A delegation from Kenya arrived for a visit in Israel to learn about KKL-JNF’s work and to sign a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between KKL-JNF and Kenya. The Kenyan delegation was headed by the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Professor Judy Wakhungu. During her visit to the Negev, which took place on June 26, the Minister noted that she was certain “that we will be able to put the knowledge that KKL-JNF has acquired to very good use.”
“Cooperation between different countries in essential for coping with the challenges of protecting the environment,” said Minister Wakhungu during her visit to the Negev. “There is not one country that has all the knowledge, so we must learn from each other.”
The three-day visit included the Bird-watching Center in Jerusalem, the Sorek Desalination Plant and the Ariel Sharon Park on the first day. On the second day, the guests visited the land rehabilitation project in Moshav Sde Tzvi, Yatir Forest, the Tifrah water reservoir and the Gilat Tree Nursery. On the third day, a memorandum of understanding was signed for promoting the exchange of professional delegations between KKL-JNF and the Kenyan Forest Service. As part of the cooperation agreement, KKL-JNF will assist Kenya in acquiring knowledge and technology for afforesting arid regions and harvesting runoff water.
The visit to the Northern Negev began at Moshav Sde Tzvi, where KKL-JNF rehabilitated an area damaged by erosion and garbage that was dumped there. KKL-JNF Southern Region Deputy Director Itzik Moshe explained: “Instead of removing the garbage, which would have been very expensive, we used it to create dams for harvesting rainwater and stopping erosion. The dams allow us to take maximum advantage of the rainwater, so we can plant a fruit tree plantation without a need for irrigation. This simple and inexpensive solution enabled us to transform a problem into a solution. Cooperation with the local community was the key to success.”
From there the delegation continued to Yatir Forest, which is located to the northeast of Beersheba, covers an area of 7,500 acres, and has over four million trees. This is the largest planted forest in the Middle East. KKL-JNF began planting the forest in the 1960s. In the past, pine trees were usually planted, but today the emphasis is on local species and taking the totality of ecological services that the forest provides into account.
Itzik Moshe noted that the runoff harvesting methods developed by KKL-JNF foresters including limans, ridges and dams, contribute towards collecting floodwater, preventing erosion, making it possible for forests to survive in the dry desert region and helping to combat desertification.
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Minister Wakhungu was very impressed: “This is a very inexpensive and simple way to trap water that makes it possible for forests to exist in regions with 300 mm annual rainfall. About 70% of Kenya’s landmass is arid or semi-arid. We will work to implement KKL-JNF technologies in Kenya.”
Emilio Mugo, Kenyan Chief Conservator of Forests, was also very interested in afforestation in desert regions. “Considering the amount of precipitation, it is very impressive that you manage to grow forests here. There is no doubt that this is a serious challenge. We learned about some simple and sustainable technologies here, and we look forward to deepening our cooperation with KKL-JNF.”
It was a hot day, so the delegation stopped to rest at the Educational Field Center at Yatir Forest. The participants had a view of the forest vistas from the observation roof and tasted local wine produced from grapes grown in local vineyards.
The next stop was the Tifrah water reservoir, which was built with the support of friends of KKL-JNF in Australia. Itzik Moshe told the members of the delegation that developing water sources in the Negev is one of the greatest challenges that KKL-JNF faces. It does so by building reservoirs and sewage purification plants, which provide water to farmers for irrigating their fields. The Tifrah reservoir, which is located north of Moshav Gilat and has a storage capacity of 2 million cubic meters of water, serves Beersheva, Ofakim and other local communities.
Before water flows into Tifrah reservoir, it is treated and purified at the adjacent Arye Pools. Thanks to the high-quality water that the reservoir supplies, local farmers are no longer limited to growing cotton and cattle feed, but are able to grow all agricultural crops, including fruits and vegetables for human consumption. Besides agricultural use, the purified water is used to irrigate gardens and public parks.
Using recycled water has a number of advantages, primarily increasing the water supply and lessening the usage of drinking water for irrigating fields. Recycled water is much cheaper than freshwater, which helps farmers to make a profit. Thanks to the reservoirs, it became possible to till fields that had been abandoned years ago due to a lack of water allocations. There is also a significant contribution to the environment, since the aquifer and earth are no longer polluted by sewage channeled into streams, which was previously a common occurrence.
The current visit was not Minister Wakhungu’s first visit to Israel. She was here a few years ago as a tourist. “Every visit to Israel is an exciting experience,” she said. “The opportunity to visit sites that are mentioned in the Bible and were preserved for thousands of years gives one a very special feeling.”
The day ended at the KKL-JNF tree nursery at Gilat, where the guests were impressed by the variety of trees and bushes. About 800,000 seedlings from 300 species are grown here annually. Nursery Director Pablo Cherkeskey described the stages that a plant goes through – gathering the seed in the forest, growing it in the nursery, and finally planting it in a forest, park or garden. Most forest plants are prorogated by sprouting seeds, while plants for landscaping are usually propagated by rooting cuttings. Some of the seeds must be refrigerated, soaked and treated by other mechanical means in order to increase the percentage of seed sprouting.
Sprouting happens in a container where humidity and temperature are controlled by computer. The seeds are fumigated and placed in trays and afterwards grown in a greenhouse with an irrigation system. The cuttings take root on heated tables and are then transferred to shaded growing containers where they are watered by drip irrigation or sprinklers. When the seedlings are big enough, they are moved for planting at sites throughout the Negev.
The computerized irrigation system for watering the nursery’s plants was installed thanks to a contribution of friends of KKL-JNF from Germany. It is controlled by a computer that determines the exact amounts of water and fertilizer for each plant. A water recycling system collects irrigation surplus, and then recycles the water to areas where mature trees grow. This saves about 30,000 cubic meters of water that used to flow into the streambed and were wasted every year.
“KKL-JNF is doing incredible work, and is successfully transforming the desert into a forest,” Minister Wakhungu said at the end of a fascinating day. “I am certain that we will be able to put the knowledge that KKL-JNF has amassed to very good use.”