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Plus, I arranged the field trips for the students to many different areas in Palestine. I started my
work at the University in 1979 and left there in 1992. During that time, I studied Biology also
and in England in 1982. While studying Biology, I discovered photography.
I love nature, walking nature trails, and photography. All three in one!
organization do?
Imad Al Atrash: It is similar to the National Audubon Society but in nature conservation. I
trained here in 1996 by the Quebec-Labrador Foundation/Atlantic Center for the Environment
(QLF) which is located in Ipswich, Massachusetts and I learned one word before I established
my organization. I worked there in conservation education and following up in my work in
nature conservation for flora and fauna starting with data collecting, through mobile and smart
phone.
Lukas Padegimas: So advanced!
Imad Al Atrash: I can teach you now. It is called, Observation International or ObsMapp.
I learned conservation starting with that collection and started working on the regional Action
Plans with Bird Life International and Important Bird Areas (IBAs). I started five IBAs in
Palestine out of fifteen in the region under the auspices of Bird Life International. For that
collection and up to the Action Plan for the site, we organized it as Habitats, Species and Site.
Now, we have a program to protect threatened global species, which is in Europe and Africa but
not in the United States to protect the Lesser Kestrel, smaller than the American Kestrel but in
the same family.
The Palestine Wildlife Society is about nature conservation. We focus on empowering people,
environmental sustainability, and for example, we do Biogas. I dont know if you heard about it,
using animal manure.
an easier life for them and they agreed but they opened their eyes on me, if I would succeed or
not.
Now, we have about one hundred and sixty-five digestive systems working back home
supplying daily hot water and cooking food using biogas and it cost you nothing.
Lukas Padegimas: Wow. So, its fueled by the manure? Wow. Isnt that crazy?
Imad Al Atrash: Yeah, it is a little bit crazy!
Lukas Padegimas: In a nomadic society, the Bedouins go on living a way of life for thousands
and thousands of years and all of a sudden, heres the twenty-first century using manure to
power things!
Imad Al Atrash: Its an easy way for them with small daily efforts to bring only the manure
inside the water tank and thats it. The gas will come to the lady in the kitchen - easy come,
easy go. No complicated issues.
And also we trained younger generation facilitators from the University and relocated among
the families. So there is no need for me to travel from district to district to address issues. The
families can manage and maintain their system all year round. This is an example of the type of
sustainable work we do.
Plus, as we see here with solar panels, we are advising our people in the countryside to use
solar panels, even my office which is two floors, have working solar panels.
We also have grey water systems to reuse the greywater for irrigation or reuse it for the biogas.
You can see the water drop will be in a circle and all the time and you do not need to push from
the bottom of the water system more and more water. We are seeing that the stability of the
Three Rs - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - we are already there. We are training the ladies, the
housewives, and the youngest generation, the ObsMapp method of collecting data.
We also have a smaller project called, Animals Helping People. We are trying to help the
donkeys to be strong donkeys because they are there doing the job of vehicles, they are the
official transportation like cars are here in the U.S. We are getting a small amount of help from
The Donkey Sanctuary in the UK (United Kingdom) and from the Society for the Protection of
Animals. We are trying to help the animals there because they are a good support to the
farmers in the field.
Imad Al Atrash: Yes, it is kind of political. Palestine is still occupied by Israeli government and
85-86% of the water resources, the groundwater, is controlled by the Israelis. The residents
have a very small access to their own water resources. This makes it a little hard for them in the
summer time. In the summertime the temperature is like Phoenix, Arizona.
Lukas Padegimas: Okay, so very warm!
Imad Al Atrash: If you can imagine Phoenix or Tucson in July, when the temperature is very
high and being without water. This is the big challenge for us there. So, if we can use the
greywater or reuse the water that will be helpful at least for the people in the countryside away
from the cities or a house. Its a real conflict there.
Lukas Padegimas: Right, and this summer was one of the warmest in the region, I heard record
temperatures? So, it exacerbated the problem.
Imad Al Atrash: Yes, of course. We have a similar area to Arizona called Jericho and their valley
it will be unbelieveable temperature in the warm area there.
Lukas Padegimas: Like 40 degrees celsius and higher?
Imad Al Atrash: It is around 50 to 55 degrees celsius.
Lukas Padegimas: 50 to 55 celsius. And without water. It sounds like a very big problem.
Imad Al Atrash: Can you imagine?
Lukas Padegimas: No, I cant imagine 50 degrees celsius, I have a hard time imagining 40
degrees celsius because 35 - as hot as it gets here - that is pretty bad and we have plenty of
water with Lake Erie being only a few miles away. But 50 degrees celsius and no water makes
one think about how to use it best.
Avian Flu? You will not be able to. You have to face the problem as a region and this is the
biggest challenge. Its not only the Avian Flu, its many different diseases. The viruses do not
know about boundaries. Nature does not know boundaries. Environmental pollution knows no
boundaries. If the pollution starts in Tel Aviv, the one living in Jerusalem, or Bethlehem, or
Jericho, the wind will bring all the pollution to them. That means there are no checkpoints, no
boundaries, all the people will be affected by the pollution.
Pollution, nature, environment, flues, viruses, these know no boundaries 100%. For that reason,
a little bit, as the countries, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, even in Egypt, and Lebanon, they have to
think about how to solve the environmental issues. Starting with the virus to the pollution.
Through, and admitting, the water issue. The water issue is also connected to the human being
in this region. If it is polluted, that means that everyone will be sick or ill.
Lukas Padegimas: Certainly. Have you seen any chances for cooperation, despite so many
conflicts, so many divides, to work on these common problems?
Imad Al Atrash: Yes, the Avian Flu, the environmental problems, there are many different
issues - and they are, at high level issues they are working under the table to solve all the
conflicts.
Lukas Padegimas: Yes, thats a good thing!
Imad Al Atrash: Yes, for sure. There are many big issues. With the Avian Flu, every single
organization is very aware of the Avian Flu. Because its everywhere - no boundaries.
Lukas Padegimas: Certainly, its a public health risk.
Imad Al Atrash: And economic. Economy, health, environment, human health, wildlife, and so
on.
Imad Al Atrash: Yes, the whole region. Now, what is the biggest issue, and of course we are
thinking all the time and advising the school's, first of all, to establish the Eco Club, the
environmental eco club among the schools. We have around five hundred schools belonging to
our network.
And the second issue, is if we were to go to Jericho, there is very intensive agriculture because
it is located in the Jordan River Valley, one thousand two hundred feet below the sea level, and
there is a lot of pesticide use there, chemicals, which has polluted the food, the soil, the water,
the air, the health, and we thought that if we can advise our farmers to think about the
biological control. Do you know what this means, biological control?
Lukas Padegimas: To a certain extent, but please explain it for us.
Imad Al Atrash: Now, because we have very intensive work in agriculture in the Jordan River
Valley, there are a lot of rodents. And because of the rodents, they are eating the crops and the
vegetables, the farmers will go to use the chemical pesticides a lot, in high density. We thought
that if we can advise the farmers to use a barn owl or kestrel boxes, that means we will attract
these birds, they will come and breed, come and have chicks, and come have family.
Every single owl, eating a day, ten rodents, and if you have a family of seven that means a day
seventy rodents. If you have ten boxes provided for the owls and kestrels, each with seven
members of the family, that means you have seven hundred owls, and that means seven
hundred times ten and that means seven thousand rodents every day eating from the field and
there is no need for the farmer to use chemical pesticides. No pollution to the water, the
vegetables, the crops and by the end of the day, no pollution for the human.
So, we admit to teach the farmers, which in our culture, is a little hard to explain to the old
people, the seniors, that this is an owl because we know owls to be bad luck for us.
Lukas Padegimas: Oh, no! So, that is part of the challenge, that this will really not be bad luck
but it will be good luck! You are not going to have any rodents and there is just going to be
more to grow and everything else will benefit.
Imad Al Atrash: No costs, no pollution. This is how our Wildlife Society thinks about how to do
sustainable work. How to be so friendly to our nature and our people. This is the main point:
together for people and nature. This is our slogan. This is our mission for Palestine Wildlife
Society: to raise up the awareness and to be very close to nature. Nature does not need you.
But you need nature. Do you see?
Lukas Padegimas: I think I agree with that slogan. Having the capacity to, well, destroy nature
many times over, we have a responsibility not to. And that we are destroying ourselves and we
dont really have the right to even though we can.
Imad Al Atrash: This is some of how we deliver our message to our people: conservation,
education. By the way, you are implementing something that never ever happened in Palestine.
Copyright 2016 Western Cuyahoga Audubon.
Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works.
Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society, 4310 Bush Ave., Cleveland, OH 44109
Email: info@wcaudubon.org Web: www.wcaudubon.org
Second, you start to have a good number of people who are supporting you, even by sending
their kids to our activity, or they are participating with our activity. Its a long, long, long
journey. Its not one year, or ten years, it is so far, seventeen years, but I am there and I hope
that God gives us the life, and we are doing something for our society.
Lukas Padegimas: Wonderful. So, we have a start to the journey and hopefully, there will be
more and more people that will take on the baton and continue it forward.
Imad Al Atrash: Yes.
Lukas Padegimas: Thank you very much!
Now, for myself, with the hotspot issues, I will go by myself. I have the capability to look at you
and to go with your mind and your heart. Whatever you start with me, I have a great
experience with how to deal with you immediately. You know, even sometimes like a hyena,
one time I put my hand, this hand, to his mouth and you cannot imagine if the hyena will bite.
Lukas Padegimas: No hands?!
Imad Al Atrash: Yes, no hands. Within seconds. I can show you the photos. I put my hand inside
his mouth. No one can do it. I have, thanks to God, my great spirit for dealing with animals, with
birds, with people - at a high level.
Lukas Padegimas: Got it! So, you can see them, you can understand what kind of animal or
person youre dealing with. Whether theyre a nice animal or not-so-nice animal and what will
make them do something that you want them to do?
Imad Al Atrash: Yes. For sure, for sure.
Lukas Padegimas: Nice.
10
an essential element to achieve environmental and sustainable outcomes. To that end, the
Palestine Wildlife Society seeks to raise awareness and educate Palestinians about the
importance of conservation and conserve and enhance Palestinian biodiversity & wildlife.
Palestine Wildlife Society objectives include:
Conservation and management of native species and habitats
Monitoring and promoting important bird areas
Education and promotion of wildlife and nature
Work with local communities in conservation, sustainable development and
eco-tourism.
One of the results of its success has been the inclusion of environmental studies in the
Palestinian national education curriculum. Palestine Wildlife Society is also part of the National
Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for Palestine in conjunction with the Ministry of
Environmental Affairs.
Recommended Resources
Imad Al Atrash http://www.wildlife-pal.org/ImadA-CV.htm
Birds of Palestine, movie https://youtu.be/XkWKRmbi-L0
Palestine Wildlife Society www.wildlife-pal.org/
Bird Life International www.birdlife.org
Ornithological Society for the Middle East-UK http://www.osme.org/
International Union for Conservation of Nature https://www.iucn.org/
Global Council for Birdlife International
http://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/new-birdlife-global-council-elected
The Donkey Sanctuary https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/