Environment Ministry

Until 1973, responsibility for the environment was divided among several ministries in Israel. Within a year of the Stockholm Conference, the government established the Environmental Protection Service as a first step in the creation of a comprehensive and modern environmental administration in Israel. In December 1988, a Ministry of the Environment was established in Israel. This proved a landmark in Israel’s environmental development and in the government's determination to tackle environmental issues.

Environmental Administration

The Ministry of the Environment operates on three different levels—national, regional and local. At the national level, the ministry is responsible for formulating an integrated and comprehensive national environmental policy and for developing specific strategies, standards and priorities for environmental protection and resource conservation.

At the regional level, the ministry operates through six regional offices. Each functions according to its specific environmental requirements and is responsible, inter alia, for implementing national environmental policy, participating in land-use planning processes, guiding local environmental units, inspecting and enforcing environmental legislation in local authorities, formulating environmental conditions for business licensing and advancing environmental projects to solve regional problems.

At the local level, the ministry is professionally responsible for the operation of 39 municipal environmental units, regional environmental units and associations of towns for the environment, eight of which serve the Arab sector. Municipal environmental units implement ministerial policy on the local level and serve as advisory bodies to the local authority on environmental issues. They serve more than 120 local authorities with a population of some 4.5 million. The Minister of the Environment also has ministerial responsibility for the following bodies:

Structure of the Ministry of the Environment

The administrative structure of the Ministry of the Environment is based on over 30 divisions. Most of the divisions deal with the environmental subjects that are under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Environment; some deal with public relations, interaction with citizens, internal auditing and administration. While a handful of divisions are directly responsible to the director general (e.g., legislation, Chief Scientist, budget, spokesperson and auditing), most operate under the responsibility and coordination of five deputy directors general and one vice-director general.