When the Bedouins in Israel changed their nomadic lifestyle and moved from living in tents to the towns and communities set up for them by the state, their society underwent a dramatic change.
Today they lead a modern lifestyle and are an integral part of consumerism. As such, the ecological footprint of these desert people has also transformed.
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| Negev's Bedouins tired of empty promises / Ilana Curiel |
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Residents of dozens of unrecognized Bedouin villages in southern Israel unimpressed by government's repeated promises to amend infrastructural neglect plaguing their communities |
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The Bedouin town of Rahat produces 1,000 tons of waste each month. The town is riddled with illegal landfills, and problems with garbage removal create sanitation hazards.
For years locals used to throw out junk to the street, the industrial area or open fields in the town's outskirts. Due to cutbacks, the garbage was only collected three times a week.
A Central Bureau of Statistics survey from 2007 found that 86% of Rahat's residents were displeased with the level of cleanliness in their area. But the town's officials did not know how to increase the resident's awareness to environmental issues.
A plan initiated by Rahat official Ahmed Amrani, head of the mayor's bureau, and Professor Alon Tal of the Department of Desert Ecology at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba, aims to change all that.
When Tal realized the great potential for change in the city, he assigned his students with formulating a comprehensive plan for improving the environmental situation in Rahat.
The plan was presented to the town at the local cultural center this week, and local officials said they have already started raising money for its implementation in the near future.
"The plan focuses on waste management, open public areas, setting up environmental enforcement units, restoring the nearby Gerar stream and ecological education," explained Tal.
While working on the plan, the students encountered several challenges that are unique to the town. For instance, they found out that during family festivities large quantities of soft drink bottles are thrown out.
They used the tribal character of the town for promoting campaigns to recycle plastic bottles and setting up regional collection points.
"We are avid supporters of the environment and I am very much interested to promote this subject," said Mayor Faiz Abu Sahiban. "I talked about it in the mosques and distributed leaflets to the residents. I understand the importance of protecting the environment, but the local authority cannot do it by itself; we need the cooperation of the government ministries."
His bureau chief Amrani added that the residents wanted to lead a greener lifestyle, but never had the chance to do so. "We don't have recycling bins and there's not one park in town… Rahat should set an example for the rest of the Bedouin communities in the area," he said.
"We hope that these new plans will lead the way for Rahat to become the first green Bedouin town in Israel."
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