Beyond this major undertaking the country is conserving for use and reuse such minor flows of water as are represented by the sewage of its cities and the runoff of intermittent streams along the coast. In the southern Negev, where the annual rainfall is less than six inches, the Soil Conservation Service is adopting the methods of ancient Nabataeans to impound the waters of flash floods for the irrigation of forage crops.
Prospects for the future have recently been brightened by progress in the desalting of sea water. A new method developed in the laboratories of the Government is about to be tested in two pilot plants, each with an output of 250,000 gallons per day. Success in this undertaking would be a major victory not only for Israel but also for all the other arid-land countries of the world.
On the anvil of adversity the State and people of Israel have been hammering out solutions to problems that other nations must sooner or later face up to. There are no more continents left to explore or to exploit. The best lands of the earth are occupied and in use. All of them, to a greater or lesser extent, need the same measures of reclamation and conservation that have succeeded so well in Israel. The frontiers of today are the lands under our feet.
See what we're tweeting about
12 Comments
Add CommentOne wonders what has been the impact of the draining of wetlands in the early days of the State of Israel on percolation of surface water down to undergound aquifers?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this(This, especially with consideration of all the pumping of ground water, and is not even to mention, the impact on wetland biota).
Also, I cringed at the several mentions of the introduction of non-native plants, from eucalypts to southern California species. This practice contributes nothing to the restoration of the ancient biological richness of the region, and indeed threatens it, should any of the non-natives turn into the aggressive, invasive sort (as no doubt some have by now).
One wonders what has been the impact of the draining of wetlands in the State of Israel on the regeneration of aquifers (This, especially with consideration of all the pumping of ground water)?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFurther, one wonders how much effort and expenditure now needs to be done to conserve wetland biota, with its vastly shrunken habitat?
Also, I cringed at the several mentions of the introduction of non-native plants, from eucalypts to southern California species. This practice contributes nothing to the restoration of the ancient biological richness of the region, and indeed threatens it, should any of the non-natives turn into the aggressive, invasive sort (as no doubt some have by now).
It would be interesting to read (a less patently biased) account of the present state of affairs of the ecology and agricultural sustainability of in modern Israel and surrounding coutnries.
For some reason, the latest edit of my comment did not get submitted...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wanted to add that I wonder how much effort, now, is being directed to restoration of wetlands destroyed in the name of progress, back then?
It would be of great interest to read a report on the current state of affairs in Israel and surrounding countries, with regard to the ecology and agricultural sustainability of the region. One that is less biased than this piece of patently propagandistic journalism would be especially welcome.
It likely depends on your definition of ecology. The Middle East has been host to civilisation longer than anywhere else in the world. Like Europe (Greece being an excellent example), there was almost certainly very wide forestation across Israel, which was then denuded by millennia of cultivation. The fact that the marshlands existed in the 1950s doesn't mean they had been standing for thousands of years. If anything, reforestation and croplands have replenished the ecosystem.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso, Israel has very efficient agricultural systems, relying especially on drip systems. These are much less wasteful than the spray irrigation used by most of the world.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs long as we treat population growth as an inevitable act of God, we are setting ourselves up for future disaster. There are too many resources with doubtful future prospects: water, land, fertilizer, pesticides, transportation, fuel. We pander to local customs and organized religion by allowing population growth to continue, but we make the system ever more sensitive to glitches and failures. In the future, even the smallest failure in agricultural production will probably kill millions of people. We are building a system with no excess capacity.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis article is a great opportunity for pictures.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWeb space is free, push to get more pictures with each article.
It would be great to have pictures of soil conditions, irrigation techniques, erosion prevention techniques...
In the 1800's a British traveller in "Palestine" as it was then called by the British,commented that there was not a tree to be found from Safed to Akko and all the birds had been shot and killed by the local Arabs and all of the crocodiles killed and eaten by them.The custom of goat herding had converted the whole area into a desert as goats eat the plants.Modern Israel has worked miracles in restoring the environment.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI cannot believe that in the 21st century Scientific American will re-issue such a biased, history-distorting article. Claiming that 'Palestine' was uninhabited since the Byzantine era, rules out a millenia of Arab and Islamic civilization. And the comments that the local Arabs converted the area into desert land is naive, as everyone knows that the Bedouins are the indigenous population of the desert, and did not contribute to desertification, which is purely an ecological process, for which we have the climate to blame and not the arabs. However, I do thank the magazine for providing me with an insight on the views of the past 50 years or more which will encourage me to do some serious research on the subject .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI cannot believe that in the 21st century Scientific American will re-issue such a biased, history-distorting article. Claiming that 'Palestine' was uninhabited since the Byzantine era, rules out a millenia of Arab and Islamic civilization. And the comments that the local Arabs converted the area into desert land is naive, as everyone knows that the Bedouins are the indigenous population of the desert, and did not contribute to desertification, which is purely an ecological process, for which we have the climate to blame and not the arabs. However, I do thank the magazine for providing me with an insight on the views of the past 50 years or more which will encourage me to do some serious research on the subject .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI live in Israel, and like many is very concerned with the status of environmental issues here and worldwide. Reforestation here is something like a national value there is a holiday dedicated to tree planting and cutting down trees is forbidden by law.
Unlike the main narrative though, the land was not completely barren till the 20th century. Most of the northern part of the country, which was not densely settled, remained covered by diverse vegetation, dominated by oak trees. However, apparently the bush-like height (4-5m) of these trees didnt look much like a forest to European visitors. These trees continue to thrive to this day and form a natural habitat to many animal species.
Some other parts of the country were and remain completely barren, despite adequate precipitation, specifically due to human intervention. There is a huge difference between land management of the Jewish and Arab population (by the way, most of the Arabs are not Bedouins). You can see this directly if you visit Israel, or by looking at aerial maps like Google earth.
Like any other developed nation, Israel has many environmental problems, these include water management air, water and soil pollution, and expansion of cities. Probably, due to the problematic political status, environmental issues do not receive adequate attention from the government and the voters. It is hard to tell what the future holds for already immensely stressed natural wild life.
Climate & economy of Southwestern Asia,Central Asia (Near & Middle East) & Northern (North) Africa. Water supply.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOnly by making the climate is more saturated with moisture can make the Near and Middle Asia and North Africa is even more suitable for a good life.
There are good and real water projects in deserts. The purpose of one of the projects - to give the water in a deserts and to spend the finance and water for the right thing, that to change the climate.
Megaprojects,technologies,innovations,management decisions,investment objects,climate change.
http://www.usw.com.ua/profiles/blogs/technologies-from-past-and-future-that-could-change-the-world?xg_source=activity
http://easypay-shop.com/index.php?ukey=news
http://blogs.pravda.ru/users/3039108/post198925789
http://konsyltacii.livejournal.com/21903.html