Israel launches into offshore conservation with its first national marine park

Ancient-rich waters off Caesarea coast to become first-ever national park offshore of Israel, the Israeli authorities announced on Monday, with the creation of five new protected areas for nature and heritage.

The inauguration of this very first national marine park in Israel was accompanied by the decision of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Planning Authority to significantly expand the Evtach marine reserve, off the coast of Ashdod and Ashkelon, on the southern coast, a clear sign of awareness of the importance of the sea, a natural treasure and archaeological site worthy of protection.

The creation of the Caesarea National Marine Park is mainly intended to protect the antiquities of what was the port of Caesarea, today submerged. The park extends out to sea from the land-based Caesarea National Park in north-central Israel, with its magnificent Roman remains.

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“What makes this new marine national park unique is that for the first time in Israel, the heritage and natural wonders located below sea level will be accessible to the general public,” said by channel said the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

“Now that the park has been created, the Authority will ensure that it is accessible to the general public, through diving, swimming or snorkeling. »

Unlike nature reserves, which mainly focus on the conservation of flora and fauna, national parks protect historical and archaeological heritage and serve as outdoor recreational spaces for the greatest number of people.

The Evrach reserve, the very first protection zone offshore of Israel upon its creation in 2022, expands by 6,700 hectares in the Mediterranean.

Until now, the reserve extended out to sea up to almost 300 meters from the coast, to the west, for a maximum depth of around five meters. Now it extends up to seven kilometers from the coast with a maximum depth of around 39 meters.

This reserve is home to sandy and rocky seabeds rich in diverse species of fauna and flora as well as important marine species, starting with the common dolphin.

On dry land

In southern Israel, 1,329 hectares of land located within the Great Ramon Crater will now be at the heart of the Ramon Crater Nature Reserve and National Park. This declaration is the final step in the implementation of a government decision intended to protect the entire crater and convert it to tourism.

This area was once a place of mining, quarries and industrial activities linked to raw materials. It does not include the land located in the crater, which falls under the local council of Mitzpe Ramon, which has reversed its controversial project to build a concert hall.

Sharon National Park in Hadera, central Israel, covers 166 hectares and includes beaches, Kurkar ridges (fossilized sand) with typical, endemic and rare plant species, stabilized and semi-natural sands. -stabilized, winter ponds and a coastal forest park (open forest) – the only one of its type in Israel. There are Tabor oaks and carob trees, mastic bushes, white broom and artemesia.

It is the largest natural area in the heavily populated Sharon region, intended to protect two of the region’s rarest, most important and diverse habitats.

Covering an area of ​​23 hectares, the pond forest nature reserve, still in Hadera, aims to protect one of the very last seasonal ponds – winter in this case.

At the start of the last century, Israel’s coastal plain was dotted with thousands of winter ponds, from Nahariya in the north to the Gaza Strip in the south. They provided habitat for specific flora and fauna and stopping points for the millions of birds that fly over the country during migrations.

They absorbed excess precipitation, which helped prevent flooding, and filtered water before it seeped into the earth.

Today, there are only a few dozen ponds left due to construction and drainage. This particular being is the largest and richest in the entire region.