Environment Watch: Ten reasons to preserve the Kishon

A new ecological survey has identified 10 rare species of plants in the river's estuary.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
kishon 88 224 (photo credit: )
kishon 88 224
(photo credit: )
A new ecological survey has identified 10 rare species of plants in the river's estuary. An ecological survey by the Kishon River Authority has found a "wealth" of invertebrates and 10 species of rare plants in the river's estuary, reports Yediot Haifa. The findings were displayed at the WATEC international water and environmental technology fair in Tel Aviv last week, and led the authority to say that they provide all the more reason to preserve the unique environment around the river. According to the report, two ecological experts, Professors Avital Gazit and Yaron Hershkovitz, conducted the survey on behalf of the Kishon River Authority. They found five times as many invertebrates in the estuary as there are along the river itself, and listed 530 species of plants - 10 of them rare. Two of the species had been thought to be extinct, and the report said it seems this part of the river is the last place in Israel in which they can now be found. Authority manager Sharon Nissim said that even though Israel's population is growing and natural resources are shrinking, it is important to preserve the unique environment around the river from "developmental pressures." She said this would benefit the public now and in future generations. As part of this, the authority last week signed an agreement to allow pedestrian and bicycle paths to be paved along river. The work, a joint project of the authority, the Jewish National Fund and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, will begin this year in the Yagur area. "As we promised, we are returning the Kishon to residents," an authority spokesman said.