The process of formulating a sustainable development strategy in Israel was influenced by international and national factors, foremost among which was the 1992 Earth Summit and Agenda 21. Within Israel, several studies set the scene for anticipating future developments, particularly the masterplan for the 21st century - Israel 2020 which reviewed the issues likely to influence long-term development policy and proposed ways towards building a sustainable development strategy. These initial ideas were then compiled in a preliminary policy paper which proposed directions towards sustainable development for industry, energy, tourism and open spaces. The document was published and disseminated by the Ministry of the Environment in 1996 as a first step toward introducing the concept of sustainable development into government discussions.
The next critical step on the road toward sustainable development began in 1996 when a Coastal Areas Management Programme (CAMP) was signed between Israel and the Mediterranean Action Plan. Its primary objective was to propose a sustainable development strategy for Israel. The program identified three goals which are common to all of the prevalent definitions of sustainable development: intergenerational equity, intragenerational equity and economic growth. Furthermore, it saw the preparation of sustainable development documents on industry, energy, tourism, transportation, agriculture, the urban sector and biodiversity, prepared through a process of consensus-building.
On the basis of the work of the sectorial teams, several targets were defined which indicate commonly accepted primary directions:
- Internalization of externalities by means of realistic pricing;
- Conservation of land, water and energy resources;
- Development of technologies to minimize or prevent environmental damages;
- Improvement in urban quality of life;
- Increase in public awareness and participation;
- Protection of weak communities and expansion of the circle of opportunities open to them.
The documents themselves were published in Hebrew by the Ministry of the Environment in 2002 and formed the basis for Israel’s preparations for the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development - the next step on the sustainability road. In fact, the Johannesburg Summit catalyzed a wide range of activities in Israel with the aim of spreading the message of sustainable development. Among myriad activities, Israel prepared a review and assessment of its implementation of Agenda 21 for the UN Committee responsible for the Summit, initiated Local Agenda 21 projects in several municipalities throughout the country, launched 33 community projects and provided support to non-governmental organizations for sustainability projects.
On May 14, 2003, another important breakthrough occurred in the form of a government decision which determined, inter alia, that the policy of the Government of Israel will be based on the principles of sustainable development, that the government will promote the Plan of Implementation which was adopted at the Johannesburg World Summit and that each government ministry will draft a strategic plan for sustainable development which will relate to the period up to 2020 and will be updated every three years.
On August 30, 2004, one more important step was added: presentation of the first report on the implementation of the government decision on sustainable development. To date, all government ministries have completed the initial stage of mapping and identifying those activities that are expected to promote the assimilation of sustainable development practices and some, namely the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, have actually formulated their initial strategies.
Israel strongly believes that the road to sustainable development would best be paved with the aid of the driving forces of the economy, namely those ministries with a major impact on the country’s economy. Hopefully, the reorientation process which has been initiated by these ministries will go a long way toward advancing the goals of sustainable development.
Additional ministries are now in the process of preparing their own strategies and it is expected that a second progress report on the implementation of the government decision will be prepared towards the end of the year. Meanwhile, however, all ministries have adopted the language of sustainable development. All are gradually moving forward on the path set at Rio in 1992 and Johannesburg in 2002 - the path toward sustainability.
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