Israel Nature and Parks Authority explained

Formed:	April 1998
Chief1 Name:	Raya Shurki
Chief1 Position:	Director
Parent Department:	Ministry of Environmental Protection
Headquarters:	Jerusalem, Israel
Employees:	About 1800, out of which 800 permanent
Budget:	516,470 NIS (2021)

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority (Hebrew: רשות הטבע והגנים, ; Arabic: سلطة الطبيعة والحدائق) is an Israeli government organization that manages nature reserves and national parks in Israel, the Golan Heights and parts of the West Bank. The organization was founded in April 1998, merging two organizations (The National Parks Authority and the Nature Reserves Authority) that had managed the nature reserves and national parks separately since 1964. The director of the Authority is Raya Shurki. The symbol of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is the ibex, a mountain goat similar to the antelope.^[1] One of the missions of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is enforcing Israeli wildlife protection laws.^[2]

Regions

As of 2015, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority was the overseer of 400 nature reserves and 81 national parks, covering over 20 percent of Israel’s land mass.^{[3] [4]} The coverage of the Authority has grown fairly rapidly. For example, in 2007 the Authority oversaw only 69 national parks and 190 nature reserves - a doubling of reserves in only 8 years.^[5]

All parks and nature reserves are divided into six regions:

• Golan Heights, Sea of Galilee, and Galilee
• Lower Galilee and their valleys
• Mount Carmel, the coast, and central Israel
• Judean Desert and The Dead Sea
• The Negev
• Eliat and the Arava

Criticism

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel has criticized decisions of the Nature and Parks Authority's policies on several occasions, claiming that they have harmed nature reserves in various ways.^{[6] [7] [8]} organization has also claimed that the Authority was harming animals.^[9]

In 2007, scientists and nature conservation organizations opposed the extension of CEO Eli Amitay's appointment for a second term, citing claims regarding the Authority's conservation policies during his first term, but the government approved the appointment nonetheless.^[10] In 2011, Minister of Environmental Protection Gilad Erdan sought to depose Amitay, claiming that he is acting against public interest. As a result, Amitay retired a year earlier than planned.^[11] In December of the same year, Shaul Goldstein, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council was appointed as CEO by a government committee.^[12]

In October 2017, the Authority came under public criticism when a visitor to Avshalom Cave observed that none of the instructional material in the cave contained an estimate of its age, and a local guide claimed that this was due to pressure by the ultra-Orthodox population, which was later confirmed by media outlets.^[13] After the affair, the authority announced that the material will be corrected and the CEO "called for an examination of all instructional material to ensure that it conforms to scientific truth".^[14]

Heads of Nature Reserves Authority

• , 1964–1965
• Avraham Yoffe, 1965–1978^[15]
• Adir Shapira,^[15] 1973–1981
• ,^[15] 1982–1990
• Dan Perry,^[15] 1990–1995
• , 1995–1997
• Aharon Vardi, 1997–1998

Heads of National Parks Authority

• Yaakov Yanai, 1964–1978
• Zvi Barzel, 1978–1984
• Mordechai Ben-Porat, 1984–1994
• Israel Gilad, 1994–1997
• Aharon Vardi, 1997^[16] –1998^[17]

Heads of the Nature and Parks Authority

• Aharon Vardi, 1998–2002^[18]
• Eli Amitay, 2002–2011^[19]
• Shaul Goldstein, 2011–2021^[20]
• Raya Shurki, 2022–^{[21] [22]}

See also

• List of national parks and nature reserves of Israel
• Tourism in Israel

External links

• Israel Nature & Parks Authority website
• Israel Nature & Parks Authority website
• Israel Nature & Parks Authority website

Notes and References

1. Book: 1001 Facts Everyone Should Know about Israel . 978-0-7425-4358-4 . Bard . Mitchell Geoffrey . Schwartz . Moshe . 2005 . Rowman & Littlefield .
2. Genetic characterization of populations of the golden jackal and the red fox in Israel . 10.1007/s10592-012-0423-1 . 2013 . Magory Cohen . Tali . King . Roni . Dolev . Amit . Boldo . Amitzur . Lichter-Peled . Anat . Kahila Bar-Gal . Gila . Conservation Genetics . 14 . 55–63 .
3. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-israel-declares-five-new-national-parks-and-nature-reserves-1.5489032 Israel Declares Five New National Parks and Nature Reserves
4. https://www.timesofisrael.com/where-the-golans-rivers-flow-into-the-sea-of-galilee/ Where the Golan’s rivers flow into the Sea of Galilee
5. Web site: Science-based conservation workshop . 2013-03-04 . 2013-09-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130926222804/http://biodiversity-group.huji.ac.il/SalitKark/sciencebasedconservationworkshopINPA.html . dead .
6. http://www.teva.org.il/?CategoryID=259&ArticleID=11147 Scandal: the Nature and Parks Authority is Selling Nature
7. https://www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/1/ART1/789/185.html Development or Neglect? The Struggle over the Development Program in HaBonim Beach
8. https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3588140,00.html Oil Drilling Approved in the "Judea Desert" Nature Reserve
9. http://10tv.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=88729 Does the Nature and Parks Authority Like Animals?
10. News: קדנציה נוספת למנהל רשות הטבע והגנים, למרות הביקורת . he . Haaretz . 2023-05-27.
11. https://www.glz.co.il/NewsArticle.aspx?NewsId=77928 Nature and Parks Authority CEO to Retire in July
12. News: ר' מועצת גוש עציון יהיה מנכ"ל רשות הטבע והגנים . he . Haaretz . 2023-05-27.
13. https://www.mako.co.il/news-israel/local-q4_2017/Article-60cd6d18b312f51004.htm The Cave Scandal: Respecting Haredi Feelings
14. https://www.facebook.com/IsraelNaturParks/posts/10155833298672899 On the Nature and Parks Authority's Facebook page
15. [Alon Tal]
16. Web site: מינוי מנהל רשות הגנים הלאומיים מספר החלטה 1787 . 2023-05-27 . GOV.IL . he.
17. Web site: מינוי מנהל רשות הגנים הלאומיים ושמורות הטבע מספר החלטה 3353 . 2023-05-27 . GOV.IL . he.
18. News: דראל . יעל . 2011-02-16 . ארדן שולח את מנכ"ל רשות הטבע והגנים הביתה . he . Ynet . 2023-05-27.
19. Web site: מינוי מנהל הרשות לשמירת הטבע והגנים הלאומיים מספר החלטה 3978 . 2023-05-27 . GOV.IL . he.
20. News: Dori . Oren . 2022-05-24 . חברת ניהול החשמל הממשלתית ממנה את שאול גולדשטיין למנכ"ל . Globes . 2023-05-27.
21. Web site: 2022-06-12 . הממשלה אישרה את מינויה של רעיה שורקי לתפקיד מנכ"לית רשות הטבע והגנים . 2023-05-27 . ערוץ 7 . he.
22. Web site: Surkes . Sue . Raya Shourky to become Israel Nature and Parks Authority permanent director . 2023-05-27 . www.timesofisrael.com . en-US.