Northern Israel suffered some of the most severe ecological damage in decades. More than 200,000 dunams (50,000 acres) burned — three times the annual average — destroying Mediterranean forests, stream corridors, wetlands, and rare habitats on Mount Hermon, one of the most biodiverse places in the country.

Military activity deepened the damage: heavy vehicles cut new routes through sensitive areas, soils were disrupted, waste accumulated, and key wildlife corridors were fragmented, making it harder for species to survive and move through the landscape.

At the request of the Joint (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee), SPNI is leading the North’s ecological recovery. SPNI is leading the coordinated ecological recovery of Northern Israel. Our team is mapping all war-related damage, identifying priority sites across the Golan, Hula Valley, Galilee Panhandle, Upper Galilee, and Western Galilee, and bringing national and regional experts together to guide the process. We are working closely with INPA, JNF, drainage authorities, and local municipalities and communities to develop a unified restoration roadmap that will be presented to the Israeli government.

Our effort ensures that nature is not sidelined in the region’s recovery and that the North’s most important ecosystems receive the attention they urgently need.

SPNI’s restoration plans for the North focus on reversing the ecological damage caused by the war and strengthening the long-term health of the region’s landscapes. This includes restoring burned forests and damaged streambeds, bringing abandoned fishponds back to life as functioning wetlands, and reviving the springs and natural water systems that anchor the region’s biodiversity. We are also repairing habitat connectivity between mountain, valley, and coastal ecosystems so wildlife can move safely across the landscape. In parallel, we are working with local northern communities to support nature-based recovery and reopen nature-tourism opportunities that were disrupted by the conflict.

The Western Negev endured extensive ecological damage in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks and the necessary IDF operations that followed. As the IDF mobilized to defend Israel’s southern communities, large areas of open landscape became staging zones for heavy machinery, armored vehicles, and emergency access routes. These essential military movements disrupted the region’s delicate balance of soil, vegetation, dunes, and desert streambeds, leaving scars across ecosystems that were already fragile long before the war.

The war further degraded loess plains, lithified sand dunes, and ephemeral wadis—habitats home to rare desert species and critical ecological corridors. At the same time, the region’s rural communities, already traumatized by the 10/7 attack, now face the added burden of environmental damage, economic pressure, and a long recovery ahead. The combined impact of the attack and the defensive operations has intensified pressures on the Western Negev’s already fragile ecosystems, making intentional restoration not only urgent but essential.

SPNI is leading the Western Negev’s ecological recovery in partnership with the Western Negev Authority Cluster. Unlike other development groups that asked local leaders to travel to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and other central locations, SPNI was the first organization to go directly to the Western Negev to meet with the Cluster’s leaders, demonstrating respect for the region and a genuine commitment to building this recovery together, shaping the restoration process through their needs, their dreams, and their lived experience.

Together with the local communities, we are developing a comprehensive Regional Master Plan for Open Landscape Management—the first unified ecological planning framework ever created for this region. This plan serves as the blueprint for restoring damaged habitats, strengthening ecological corridors, and guiding responsible land use in the years ahead. SPNI’s team is identifying and prioritizing degraded areas, shaping an ecological strategy that integrates habitat rehabilitation with sustainable agriculture and future development, and weaving ecological values into every stage of the region’s recovery. Because SPNI is recognized nationwide for its ecological expertise, our leadership ensures nature is part of Israel’s rebuilding process, not an afterthought.

Restoration in the Western Negev means repairing desert ecosystems that are both fragile and vital. SPNI is working to rehabilitate damaged dune systems, rebuild loess soils affected by heavy machinery and other damage, and restore streambeds and wadis that were impacted by the war. These efforts will re-establish the ecological corridors that allow wildlife—from gazelles to desert reptiles to migratory birds—to move safely through the region. Restoration also means creating healthier, more resilient landscapes for the communities who depend on them, weaving nature-based solutions into agricultural recovery and regional planning. Through careful ecological assessment, long-term planning, and collaboration with local partners, SPNI is helping the Western Negev move toward a future where its people and its ecosystems can flourish again