Between Ruin and Restoration: An Environmental History of Israel

Chapter Seven: Open Space in an Urban Society

146 Land resources and open space in israel are of greatest importance: these resources are finite and hardly can be reproduced. as one of the most densely populated and most rapidly growing countries in the developed world—scarcity of open space in israel is much more severe than in other countries around the globe, and the effort to protect them is much more challenging (Kaplan and Dayan 1996; tal 2008). Despite its small area, only 22,000 square kilometers, israel is blessed with a variety of landscapes, unique natural assets, a rich diversity of species, historic and cultural landscapes, and sacred sites for all faiths. all these assets, as well as other benefits, are provided by israel’s open space. Protecting open space in israel is important for a variety of reasons: • Provision of crucial ecosystem services. Humankind is supported by services produced by the biosphere and its ecosystems, and benefits from the various resources supplied by natural ecosystems. These “ecosystem services” include provisioning services (food, water, wood, fiber, and fuel), regulating services (climate regulation, flood regulation, and disease control), cultural services (aesthetic, spiritual, educational, and recreational benefits), and supporting services (nutrient recycling, soil formation) (millennium ecosystem assessment 2005). israel is blessed with enormous biodiversity in various ecosystems: The country is CHAPTER SEVEN OPEN SPACE IN AN URBAN SOCIETY Iris Han OPEN SPACE IN AN URbAN SOCIETy 147 home to approximately 2,400 species of vascular plants, 100 species of mammals, 530 species of birds, 90 species of reptiles, and 15,000 known species of insects. all of these are located in an area equivalent to a major national park in the United states. in comparison, Great britain, which is ten times the size of israel, has only 1,500 species of plants.1 since conversion of natural and semi-natural habitats to urban, suburban, and exurban land uses is one of the main threats to biodiversity, protecting open spaces is a main key to all benefits provided by biodiversity and ecological services (meffe and Carroll 1997). • Provision of important cultural landscapes. As the cradle of three of the world’s major religions, israel’s landscapes have been the arena in which many significant historic and spiritual events took place (sar shalom et al. 2010). Like an open book, the open space tells the stories of the bible, the new testament, and the Koran. for example, the last battle between David and Goliath took place in Ha’ela valley, near beit-shemesh; the open landscape of the Galilee between nazareth and the sea of Galilee was the backdrop to the interaction between Jesus and his apostles. • Ensuring space for leisure and recreation. Open space has become an attractive and popular destination for leisure and recreation activities, especially during holidays. in Passover 2010, about 400,000 visitors visited the nature reserves and the national parks during a single day.2 During succoth 2010, more than 1.5 million people choose to visit israel’s forests and Jewish national fund (Jnf) parks.3 a detailed survey conducted in the Judean mountains found that open space in the investigated area is of crucial importance with regard to regional planning, because of the high demand for recreation in natural settings (Zalutzki 2002). as long as population density in israel continues to rise, the demand for recreation in open spaces will continue to grow. Protecting open space in israel, with the appropriate amount, quality, and spatial continuity to support the many roles that open spaces serve, has been called a mission impossible. There are, in fact, specific characteristics of israeli society that make this laudable goal challenging, including high population density, rapid population growth, and inefficient use of land resources. We expand on each of these challenges below. The population density in israel in 2008 was 320.9 people per square kilometer ,4 making it ten times denser than the average of the organization for economic Cooperation and Development (oeCD) countries. While this alone constitutes a very high density, a much more complicated situation hides behind this figure—namely the low density in the southern, more arid, areas of israel.5 in the beer-sheva subdistrict (including beer-sheva and the negev 148 IRIS HAN south of the city to eilat), population density is only 45.2 people per square kilometer, while in the central and northern areas of the country it is 710. by 2020, assuming moderate growth projection (1.3 percent...