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About us
The Safe Wildlife Crossings organization works to promote connectivity between open spaces and reduce wildlife roadkill incidents in Israel.
The organization was founded in response to a significant increase in wildlife roadkill rates in the country, with approximately 2,000 reported cases each year on average. Additionally, habitat fragmentation is expanding due to population growth and extensive infrastructure development at the expense of Israel's open spaces.
Meet the Team
Legal Consulting
Environmental Clinic, Tel Aviv University
https://law.tau.ac.il/Clinics/Environmental_Justice
Social-Political Level
Creating collaborations between residents and regional councils to initiate local projects for the promotion of crossings, innovative solutions, and traffic enforcement, alongside the preservation of nature reserves and habitats. Additionally, fostering partnerships with academics, green organizations, and experts in nature conservation.
Educational Level
We work to educate local communities, youth movements, schools, and various citizen groups through training sessions, lectures, informational meetings, workshops, special events, and more.
How Do We Operate?
In recent decades, construction in Israel has accelerated—various infrastructures such as roads, railways, and more are increasingly encroaching on the habitats of wildlife. Animals are left confined in shrinking enclaves, limiting their movement and, consequently, their ability to find mates, locate shelter, and secure food.
אתגרים
The decline and disappearance of diverse wildlife species go hand in hand with the worsening of climate change. As habitats are increasingly disrupted and destroyed, Earth’s ability to withstand and recover from extreme climate changes is reduced, due to the long-standing impact on natural areas and biodiversity. There is also an underestimation of the essential services these habitats provide, such as temperature regulation, floodwater absorption, carbon sequestration, disease prevention, toxin absorption, and more. These functions are vital to human survival.
Numerous researchers attest that globally, habitat destruction and fragmentation are the main factors behind the decline in species diversity and the ability of wildlife populations to recover. In Israel, roadkill is the leading cause of death for many wildlife species, most of which are endangered, such as gazelles and hyenas.
גורמי הפגיעה בחיות הבר
״מקור: nature, Mortality of a large wide-ranging
mammal largely caused by anthropogenic activities"
Moreover, the harm to wildlife is increasing at a rapid pace year by year. According to a report from the Chai-Bulance, about 8,675 cases were handled in 2021, representing a rise of over 12% compared to 2020, in which 7,078 wildlife cases were responded to (an average of 19 wildlife incidents per day compared to 24 in 2021), along with 2,568 cases of roadkill in which animals perished in 2021 alone, according to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority report. Many animals lose their lives due to these factors, a situation that can and must be prevented now.
Our partners the Society for the Protection of Nature, the Nature and Parks Authority
the Jane Godel Institute in Israel, saving the Jerusalem Mountains, the Deer Valley of the Modi'in region.
Together we are working towards reducing the damage caused by habitat fragmentation.
Partners
