Most of the forests in Israel were planted after a long forestation effort, carried out by the British Mandatory government. When Israel gained its independence in 1949, the government planted more trees. The Israeli government is responsible for planting and maintaining all of the man-made forests. Citizens are also asked to reduce, reuse and recycle their products that are made from trees as part of the conservation effort.
Most of the Mediterranean vegetation in Israel was destroyed by overgrazing and over-cutting. As a result of this, the vegetation couldn’t recover. In 1995, forests covered 826,598 dunams (826 kilometres). By the year 2020, the government plans to double this area.
Forest Fires
There have always been lots of forest fires in Israel. The Mediterranean forests consist of oaks and bushes, and the wild lands, that have no trees, are mainly grasses and small bushes. The fires on these two types of vegetation are very extensive, since they start in remote areas, and they are not detected until a lot of damage is done.
The hot, dry and windy weather is the most dangerous conditions for the risks of forest fires. There are many things that can cause these forest fires. In the past years, mainly the 1950’s and the 1960’s, agricultural burning of stubble has been the most common causes of fires. The secondary cause of fires is people not being careful with burning cigarettes. Arson is also a factor in the starting of forest fires. The arsonists are usually criminals who try to collect insurance money. The arson forest fires usually start at the edge of the Palestine-Israel border (on the Palestine side), and work their way to Israel. The military also is the cause of some fires, since they train with live ammunition, and sometimes start fires.
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