The indigenous Bedouin farmers as land rehabilitators—Setup of an action research programme in the Negev

Abstract

The Negev suffers from enhanced land degradation, mostly due to lack of awareness about its state, and hostility between the region's indigenous Bedouin farmers and the authorities. In order to examine a potential solution to this 'Lose-Lose' situation, a unique project is underway, with the collaboration of the Yeroham Municipality and the adjacent Rahma Bedouin farmers' village. The concept of this ongoing Programme is based on bidirectional knowledge transfer of farming data between the farmers and land scientists, aimed to adapt Bedouin traditional cultivation methods and transform them into methods that restore the environment and are also profitable. In order to reach this goal, a highly knowledgeable Bedouin liaison person was appointed to carry out the project together with the Coordinating Team. A comprehensive study and tour were carried out in order to analyze the different landforms and Bedouin cultivation preferences. An initial survey was carried out and data from literature collected in order to determine the ecological and archaeological characteristics of the ecosystem. The area was then prepared for agricultural utilization by removing widespread garbage and dealing with wadis that have been filled with construction waste. This project, which integrates soil enhancement, agriculture utilization, and traditional Bedouin farming, aims for rehabilitation of the northern Negev gullied areas. However, the implementation of the study concept in the field is accompanied by many challenges related to Bedouin interclan communication and the diverse types of degraded lands.

Reclamation of ancient agricultural terraces in the Negev Highlands; soil, archeological, hydrological, and topographical perspectives

“…Together with recently published case studies (e.g., Leu et al, 2021), these plots resemble the rehabilitation ability of the area, which may be upslope widened even, as in the cases of wadis, in the confining cliffs. In addition, these plots are long‐timed and continuously grazed, concluding that arranged grazing regime in the wadis area (Figure 5f) does not harm the rehabilitation and may enhance it (Mor‐Mussery et al, 2020a, 2021). The second aim of these field surveys was to define the constructional state of the northern and southern banks' terraced systems, as summarized in (Table 3).…”

Indigenous Farming Knowledge as a Tool for Addressing Global Warming: A Case Study of the Bedouin in the Negev Arid Highlands – Water Catchments Construction

“…Until the previous century, Bedouin tribes used to migrate with their herds between rangelands along the Arabian Peninsula and Mediterranean region, characterized by wadis landscape, flooded plains, gullied loess plains, and dunes acquiring knowledge about arid rain-fed and flood water irrigated agriculture, grazing, and cereals breeding in such areas [8,9]. In the second half of the 20th century, part of the Bedouins settled in towns, which the municipalities built for them such as Hura, Lakia, and Rahat, while the other part settled in informal settlements, also termed: the Bedouin diaspora of the Negev.…”

“…Unfortunately, the core pattern of the correlation between the Bedouin farmers and municipalities is distrust, which is resulted from misconceptions or half-trues that the Bedouin destroy the Negev highlands. In addition, the authorities treat the Negev highlands as a backyard as expressed by spreading construction waste over a wide part of its open lands leading to changes in the topography and the land hydrology [8,11]. The Bedouin youth due to these reasons and the lack of profitability in cultivation, or agriculture utilization as an example for grazing, enhance land degradation by carrying out improper land management practices, as summarized in Figure 1.…”

“…31°16′20″, Lon. 34°56′17″) is located in the Northern Negev in Hura municipality land on an area that statutory belonged to ILA (Israel Lands Administration) and was leased to Project The current loss-loss state between the public, municipalities, Bedouin adults and younger generation, and the land state [8].…”

“…Figure 1.The current loss-loss state between the public, municipalities, Bedouin adults and younger generation, and the land state[8].…”