Israeli Green Police Volunteers Take Environmental Offenders to Task
By Eli Ashkenazi
Haaretz.com
Originally Published Online: November 20, 2007

A truck driver who had just loaded up his rig with sewage from some Upper Galilee villages and was about to empty it into the Jordan River was surprised when three Israeli Border Police volunteers shouted at him to stop. The three ordered him to pay a fine and gave him a summons to appear in court for violating the environmental protection laws.

"There are people who have become accustomed to damaging the environment with impunity," says Major Boaz Bornstein, commander of the uniformed Border Police volunteers known by their Hebrew acronym, Matmidim. "I hope that from now on they will not succeed."

Thirty of the 120 Matmidim operating in the Upper Galilee were authorized last Thursday to begin enforcing environmental protection laws in the that region. This is the first and only project of its kind in the country, in which volunteers in uniform can actually impose fines and enforce cleanliness and noise-prevention regulations, and the Wildlife Protection Law.

The project was initiated by the Upper Galilee Regional Council, in conjunction with the local community policing unit of the Border Police. The 30 volunteers passed a 30-hour course sponsored by the Environmental Protection Ministry, that included the study of environmental protection laws and training as Jewish National Fund (JNF) inspectors who defend protected trees from damage, and as inspectors for the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, who prevent illegal hunting.

Bornstein believes that the volunteers will significantly increase his force's strength. "In the entire Golan, Upper Galilee and Western Galilee region," he explains, "there is only one 'Green Patrol' policeman and one JNF inspector. Now there are 6 more uniformed personnel on weekends and another 3 inspectors working every night."

Matmidim's main task is to stop the spate of agriculturally related thefts in the area and to assist in guarding and security operations.

"We managed to reduce the agricultural crime and were partly occupied on that front," says Bornstein, "but at the same time we detected a growing trend in environmental damage and extreme vandalism: Benches were torched, trees uprooted, sculptures smashed and a slew of other types of damage was detected."

In addition to this, Bornstein says there has been an increase in damage in open areas, such as farmers burning pruning waste mixed with plastic, dumping of garbage in unauthorized locations, uprooting of trees and illegal hunting.

"Now, in addition to wearing a Border Police uniform and carrying a rifle," continues Bornstein, "every volunteer is also armed with a file containing the environmental protection laws and a booklet of violation tickets. Our operations are another layer in the protection of the environment. I hope that our very presence in the field will be a deterrent and will reduce the extent of the violations."

"This is a pilot project," says Major Dror Yaakoby, who planned the course for the Matmidim, "so the considerable response surprised us. All the Matmidim completed the course and know the details of the law and how to respond in every situation. I am sure that the moment we begin enforcing [the regulations], the quality of life of the residents of this area will improve and we will be able to control the environmental offenders more easily."

"This is one more step that we are taking in order to reduce the damage to nature," adds Upper Galilee Regional Council chairman Aharon Valenci.

"We are working on this via education, information campaigns, planning and so on. We are working with the farmers and with tourism people, and now we have another tool that enables us to act against people who do damage to the streams that feed into the Jordan and against the various polluters. This is an important part of the activity in this region that is done for the sake of a better future for our children."