Forest Policy in Israel – From Creation of Forest Plantations to Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems

Abstract

Afforestation in Israel began in the 1930s. During the first few decades it was characterized by dense, monospecific conifer plantations based mainly on the native Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.). The major objectives of this enterprise, in its early stages, were protecting public land, providing employment and improving the landscape to encourage settlement. Aiming to overcome major deficiencies that were identified along the way, modifications in forest management policy were adopted in 1990 as part of a new management policy (the 1990 policy). These changes included the following: using primarily native broad-leaved species instead of conifers for afforestation, increasing thinning intensities to avoid overstocking of conifer stands and promoting natural regeneration for the development of uneven-aged, mixed conifer-broadleaved forests. Since the 1990s, a gradual development of forestry concepts in Israel has led to the embracing of a new Forest Management Policy (IFMP–2014). The IFMP furnished a professional basis for managing Israel’s forests in a goal-oriented and sustainable fashion. It defined the relevant forestry goals in Israel, the various forest types, and the planning and management principles to be employed in them. The IFMP reflects conceptual changes in the approach of forest management in Israel with four major trends, which represent the essence of this change: (1) From forest establishment to forest management, (2) From forest condition to forest goals, (3) From trees to ecosystems, and (4) From maximal control to rational intervention. Following the embracement of the IFMP, a process of long-term forest planning was initiated. In this process, forestlands are divided into landscape units according to seven different land-use designations (valid for 25 years). Based on the land-use designation and current forest condition, management units are defined for which multi-year work plans are constructed (valid for 10 years). These plans define the desired vegetation formation (target forest structure), management principles and treatment priority for each unit. The IFMP provides a novel, real-world approach for the sustainable management of forests with the aim of providing a variety of ecosystem services. This is done by implementing a structured process bridging between holistic sets of goals defined for broad forest areas and specific work plans which are executed at the individual management-unit scale. We argue that this approach is relevant for a variety of forest types throughout the world.