Israel's Most Enduring Green Policy: The Green Line, Agriculture, Drip Irrigation

Fish ponds in lower Gililly. Northern Israel was first cultivated in the 1880s and started a 130 year tradition of turning Israel into a green space. From the air the effort has become Israel's ''green line'' / from Israel's PickiWiki Site

Last week I wrote about passive solar water heating [here]. Saving energy is a crucial and useful policy and affects every Israeli. A more environmental policy going back more than a century is greening the desert: planting forests, cultivating agriculture and cultivating urban green spaces. Israel's green line is one of the most important long term green activity. It is actually Israel's biggest contribution to the world and can affect more people in the surrounding states than any political and military activity. Politically the green line has become synonymous with Israel's 1948 borders. Today, the name is synonymous with the Palestinian struggle and Israel's security border. The name actually comes from aerial photos of Israel contrasted against background of the surrounding states. Essentially Israel looks green from the air. This is an amazing accomplishment considering the climate and history of the region. Since the first immigration of Jews to Israel in the 1880s, there has been an immense effort to plant forests, make living spaces green and cultivate agriculture. The effort has been a crucial economic engine in early years of the state when Israel became an agricultural economy. It is also been a symbol of care and nurturing of the land to millions of Jews around the world.

Israel's green environment policy started from an emotional desire to make the desert green. Jews coming from Europe brought the love of trees and forests and saw the potential to turn a brown land into green. Jewish leaders from Hertzel to Ben-Gurion had the vision that sparked a light into a small group of believers. The vision turned into a mission, make Israel a green example to the world. This mission was carried out by pioneers in socialized Kibbutzim settlements, in engineering projects connecting all of Israel to water sources and in technologies from irrigation to plant development. Flash forward 130 years and in Israel we have the Green Line, drip irrigation and a sustainable green land. If you look as far west as the Atlantic ocean and as far east as the Indian ocean, specially in space images, you see two prominent green spots: the Nile delta in Egypt and Israel's borders. If you look a little closer by walking in Israel's urban areas, you see more trees, shrubs and lawns than most middle eastern cities. If you look at Israel's agricultural industry you see diversity and creativity beyond countries many time it's size. This result is a combination of many factors. It is also a result of a sustained effort, both economic and governmental, to bring to life a vision beyond what can be seen today, a vision to leave something to future generations. This effort has key elements which can serve as examples countries who wish to change their environment in a green and sustainable ways:

• Large scale national water distribution and management (Mekorot)
• Sophisticated and simple drip irrigation use and manufacturing (Netafim)
• Innovative local urban planning and sustained gardening policies.
• Innovative agricultural efforts from acclimating plants to hard work. (Kibbutz)
• Continuous active government policy and investment in green development.

In future articles I will cover these elements which combined make Israel a shining example of crating a green environment in a dry land. While the Green Line today is considered a geopolitically charge issue, it is also an amazing environmental fact. One that we forget sometimes in the midst of daily buzz. One that very few dispute and even more do not understand environmentally.