First conference held in Israel on helping Arab communities adapt to climate change

Around 100 people from the Environmental Protection Ministry, local authorities, academia, and civil society took part in the first conference of its kind on adaptation to climate change in Israel’s Arab sector.

The confab, held in the northern city of Shfaram, was organized by the Open University’s Environment and Sustainability Research Center.

The center presented research carried out in three authorities with different characteristics and challenges — Shfaram and Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel and the Bedouin city of Rahat in the south.

The studies find that the coronavirus pandemic ushered in local volunteer networks and community initiatives and resulted in tools for better communication between authorities and residents.

They state that local officials are aware of fires, floods, and other consequences of climate change and have prepared plans to deal with them.

But they reveal gaps between planning and implementation, community involvement that is still far too low, and insufficient budgets to implement necessary changes.

The studies’ recommendations include translating climate crisis management plans into operational ones, clarifying the division of powers between local and central government, especially regarding emergency events, educating and empowering the community, creating neighborhood committees and skilled neighborhood rescue and rescue teams, and increasing budgets to train employees and volunteers in emergency management.

Umm al-Fahm Mayor Samir Subhu Mahamid says climate awareness is too low in Arab society, adding, “Everything starts with education.”

Israel has 85 Arab local authorities, of which 90% belong to the lowest four socioeconomic categories. They face planning, financial, political and social problems, and high levels of violence and crime.