desertification of the negev from center for policy research cpr subject desertification of the negev the desertification of the arid negev by moise saltiel i p march i the negev bedouin before and after ii jewish agricultural settlement in the negev iii development of the negev s rural population iv economic situation of jewish settlements in v failure in settling the arava valley vi failure in settling the central mountains vii failure in making the negev bedouinenrein cleansing the negev of bedouins viii transforming bedouin into low paid workers ix failure in settling the development towns x jordan water to the negev a strategic asset xi the negev becomes a dumping ground xii the dimona nuclear plant xiii the negev as a military base xiv the negev in the year just after the creation of the state of israel the phrase the jewish pioneers will make the desert bloom was trumpeted throughout the western world after the six day war in david ben gurion declared in a letter to charles de gaulle it s by our pioneering creation that we have transformed a poor and arid land into a fertile land created built up areas towns and villages in abandoned desert areas contrary to ben gurion s assertion it must be affirmed that during the years of the british mandate over palestine and for centuries previous a productive human presence was to be found in all parts of the negev desert in the very arid hills and valleys of the southern negev as well as in the more fertile north these were the bedouin arabs the real desertification of the negev mainly in the southern part occurred after israel s dispossession of the bedouin s cultivated lands and pastures nowadays the majority of the square kilometer negev which represents percent of the state of israel pre borders has been desertified beyond recognition the main new occupiers of the formerly bedouin negev are the israeli army the nature reserves authority whose chief role is to prevent bedouin from roaming their former pasture lands and vast industrial zones including nuclear reactors and dumping grounds for chemical nuclear and other wastes israeli jews in the negev today cultivate less than half the surface area cultivated by the bedouin before and there is no jewish pastoral activity i agricultural and pastoral activities of the negev bedouin before and after in according to british mandatory statistics the beersheba sub district which corresponds more or less to israel s negev or southern district had inhabitants almost all bedouin arabs who held camels cows and oxen sheep and goats the majority of the bedouin lived a more or less sedentary life in the north where precipitation ranged between and mm per year in they cultivated about hectares of the beersheba district i e percent of its total area and more than double the area cultivated by the negev s jewish settlers after years of making the desert bloom the bedouin had a very low crop yield to kilograms of barley per hectare during rainy years and their farming techniques were primitive but production was based solely on animal and human labor it must also be underscored that animal production although low was based entirely on pasturing production increased considerably during the rainy years and diminished significantly during drought years all bedouin pasture animals goats camels and sheep had the ability to gain weight quickly over the relatively rainy winters and to withstand many waterless days during the hot summers these animals were the result of a centuries old process of natural selection in harsh local conditions after the creation of the state of israel percent of the negev bedouin were expelled to the sinai or to southern jordan the who were allowed to remain were confined to a territory of hectares in a region were annual mean precipiation was mm a quantity low enough to ensure a crop failure two years out of three the rare water wells in the south and central negev spring of life in the desert were cemented to prevent bedouin shepherds from roaming a few bedouin shepherds were allowed to stay in the central negev but after when the sinai was returned to egypt these bedouin were also eliminated at the same time strong pressure was applied on the bedouin to abandon cultivation of their fields in order that the land could be transferred to the army no reliable statistics exist concerning the amount of land held today by negev bedouin it is a known fact that a large part of the hectares they cultivated in the s has been seized by the israeli authorities indeed most of the bedouin are now confined to seven development towns or sowetos established for them the rest of the article is available from elias davidsson email elias ismennt is
