During a special ceremony attended by the Ambassador of Greece to the State of Israel, H.E. Kyriakos Loukakis and Greece's Secretary General for Forests, Prof. Konstantinos Aravossis, as well as senior KKL-JNF management, executives marked the successful acclimatization of the Greek Aleppo pine as an important means of coping with the deadly pest MatsucoccusJosephi. As part of the emotional ceremony, all parties unveiled a plaque in the North of Israel that tells the story of the collaboration between them.
During the Secretary General for Forest’s visit to Israel, discussions on Mediterranean issues took place on how to combine efforts pertaining to sustainable forestry management for climate resilience, adaptation of international commitments to regional conditions, and further cooperation in the achievement of sustainable development objectives, as Israel and Greece share similar climate challenges.
The successful partnership started in 1983, 40 years ago, when a phenomenon of extensive degeneration of the Jerusalem pine forests began. Following a report published by KKL-JNF, it was concluded that the Matsucoccusjosephi was the cause of the odd degeneration. A study by KKL-JNF revealed that the Greek subspecies of the Jerusalem pine was resistant to the aphid. Soon enough, thanks to a joint venture organized by the Greek Forestry Service (Ministry of Environment & Energy), and the Volcani Institute, seeds were transported from Greece to Israel and were planted in five plots across the country, but it wasn’t until 1994 that extensive planting of this species began. So far, over 1,220,000 Greek Jerusalem pine seedlings have been planted in KKL-JNF forests.
Agronomist Aviv Eisenband, Director of KKL-JNF's Forestry and Professional Development Department: "Marking 40 years of the joint and unique project carried out by KKL-JNF together with the Greek Forestry Service, with its core being theacclimatization of the Jerusalem pine Greek ecotype, we are happy to continue the fruitful forestry cooperation between the two neighboring countries in the Mediterranean basin. We see Greece as a partner to local forestry and environmental challenges, as it facessimilar effects of climate change in our region."