Jerusalem Wilderness Site

    Jerusalem Wilderness Site extending from The Qadron Valley in the north, running through Al-Biqea’ah and Sa’eer Wilderness, reaching Bani- Nuiem in the south is an area rich with wildlife.  Located on the eastern slopes of the Jerusalem Mountain Ranges, which extend from Nablus in the north to Hebron in the south, the Jerusalem Wilderness falls under the Irano-Turanian climate system, with a mountainous desert habitat.  The Wilderness also extends east from areas within both the Bethlehem and Hebron Districts towards the shores of the Dead Sea.  Although if compared to other climate and habitat systems in the world, the Jerusalem Wilderness(Judean Desert), which is defined by semi-desert climate and habitat, does not enjoy such a high level of resident biodiversity.  However, given its unique location biogeographically, the Jerusalem Wilderness serves as one of the most important bird areas in the Western Palearctic. That is according to Birdlife Criteria in IBA desidnationsuch as, the threatened species that is contains, sites important for bird conservation mbecasue of their value for education, research or tourism, sites where birds concentrate in important numbers, either when breeding, or on passage or in winter, and many other criteria, as well as this is due to its location on the major migration route of many bird species during the year  (The majority of the survey data should be obtained during the Spring and Fall as these seasons show an elevated bird activity). 

     Furthermore, the Jerusalem Wilderness represents the southern most boundaries of many bird species, which are winter visitors, summer visitors, as well as local resident species.
    The need to protect the Jerusalem Wilderness area is evident as it serves as habitat and refuge for, not only the migratory and resident birds in Palestine, but also a major portion of the Eastern European and Central Asian bird populations.  Moreover, the wealth of this area, in terms of its wildlife, could be used for the benefit of the local people through employing Nature Conservation “tools” such as International and Regional Ecotourism which has proven to raise public awareness through linking Nature Protection and Economic gain for the local people. There is a need here to mention that the land there is agriculturally used, where local people plant fruits, vegetables that seems useful for them in their daily life, the land also is used for grazing by the livestock owners in that area, this is considered their income to live on, where people depends on them to continue living and practice their work. But this created a problem from over grazing and pesticide use (mentioned later in the proposal) and many other, that in return became a threat to human life it self in the area. This project is to enforce the idea of controlling the grazing phenomena, by planting lands with the graze used for this, control hunting in the area and many other legislation. Conducting awareness lectures, train people to watch and educate the others on how to do this (TOT), regulate hunting and grazing and, of course, land and wildlife conservation, can do this. 
     We propose that the PWL'S, with its staff of experienced Naturalists, conduct a Fauna and Flora Survey in order to obtain, first, a comprehensive list of species and a preliminary species abundance marker; second, to formulate a clear and updated idea of the dangers the Jerusalem Wilderness and its inhabitant wildlife face. This will build on the international capacity of Birdlife Middle east to develop action plan. Hence, it is essential to mention here that Palestine Wildlife Society has an affiliation with Birdlife International on the above concept since the year 1999 and holding a good  working and growing relationship. It is expected through this initiative an enhanced cooperation and partnership with Birdlife will be furthered.

Project objectives:

This project aims at protecting Palestinian diversity, and link conservation with other social, economic and cultural factors. It specifically aims to:

     IV-1.  Develop an Action Plan which targets issues such as Overgrazing, Pesticide use, Eco-tourism, Uncontrolled Hunting, and Military Activity. Endorsement by Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture/ PNA of this plan will be seeked.

      IV-2 Obtaining a Species List and Population Estimates for- Plants - Mammals- Birds . Thus, the methodology proposed is to follow a Line Transect and Point Count monitoring scheme concentrating on Habitats and Ecosystems important to birds and other wildlife. This scheme will be sufficient to achieve the desired results.

GENERAL INFORMATION
 

LOCATION                                                                                                  

Site name: Jerusalem Wilderness

District: Hebron/Bethlehem

Local Planning Authority: Palestinian National Authority

Area: 150 square kilometer

Supported by: USAID through ANERA-Jerusalem

Click here for further Data on : Flora - Birds - other Fauna.

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Last modified: Friday, 25 April 2008