Russian-Israeli businessman, philanthropist, and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has made a large donation to the Jewish National Fund, earmarked to help projects fighting climate change in the Middle East in general and especially in the Negev Desert. The exact amount of the donation was not reported.
The projects that will benefit from the donation include afforestation, forest rehabilitation and fighting desertification in the Negev in southern Israel.
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With the donation, a new forest will be established in southern Israel to help combat the area's rising desertification and aid in increasing nature tourism in the area. It will be established in the memory of Lithuania's Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
Currently, a significant portion of the designated area is made up of damaged forested land that endured wildfires several years ago, and will now undergo rehabilitation and replanting.
"This generous support from Mr. Abramovich will help continue to carry out the critical work of fighting desertification and making the Israeli desert bloom," said JNF World Chairman Daniel Atar.
As the organization responsible for establishing and maintaining Israel's forests, JNF has planted more than 240 million trees across the country.
Following decades of vast experience in afforestation in dry or arid land, Israel and its agencies are considered a global leader in combating desertification through forestation.
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
