Environmentalists and other scientists are beginning to deal with the “other” aftermath of the war -- the effect on the land and sea and how that will affect those who live there.
Thousands of acres of Galilee forest were blackened and destroyed in Katyusha-ignited conflagrations, along with the animals and plants which so enriched the region. Israeli farmers, rangers, firefighters and nature lovers point out the raw bald spots on the landscape where green forests once stood.
More than 600 fires decimated the landscape across the north. Forests will need to be replanted on the Naftali Mountains overlooking Kiryat Shmona, in Biriya near Tzfat and in Beit Keshet in the central Galilee, to the tune of several million shekels, according to JNF officials.
Environmental experts from the United Nations and European Union plan to visit the region in the near future to see what can be done to repair the damage. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority (INPPAA) will shortly begin to assess the damage as well.
Meanwhile, seabed contamination along the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon is affecting turtles, tuna and other marine life. Pure white sand on the coastal beaches is now toxic from an oil slick that resulted when Israel bombed a fuel installation south of Beirut.
The 10,000-ton oil spill damaged some 85 miles (140 kilometers) of shoreline along the Lebanese coastal waters and the life that flourished within, according to the Lebanese environmental organization “Green Line.” The United Nations estimated that the coast of Syria was affected as well.
Lebanon will receive technical assistance from international maritime agencies and the United Nations to help clear away the oil spill, according to a report by the Associated Press. Senior officials from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the European Union met last week near Athens to discuss the disaster and agreed at the meeting to seek international funding to contain the slick, which they say could threaten Cyprus, Turkey and Greece. Experts said the operation could cost more than $65 million.
A high price has been exacted from both land and sea by the war. The precise total is as yet unknown, but it is clear that the destruction is long-lasting and in some cases, perhaps permanent – especially the loss of Israel’s trees.
“Natural woodlands require dozens of years to recover,” noted INNPPA ecologist Didi Kaplan. The organization, in the past, has taken the “natural” approach, allowing the forests to heal themselves. “It is not just a matter of direct damage during the course of the fire. Tens of thousands of dunams of grassland were burned on the edges of the Golan Heights. I assume that the antelope that live in the area fled, but their source of food for the coming months has been damaged.”
The threat of landslides in the coming winter will force the organization to intervene at least somewhat. Kaplan said, however, she expects the Golan Heights to recover after the winter rains.
Thousands of acres of Galilee forest were blackened and destroyed in Katyusha-ignited conflagrations, along with the animals and plants which so enriched the region. Israeli farmers, rangers, firefighters and nature lovers point out the raw bald spots on the landscape where green forests once stood.
More than 600 fires decimated the landscape across the north. Forests will need to be replanted on the Naftali Mountains overlooking Kiryat Shmona, in Biriya near Tzfat and in Beit Keshet in the central Galilee, to the tune of several million shekels, according to JNF officials.
Environmental experts from the United Nations and European Union plan to visit the region in the near future to see what can be done to repair the damage. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority (INPPAA) will shortly begin to assess the damage as well.
Meanwhile, seabed contamination along the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon is affecting turtles, tuna and other marine life. Pure white sand on the coastal beaches is now toxic from an oil slick that resulted when Israel bombed a fuel installation south of Beirut.
The 10,000-ton oil spill damaged some 85 miles (140 kilometers) of shoreline along the Lebanese coastal waters and the life that flourished within, according to the Lebanese environmental organization “Green Line.” The United Nations estimated that the coast of Syria was affected as well.
Lebanon will receive technical assistance from international maritime agencies and the United Nations to help clear away the oil spill, according to a report by the Associated Press. Senior officials from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the European Union met last week near Athens to discuss the disaster and agreed at the meeting to seek international funding to contain the slick, which they say could threaten Cyprus, Turkey and Greece. Experts said the operation could cost more than $65 million.
A high price has been exacted from both land and sea by the war. The precise total is as yet unknown, but it is clear that the destruction is long-lasting and in some cases, perhaps permanent – especially the loss of Israel’s trees.
“Natural woodlands require dozens of years to recover,” noted INNPPA ecologist Didi Kaplan. The organization, in the past, has taken the “natural” approach, allowing the forests to heal themselves. “It is not just a matter of direct damage during the course of the fire. Tens of thousands of dunams of grassland were burned on the edges of the Golan Heights. I assume that the antelope that live in the area fled, but their source of food for the coming months has been damaged.”
The threat of landslides in the coming winter will force the organization to intervene at least somewhat. Kaplan said, however, she expects the Golan Heights to recover after the winter rains.