In the framework of the concept of sustainable development, this document broaches the idea of afforestation in the "spirit of place"; i.e., afforestation that suits the assets and attributes of each individual site, fits in with and enhances its natural resources and contributes to its uniqueness and identity. NOP 22 effected essential change in the land uses of Israel's open spaces.
The document presents a thorough review of the major master plans drawn up and approved in the period since the original time of approval of NOP 22, and the latter's place in these new plans. In gist and word, NOP 22 has apparently been assimilated by all the plans: Primarily by NOP 35, the integrated national master plan by a series of regional master plans submitted and partially approved in this period and by hundreds of local plans all over the country. Moreover, the new plans did not subtract from the lands of NOP 22; on the contrary, many added to them, thereby increasing the area of forests and woodlands protected in Israel.
In the years since NOP 22's approval, sustainable development became a key concept for planners in Israel and around the world. This approach was weighed with respect to the forestry system and amplified. To adopt and foster approaches of sustainable afforestation means: "Managing and utilizing forests in a manner and to a degree that protect and sustain the biological diversity productivity, regeneration, vitality, and potential of forests to fill ecological, economic and social functions without causing harm to other ecosystems."