03.02.2012                      10.Schwat. 5772

Umwelt-Streit:

Two leading ecological groups feud over character of open spaces in northern Israel

SPNI and JNF battle over the nature of Israel's north, as Tu Bishvat, Jewish Arbor Day nears.

On the eve of Tu Bishvat, two of the country's leading ecological groups are feuding over the character of open spaces in northern Israel. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI ) wants to see natural woodlands maintained, while the Jewish National Fund (JNF ) would like to expand the region's forests.
The SPNI, which is Israel's largest environmental organization, noted earlier this week that while the JNF has done much to protect open spaces, it lacks "legal and professional tools that allow management of the areas under its aegis, with a view that gives top priority to nature protection and prevention of harm to protected natural assets"….