Eilat cleans up its coast in bid to save coral reef

Eilat municipality recently completed a coastal cleanup operation, evacuating all buildings and clearing tons of waste and debris from the Red Sea coastline.

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The operation, which began a year and a half ago in collaboration with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, set out to improve the bathing experience for visitors at the beach and save the coastline's underwater ecosystem.

Eilat coastline before the cleanup (צילום: חן טופקייאן, רשות הטבע והגנים)

The 2-kilometer coastal strip is very ecologically sensitive due to the presence of the coral reef just meters from the coastline.

Eilat coastline after the cleanup (צילום: חן טופקייאן, רשות הטבע והגנים)

Assaf Habary from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority says the massive human presence at the beach was detrimental to the coast's ecosystem.

Eilat coastline before the cleanup (צילום: עמרי עומסי, רשות הטבע והגנים)

"Unlike other places around the world, Eilat's coral reef is located only a few feet from the coastline and is very shallow," says Habary. 

Eilat coastline after the cleanup (צילום: חן טופקייאן, רשות הטבע והגנים)

"Any change on the beach affects it negatively," he says. "The cleanup takes the pressure off the ecosystem." 

The coral reef in Eilat (צילום: עמרי יוסף, רשות הטבע והגנים)

For years, the southern coastal strip in Eilat has been intolerably crowded.

Tens of thousands of visitors frequented the beach strip, parking caravans, setting up tents and some even building houses on the coastline and renting them out.

Parking vehicles along the beach is no longer allowed and offenders will be fined and removed immediately. However, bathing is still allowed.