The IUCN-World Conservation Union recently named Israel the nation with the highest percentage of preserved land in the Mediterranean region. According to the IUCN, Israel has set aside 16 percent of its land to protect nature. In contrast, Spain preserves 7.7 percent of its natural territory, France protects 11.7 percent and Lebanon - 0.5 percent.

Preserved land is defined as land in which there is no construction and is used as nature preserves, national parks, agricultural areas and forests. Israel's position as a front-runner on this list attests to its success in allocating significant portions of land to protect nature and the landscape.

The IUCN failed to mention, however, that a major portion of the Israeli open space which was included in the organization's survey is also used in military training exercises. Many nature preserves, and particularly those in the Negev, like the Holot Agur dunes, Tze'elim, Har Hanegev and the Eilat Mountains, are also used as Israel Defense Forces training areas. Military activity in these areas impacts nature, but most of the damage is minimal due to a unique agreement between the IDF and the Israel Nature & National Parks Protection Authority (INNPPA).

The IUCN survey paints a disturbing picture of the state of conservation in Mediterranean nations. The organization cites the accelerated pace of extinction of species, some of which only exist in this part of the world. Despite increased land allocation to nature preservation in the Mediterranean Basin in recent years, the general trend, in which animal and plant species in the region are becoming extinct, has not been halted. Moreover, two-thirds of marine mammal species, a fourth of amphibian species, nearly half of the shark species, more than half of the fresh-water fish species, and more than 10 percent of the reptile species, in the region, appear on the endangered list...