Coastal resources management in Israel

This paper explores the management of coastal resources in two regions of Israel: the urbanized area of metropolitan Haifa and the rural coastal belt between Atlit and Hadera. Development pressures on the coastal resources are enormous as a result of population growth and the density of population in the coastal belt. Major non-sustainable uses in the coast are residences for the affluent, which are built under the pretense that they are designated for recreation and tourism. The legal and planning system weaknesses do not provide a sufficient safeguard for the threatened coastal resources.