menachem Zalutzki
An all out campaign to stop the Safdie Plan was initiated in 2002, when a group of 60 environmental and social organizations came together to form the Coalition for the Protection of the Jerusalem Hills. The Coalition worked on two main fronts: petitions, rallies, participation in public municipal meetings, and recruitment of the media and of Knesset members to rally public support for the plan's opposition; and professional reports targeted at refuting the claims of the plan's proponents. In preparation for the deposition period of the plan, when the public is permitted to submit objections under the Planning and Building Law, the Coalition, headed by Att. Yael Elyashar, spearheaded an impressive and effective campaign against the Safdie Plan. The campaign
And Back to the National Planning and Building Board The results of the impressive campaign waged by the Coalition for the Preservation of the Jerusalem Hills were not long in coming. In December 2004, the National Planning and Building Board appointed Att. Gideon Vitkon as an investigator charged with hearing objections against the plan. Although Vitkon recommended approving the plan, he noted that he could not verify the conflicting claims
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regarding the availability of land reserves in the city which were made by the plan's entrepreneurs, on the one hand, and the Coalition for the Preservation of the Jerusalem Hills, on the other hand. When the National Board next met on October 17, 2006, it decided to postpone its decision on the Safdie Plan by two months. During this time, an independent investigator (Tomer Gothelf ) was charged with examining the contradictory claims of the city and the Coalition regarding the availability of land reserves in Jerusalem. Soon after the decision to postpone, in November 2006, Jerusalem's Mayor Uri Lupolianski withdrew the city's support for the plan, in light of the claims of the green organizations. Three months later, in its meeting of February 6, 2007, the National Planning and Building Board decided to reject the controversial plan. The decision, approved by a majority of 24 to 3, with one abstention, was reached following the presentation of the report on land reserves in Jerusalem. The report estimated that some 45,500 housing units can be built on existing land reserves in Jerusalem alongside the expansion of some 15,000 existing units, enough to supply the city's housing demands until 2020.
Milestones in the Birth and Demise of the Safdie Plan > 1991 – Recommendation of the Investigation Committee on Jerusalem's Borders (Kubersky Committee). > 1993 – Borders of the Jerusalem Municipality and the Mate Yehuda Regional Council changed by adding 16.5 square kilometers to Jerusalem. > 1997 – Feasibility plan and preliminary planning of the annexed area by Safdie Architects. > February 2000 - Presentation of the plan to the Regional Planning Committee. > March 4, 2003 – Regional Planning Committee recommends depositing the plan with conditions.
> December 7, 2004 – National Board approves the appointment of an investigator to hear objections to the plan. > May 10, 2005 – National Board decides to postpone the hearing of objections until deliberations in the Regional Planning Committee. > June 29, 2005 – Beginning of objection process which is completed on August 8, 2005. 140 opponents and respondents are heard. > September 5, 2005 – Draft of investigator report submitted.
> March 4, 2003 – National Board recommends depositing the plan with conditions.
> December 2005 – National Planning and Building Board deliberates on the investigator's report, but does not reach a decision.
> July 7, 2003 – Committee on Agricultural Land and Open Spaces decides to approve the plan on condition that every detailed plan will be submitted to it and that changes will be made to building capacities to densify construction.
> October 17, 2006 – National Planning Board decides to postpone deliberations on the Safdie Plan by two months for further investigation of differences of opinion concerning available land reserves in Jerusalem.
> July 25, 2004 – completion of the deposition period for the plan, with presentation of 16,000 objections.
> February 6, 2007 – National Planning and Building Board decides to reject the Safdie Plan.
Menachem Zalutzki of the Ministry of Environmental Protection acknowledges that ''a revolution occurred with the formation of the Coalition. We realized that we cannot limit the debate to the importance of green spaces alone, but have to relate to the implications of the plan on the future of Jerusalem. The ministry totally supported the position that the Safdie Plan cannot be approved in its proposed format due to its impacts on both the open spaces of the Jerusalem hills and on the city of Jerusalem itself. There was an identity of opinions between the position of the ministry and the position spearheaded by the Coalition.'' Ein Lavan pool/Photo: Menachem Zalutzki
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An End and a Beginning
Yet, as the story of the Safdie Plan ends, another story begins. In the words of Avi Ben-Zur, environmental planner in the Jerusalem region of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, ''ways must now be found to ensure that the densification of housing within Jerusalem takes consideration of quality of life issues. Infrastructure, roads, transport, public open space should all be taken into account when planning for residential development within the current borders of Jerusalem.'' One thing is certain. Jerusalem's problems will not be solved by diverting people and resources to the open spaces of the Jerusalem hills. Ways must now be found to strengthen Jerusalem from within, by renewing the existing urban fabric, revitalizing the city center, developing a sustainable public transport system and encouraging business and employment opportunities.
Olive trees, Western Jerusalem/Photo: Uri Ramon
The story of the Safdie Plan highlights the ability of the public to make a difference. The plan sparked public opposition at a scale previously unknown in Israel. Some 16,000 objections were submitted to the plan, some 50 Knesset members from the right and the left of the political spectrum signed a petition against the plan, and the media mobilized in full force to cover the struggle. The success of the battle should renew the public's confidence in its ability to make its voice heard.
Some Recent Highlights in the Fight to Preserve Open Spaces 2005: Government approves the National Outline Plan for Building, Development and Conservation (Plan 35), which consolidates physical development into a concentrated set of urban centers while curbing suburbanization and urban sprawl and preserving a continuity of open spaces. April 2005: Government approves plans for the 800-hectare Ayalon Park which will serve as a green lung for residents of the greater Tel Aviv metropolitan area, notwithstanding pressures for residential development in the area. September 2006: National Planning and Building Board rejects a plan for a new communal village (Michal) in the Gilboa because of the area's high landscape value, presence of a legally protected asset (the Gilboa iris) and risks to the development potential of existing communities.
Jerusalem Mountains/Photo: Uri Ramon
>It is not easy to plan for a city such as Jerusalem, Israel's capital city, holy to three major religions, poor in resources and home to a diverse, growing and often fragmented population, including Jews and Arabs, secular and religious<
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Ancient Avdat/Photo: Tsvika Tsuk
RECOGNIZING ISRAEL'S WORLD HERITAGE ''Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations.'' The website of UNESCO's World Heritage Center says it all: ''Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations.'' Over the past 35 years, the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) has provided its member states with the opportunity to identify and preserve sites of outstanding natural and cultural heritage so that these may be passed on to future generations. For the past seven years, Israel has joined the effort - and with significant success. Israel only ratified the World Heritage Convention in 1999, but has since invested major efforts to ensure that its treasures, beginning from the prehistoric period and going right through the 20th century, will be recognized and preserved as sites of outstanding value to humanity. The fact that five properties, representing ten Israeli sites, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List over a period of just a few years, is testimony not only to the universal value of these sites, but to the dedicated and painstaking efforts of the Israel World Heritage Committee. Israel's World Heritage Sites Israel's first inscriptions, the Old City of Acre and Masada, were included in the World Heritage List in 2001. Acre, in Israel's north, is described by UNESCO as ''an exceptional historic town in that it preserves the substantial remains of its medieval Crusader buildings beneath the existing Moslem fortified town dating from the 18th and 19th centuryâ&#x20AC;ŚThe remains of the Crusader town of Acre, both above and below the present-day street level, provide an exceptional picture of the layout and structures of the capital of the medieval Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.'' Masada, in Israel's south, overlooking the Dead Sea, goes back further in time. Built as a palace complex by Herod the Great, who reigned between 37-4 B.C.E, the palace ''serves as an outstanding example of a luxurious villa of the Early Roman Empire, while the
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camps and other fortifications that encircle the monument constitute the finest and most complete Roman siege works to have survived to the present day.'' Yet, World Heritage sites do not represent ancient or medieval history alone. In 2003, the White City of Tel Aviv was inscribed, as one of the relatively few UNESCO recognitions of a 20th century phenomenon as a heritage site. First founded in 1909, Tel Aviv developed between the 1930s to the 1950s into one of the only cities built in the Bauhaus or International Style of architecture. According to UNESCO, it is ''an outstanding example of new town planning and architecture in the early 20th century, adapted to the requirements of a particular cultural and geographic context.''
The White City of Tel Aviv, a world center of Bauhaus architecture Photos: Jeremie Hoffmann
Israel's 2005 inscriptions go back in time to prehistoric tels and incense routes. One serial inscription takes us back to a ''civilization that has disappeared - that of the Cananean cities of the Bronze Age and the biblical cities of the Iron Age.'' Out of more than 200 tels in Israel, this inscription relates to three tels, Megiddo, Hazor and Beer Sheba, which are representative of ''tels that contain substantial remains of cities with biblical connections.'' A second serial inscription relates to one segment of the exotic incense and spice route which spread from south Arabia to the Mediterranean for five centuries, from the 3rd century B.C.E to the 2nd century C.E The four Nabatean desert cities of Haluza,
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Masada/Photo: Doron Nissim
Tel Megiddo/Photo: Tsvika Tsuk
Mamshit, Avdat and Shivta, which are included in this inscription along with associated fortresses and agricultural landscapes in the Negev Desert, include remains of sophisticated irrigation systems, towns, forts and caravans and bear witness to the way in which the harsh desert was settled for trade and agriculture. They won inclusion, according to UNESCO for their ''eloquent testimony to the economic, social and cultural importance of frankincense to the Hellenistic-Roman world.'' Working Toward Future Inscriptions Since the turn of the century, Israel's World Heritage Committee has been hard at work choosing the sites to be submitted for inclusion in the World Heritage List. There is no shortage of ideas, but each site on the Tentative List is closely examined and carefully reviewed to assess its potential. Together with the test of authenticity and integrity, a third condition for nomination is the existence of a management plan for the site. The cooperation of local and national officials who oversee the management is also critical since inscription requires a commitment to the site's preservation and safeguarding for the benefit of future generations. Another consideration, according to the chairperson of the Israel World Heritage Committee, Prof. Michael Turner, is more international in nature. In deciding on its nominations, Israel also considers the representation rate of different sites on the World Heritage List, which at present does not adequately represent either prehistoric or modern sites. This was one of the reasons, for example, for Israel's decision to nominate the 20th century
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White City of Tel Aviv for inscription. Thus, there is a constant dialogue between Israel and the World Heritage Committee and between Israel's national committee and local stakeholders. Recent nominations which have been presented to the World Heritage Committee for future inscription include: > The triple-arch gate at Dan and Sources of the Jordan, with the earliest complete arches found in the world dating back to the Middle Bronze Age. > Beit She'an, the only one of the ten cities of the Decapolis west of Jordan, and one of the oldest cities of the ancient Near East. > Baha'i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee, pilgrimage routes for Bah'ai pilgrims and for Israelis and tourists, dating back to the 19th century. Other sites currently under consideration include: > Prehistoric sites such as Mount Carmel, with remains of the settlement of early man in this region. > Rock art at Mt. Karkom in the southern Negev desert, with rock engravings dating back to the Paleolithic period. > Early Synagogues in the Galilee, one of the most concentrated sites for synagogues in the world during the first centuries of the Common Era. > Region of Caves and Hiding: Beit Guvrin-Maresha, just off the Via Maris during the Byzantine period.
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World Heritage Sites in Israel 2001
Old City of Acre
2001
Masada
2003
White City of Tel Aviv
2005
Biblical Tels – Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheba
2005
Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev
Old Acre/Photo: Doron Nissim
> The Galilee Journeys of Jesus and the apostles, connecting the pilgrim sites sacred to Christianity with natural and cultural sites. Israel's World Heritage Committee, which includes some 35 members representing government ministries, NGOs, academia, and organizations such as the Nature and Parks Authority and the Antiquities Authority, has invested major efforts in the nominative process. The results are already evident. Just last year, in March of 2007, during Israel's annual celebration of a Week of Love for Nature, Heritage, Water and the Environment, Israel's Nature and Parks Authority, a key member of the Committee, invited the general public to ceremonies marking the inscription of the Incense Route and the Biblical Tels. Israel's Growing Involvement in the World Heritage Convention In addition to its impressive record of inscriptions within a relatively short period of time, Israel has another reason to be proud. In 2005, it was elected to the World Heritage Committee as one of 21 State Parties. The Committee is responsible, among other functions, for identifying, on the basis of nominations by member states, cultural and natural properties of outstanding universal value which are to be included in the World Heritage List. Furthermore, at its 31st session in 2007, the World Heritage Committee elected a new Bureau, which includes Prof. Michael Turner, chairperson of the Israel World Heritage Committee, as one of the Vice Chairpersons of the Committee.
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These new developments present Israel with a unique opportunity to take a more active part not only in the preservation of its own cultural and natural heritage but in the identification of sites of universal value throughout the world for the benefit of both present and future generations. According to Prof. Michael Turner, ''a World Heritage inscription is not just a certificate to hang on a wall but a commitment and responsibility by countries and local stakeholders to preserve world heritage.'' The recognition granted by inscription on the World Heritage List is an important source of local and national pride, but it must be backed up by commitment. In essence, inscription of a property means - yes, we have outstanding universal value, and yes we are committed to preserving it.” Turner goes on to point out that heritage sites ''allow us to hold up a mirror to ourselves in an intellectual confrontation that provides a better understanding of our culture.'' At the same time, they also represent ''a window into Israel and its values. They are our cultural contribution to the heritage of the world and the history of humanity. As the guardians of the culture which is represented by these places, it is our responsibility to hand on this legacy to the next generation.''
Mamshit/ Photo: Tsvika Tsuk
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Some of Israel’s Archaeological Sites are Now World Heritage Sites Dr. Tsvika Tsuk Chief Archaeologist, Israel Nature and Parks Authority Israel marked an unprecedented achievement at the 29th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee: eight of its sites were inscribed on the World Heritage List – five of which are in the Negev! The inscription of these sites has earned Israel a place of honor on the World Heritage List, which now contains 851 properties, and constitutes an important stage in their conservation on an international level.
The inscribed sites are under the aegis of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, which maintains and protects them. The Biblical Tels: Megiddo, Hazor, and Beer Sheba These tels, which are the most outstanding examples of Biblical tels, have been excavated for dozens of seasons. They have revealed significant finds that shed light on the history of peoples in the land of Israel during the Biblical period, especially regarding the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The excavation of these tels revealed well planned cities, fortified with huge walls containing impressive gates, along with palaces, shrines, storehouses, stables, and gigantic water systems. The impressive water system at Tel Beer Sheba National Park has recently been opened to the public. The Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev, including the cities of Avdat, Haluza, Shivta, and Mamshit
Tel Beer Sheba/Photo: Tsvika Tsuk
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The Incense Route led from Oman and Yemen via Saudi Arabia and Jordan to southern Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. Prestigious commodities were transported along this 2,400-kilometerlong road, among them frankincense and myrrh, spices, jewels, silver, gold, and costly textiles. Use of the road began in the third
Tel Beer Sheba, aerial view/Photo: Tsvika Tsuk
century BCE and continued at least until the third century CE. The most impressive part of the road crossed the Negev diagonally from Zofar in the Arava to the area of Avdat. Many impressive remains were discovered along this segment of the road, including caravansaries, water reservoirs and bathing facilities, guard towers, shrines, milestones, and signs of the leveling of the road. Along other roads, cities like Mamshit (on the Ma’aleh Aqrabim road) and Shivta (on the local road from Avdat to Nitzanna and el-Arish) were founded.
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WATEC - ISRAEL 2007:
FOCUSING ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES SECTOR ''Environmentally sound technologies protect the environment, are less polluting, use all resources in a more sustainable manner, recycle more of their wastes and products, and handle residual wastes in a more acceptable manner than the technologies for which they were substitutesâ&#x20AC;Ś Environmentally sound technologies are not just individual technologies, but total systems which include know-how, procedures, goods and services, and equipment as well as organisational and managerial procedures''. WATEC-ISRAEL 2007, Ministry of Environmental Protection pavilion/ Photo: Alex Kaplan
Chapter 34 of Agenda 21
In the global search for more sustainable forms of development, environmental technologies play a crucial role. It is no wonder, therefore, that some 30,000 participants from Israel and abroad flocked to Tel Aviv's Exhibition Gardens at the end of October 2007 to take part in WATEC - Israel 2007, Israel's International Water Technologies and Environmental Control Exhibition and Conference.
The three-day event attracted exhibitors and visitors from companies, organizations, voluntary and public bodies, entrepreneurs and investors worldwide. A total of 250 companies presented their water and environmental technologies, as well as a wide range of innovative solutions for addressing such critical problems as global warming, air pollution, water contamination and water
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scarcity, hazardous waste and more. Their solutions, ranging from seawater desalination to solar energy, from water filtration to low-volume irrigation systems, from monitoring systems to recycling options, elicited major interest from some 100 business delegations that came to Israel especially to take part in the event. Visitors included the CEOs of the water divisions of some of the world's
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Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra on the WATEC International Conference
foremost companies including General Electric, USA, Siemens AG, Germany and Veolia, France.
''We, at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, are convinced that economic progress and environmental protection are closely linked. We are certain that the development and implementation of environmental Gideon Ezra/Photo: Alex Kaplan technologies is a ''win-win'' situation: it will catalyze the development of an industry with significant export potential, it will ensure a cleaner environment in Israel and quality of life to its residents, and it will promote regional and international cooperation for the improvement of the environment. It will have an impact not only on our own generation but on generations to come... Environmental problems know no borders. Similarly, technological solutions to environmental problems cross national borders, offering countries the possibility of overcoming such problems as growing waste quantities, inadequate water supplies, polluting industrial effluents and global warming. WATEC 2007 offers just the right opportunity to do this. I believe that the state-of-the-art technologies which are exhibited here today will be a driving force of the global economy and the global environment in years to come. It is my hope that this year's exhibition and conferences will promote international cooperation and facilitate the transformation of environmental challenges into environmental opportunities'' Excerpts from the welcoming address of Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra at the opening ceremony of the WATEC International Conference
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Focusing on the Water Sector It is estimated that about 2 billion people around the world either lack access to sufficient quantities of water, or are supplied with water unfit for drinking. This shortage is expected to worsen in the near future due to the rise in the world's population and to the anticipated impacts of global warming. Yet growing environmental awareness coupled with new awareness of the impacts of global warming is beginning to make a difference. It is catalyzing the development of new technologies for alleviating these problems. Israel is not a stranger to the problems of water scarcity. However, the very scarcity of water resources in Israel proved to be the impetus for the development of cutting edge technologies in the water sector. Israel is widely recognized as a center of expertise on water conservation and reuse of treated effluents in agriculture, has developed one of the most productive and efficient agricultural systems in the world and has reached one of the highest wastewater recycling rates in the world - nearly 70%. The water industry - the fifth among global industrial sectors - shows a 10% annual growth rate and the world global market already stands at more than $450 billion. In this ever-growing sector, Israel has already emerged as world leader in the development and marketing of drip irrigation systems, seawater desalination and water reclamation. According to figures released by the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute, Israel's water sector is composed of 270 companies, including 60 start-ups and 8,000 employees with specialties in desalination, irrigation systems,
purification technology and management of water sources. And that's not all. This field is expected to grow substantially in future years, due, in no small measure to a new national program formulated by the government in 2005. Dubbed NEWTech (Novel Efficient Water Technologies), the program aims at doubling the value of exports of Israel's water technology products and solutions, attracting overseas investments and promoting research and development with international partners. WATEC 2007 and the Ministry of Environmental Protection The Ministry of Environmental Protection played a key role in WATEC 2007 - as an active member of the steering committee, as an exhibitor and as the organizer of more than a dozen environmental conferences within the framework of the exhibition. Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra hosted the environmental ministers of several countries, while the booth of the Ministry of Environmental Protection provided visitors with information on a wide range of environmental topics. Senior staff members of the ministry were on hand to answer the public's questions and requests for information and tens of thousands of information sheets and bulletins were distributed within the course of just three days.
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On the last day of the exhibition, November 1, 2007, the Ministry of Environmental Protection hosted a series of professional environmental conferences on such subjects as the landfill levy and its significance, reduction of hazardous waste in industry, reduction of air pollution from transportation in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, accreditation of green college campuses and more. Turning Challenges into Opportunities Developing clean technologies is no longer an option; it is an imperative. The recently organized WATEC 2007 exhibition underlined the growing importance of environmental technologies in reducing critical pressures on the environment, promoting cleaner production, reducing the consumption of energy and natural resources, and minimizing emissions and waste. Israel, as a key player in the hi-tech industry, with innovative technologies, highly skilled human resources and extensive experience, hopes to meet the challenges ahead and to make important inroads in a wide range of state-of-the-art technologies relevant to the Israeli and international environmental industries.
WATEC 2007 – Facts and Figures • 30,000 visitors, of which 2,500 were from abroad • 100 business delegations • 35 ministers and deputy ministers • 250 lecturers in conferences from more than 90 countries • 250 companies, of which 130 were water companies and 120 environmental technology companies • International conferences with 1400 participants • 13 environmental events organized by the Ministry of Environmental Protection including conferences and award ceremonies, with some 1700 participants. • 21 information sheets on environmental subjects and an English Bulletin on the environment.
Ministry of Environmental Protection booth/Photo: Alex Kaplan
According to its organizers, WATEC 2007 will reinforce Israel's position as the ''Silicon Valley'' of the global water and environmental technologies market. In the words of Booky Oren, Chairman of WATEC 2007, ''Israel is poised to play a major role in supplying the world with cutting-edge water and environmental solutions.'' In a global environmental technologies market that is worth more than $600 million today, there is no doubt that environmental technologies are good for the environment and good for business.
Alex Kaplan on WATEC 2007 The size of this year's exhibition and conference and the number of participants it drew, especially from abroad, are the best proof that Israel has much to contribute in the fields of water and the environment. For the Ministry of Environmental Protection, WATEC 2007 provided a unique platform in which to present its widespread activities on behalf of the environment, every day of the year, and reveal its future plans to wide audiences through conferences on an extensive range of topics. The Ministry of Environmental Protection is gratified by the results of the conference and the positive feedback from the participants. It hopes that when the next exhibition comes around, in 2009, the environmental component of the exhibition, including such subjects as recycling and energy, will play a more central part in the proceedings.
For further information on Israel's Environmental Technologies, please visit the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute - Environmental Technologies: http://www.export.gov.il/Eng/SubIndex.asp?CategoryID=179
www.environment.gov.il
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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION From Bali to Jerusalem: A Roadmap for Future Agreement on Climate Change Some 11,000 people - state delegations, NGOs and the press - participated in the thirteenth conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the third meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol, held in Bali in December 2007. Among them was the Israeli delegation, headed by Israel's ambassador to Singapore and including MK Ophir PinesPaz, Chairman of the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee of the Knesset and government and NGO representatives. The major achievement of conference was a Bali road map for a future international agreement on climate change, which will come into effect after the commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. The growing public awareness of global warming and the responses to the findings of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that ''warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and that delay in reducing
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emissions significantly constrains opportunities to achieve lower stabilization levels and increases the risk of more severe climate change impacts'' were necessary stones to build the Bali roadmap. Major decisions taken in Bali include an agenda on the key issues which will have to be negotiated in the coming years, including:
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Action for adapting to the negative consequences of climate change, such as droughts and floods;
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Ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
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Ways to widely deploy climate-friendly technologies; and
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Financing of adaptation and mitigation measures.
Israel, which was classified as a developing country and ratified the Climate Change Convention in 1996 and the Kyoto Convention in 2004, does not have any limitation on emissions. According to Ms. Shuli Nezer, director of the Air Quality Division of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Israel may be subject to formal requirements in the upcoming agreement and therefore, within a short period of time, should define its emission reduction targets in order to take part
in the emerging negotiations toward a new international agreement on climate change. The best way to do this, Nezer says, is to ''increase energy efficiency and energy conservation, which should bring about a saving of more than 20% of the energy used in all sectors of the economy. Additional measures include use of clean fuels, integration of clean coal technologies and clean transportation.'' Nezer points out that ''the reduction of local air pollution, a crucial element in the Ministry of Environmental Protection's policy, will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thus yielding a double benefit - global and local.'' Although Israel is a small contributor to global warming, it is not far behind some of the developed countries listed in Annex I in terms of its per capita carbon dioxide emissions. The Bali roadplan should catalyze Israel to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, especially in the energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen its commitment to tackle climate change and work together with other states toward a new global framework for the post-Kyoto period.
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Israel • Under the CDM, projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to sustainable development can earn saleable certified emission reduction credits (CERs). • By February 2008, thirtyone projects had been submitted for approval to Israel's Designated National Authority for the CDM, first established in 2004. • Between February 2006 and February 2008, ten CDM projects which will be implemented in Israel were registered by the CDM Executive Board in the United Nations. • The potential of greenhouse gas emissions reductions of CDM projects in Israel is currently estimated as some 3 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. For more information on the CDM in Israel, please visit: www1.sviva.gov.il/e_cdm
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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Israel Gets Ready for the OECD: A Roadmap for Accession On May 16, 2007, the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) decided to invite Israel, along with four other states, to engage in discussions for membership in the organization. On November 30, 2007, the OECD approved the roadmap for Israel's accession to the OECD Convention, thus marking the formal launch of a process which constitutes a landmark in the international recognition of Israel's achievements and its ability to contribute both to the global economy and to the organization.
OECD
The roadmap will enable OECD member states to assess the willingness and ability of Israel to assume the obligations of membership, which include a commitment to fundamental values which reflect the likemindedness of OECD members. According to the roadmap, ''accepting these values, along with the established body of OECD instruments, standards and
benchmarks, is a requirement for membershipâ&#x20AC;Ś These fundamental values include a commitment to pluralist democracy based on the rule of law and the respect of human rights, adherence to open and transparent market economy principles and a shared goal of sustainable development. In order to allow Council to take an informed decision on whether to invite Israel to accede to the OECD Convention and therefore become a Member, Israel will be requested to position itself vis-Ă -vis all the legal substantive instruments adopted within the OECD framework prior to its joining the Organisation.'' Israel has set up an interministerial steering committee and 15 subcommittees to work with the OECD on the accession process. Major efforts are concentrating on reviewing Israel's compliance with the OECD ''acquis,'' the body of existing legal instruments by which all members must abide. As an essential part of the accession process, Israel is preparing an initial memorandum specifying the extent of its acceptance of the legal or political obligations resulting from each of the OECD's relevant legal instruments and the compatibility of its legislation and policies with these obligations.
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Israel's compliance with the environmental requirements of the OECD will be examined by the Environment Policy Committee and the Chemicals Committee. Israel will be required to submit information on general environmental/ chemicals policy and institutional work, on its commitment to sustainable development and on its position on major multilateral environmental agreements in addition to an initial memorandum on compliance with environmental legislative instruments and a questionnaire on the state of the environment. While membership in the OECD is first and foremost an economic priority, it will most likely have major ramifications on the environment. The OECD, as an economic and social organization, views the environment as an economic resource which must be available to future generations
as well. This requires longterm investment and longrange planning in order to wisely manage environmental resources. A high level OECD delegation visited Israel in January 2008 to clarify the steps Israel will have to take to implement the accession process. Notably, this first delegation to Israel included an environmental expert, attesting to the priority which the OECD gives to the environment. The significance of Israel's proposed membership in the OECD largely relates to the adoption of the high standards set by the organization. As far as the environment is concerned, membership in the OECD will provide Israel with the necessary basis for further developing environmental policies that are effective and economically efficient for the benefit of present and future generations alike.
Israel - Germany Cooperation On February 12, 2008, Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Environmental Protection Minister and the German Ambassador to Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation regarding Clean Development Mechanism projects. This was followed up with a two-day workshop, in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, on establishing a voluntary mechanism for greenhouse gas registry and reporting in Israel. On March 17, 2008, the respective environment ministers of Israel and Germany agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation on climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy, water and waste management.
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WITH A FACE TO THE PUBLIC
GREENING THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM The goals of environmental education, which were formulated more than 20 years ago in the Belgrade Charter, ring as true today as they did in 1976: ''The goal of environmental education is to develop a world population that is aware of and concerned about the environment and its associated problems, and which has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and commitment to work individually and collectively toward solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones.''
Green School activities/photo: Roi Simcha
Ms. Zivit Linder, director of the Education Division of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, fervently believes
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that ''it is our duty to let both children and adults see and understand that in each and every step they take, now and in the future, they must seek the right balance between society, economy and the environment, between their individual needs and the needs of the environment, in order to create a just and healthy society.'' The Ministry of Environmental Protection is convinced that education is a prerequisite for achieving sustainability. For this reason, it has spearheaded a host of educational initiatives in recent years, including green education programs, environmental education curriculums, school and commu-
nity projects, competitions and special events, targeted at both the formal and informal educational systems. Promoting Environmental Education in the Formal School System An important breakthrough was achieved in September 2007 when the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Education joined in launching a new environmental education program which will be implemented in schools throughout Israel. The program culminates the work of a task force, appointed by the director general of the Ministry of Education, which included senior representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Education, institutes of higher education, green organizations and teachers from all over the country. Their task: to come up with an answer to the question of what can be done to promote environmental education in Israel. To answer the question, the team came up with an operative plan which combines multidisciplinary environmental study, environmental action and environmental training of teachers.
The program aims to integrate environmental education within a range of school subjects, while promoting environmental attitudes, achievements and behavior. The rationale underlying the program is that environmental education is not just another subject within the ''basket of subjects'' offered by a school; rather, it is a basic element which should be integrated in the school curriculum, along with community and social action. The prerequisites for environmental education within schools include:
â&#x20AC;ş
Development and implementation of a school vision, based on multidisciplinary approaches, which integrates environmental study and environmental action.
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Development and implementation of school activities that foster environmental knowedge, thought and values along with contribution to the community, and break through the bounds of school and classroom to involve teachers, local authorities and other organizations.
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The program was approved in September 2007, just in time to be integrated into the current school year. The hope is that this innovative school model will indeed promote the development of multidisciplinary environmental education, which emphasizes involvement and commitment to the environment. Greening the Educational System One of the Environmental Protection Ministry's leading projects in the field of education for sustainable development is ''greening the educational system'' from kindergartens to universities. The idea is to encourage schools, with the cooperation of the administration, students, parents and community, not just to teach environmental subjects but to act in a sustainable manner, to conserve resources, and to advance eco-efficiency. The idea was first born during Israel's preparations for the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. Today, hundreds of schools – from kindergartens to universities – have joined the process. In order to help schools along the road toward sustainability, the Ministry of Environmental
Protection and its partners, the Ministry of Education and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, drafted guidelines and indicators for Green Schools. The three-step process calls for commitment on the part of the school, mapping of the current state of environmental education and formulation of environmental indicators for achievement. The action plan itself, which is backed up by sustainability indicators, relates to three main areas: 1. Integration of environmental subjects in the curriculum to increase knowledge of environmental issues.
Major Components of the Environmental Education Program: › Allocation of at least 30 hours of study at every age level, including out of classroom activities.
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Mapping of existing environmental subjects in the curriculum in different areas, including: science and technology, geography, homeland studies, social studies and citizenship, etc.
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Instruction based on sustainable development guidelines, which is integrated with out of classroom activities and action in the environment.
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Highlighting of the environment as a central subject in the framework of science and technology and geography studies in the 2007/8 school year.
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Initial training of some 100 leading teachers and assimilation of the subject on the regional level.
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Preparation and publication of enrichment and curriculum materials.
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Organization of special events and competitions.
2. Rational use of resources, such as water, electricity or paper and promotion of bottle, paper and battery recycling.
Decorated garbage dumpster/Photo: Ilan Swissa
3. Contribution to the community through a project targeted toward environmental awareness and improvement. In light of the success of the Green School project in schools throughout the country, the ''greening'' process has been expanded to green kindergartens, green community centers and green university campuses. By the end of 2007 - 90 schools, 10 university campuses, 20 community centers and 33 kindergartens had been accredited and hundreds more are undergoing the ''greening'' process. The road toward a greener future has definitely been set in the educational school system.
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Green Educational Institutes 2007
Reuse of tires/Photo: Alon Karmiel Green School
n Cer Sc tif ho ied ol s Gr ee n in Sc Pr ho oc ol es s Ce s Ki rtif nd ied e Gr G ee rgar ree n te n Ki nd ns e in rga Pr rte oc n Co es s s m Ce m rt un ifie ity d Ce Gre G nt en er Ce reen s nt C er om si m n Pr un oc it es y Ce s r ti fie Ca d G m re pu e Gr se n ee s n Ca m pu Pr ses oc in es s
Promotion of the subject with the aid of a school representative who is committed to fulfilling the vision of environmental literacy.
Gr ee
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Ancient Avdat/Photo: Tsvika Tsuk
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