Allowing for sustainable growth under drastic immigration stress in israel

Between 1990 and 1992 Israel‧s population grew by almost 10%, as a result of a sudden immigration influx. A national plan was prepared to accommodate this population growth in a sustainable manner. This paper reviews how the national plan set to accommodate such population growth without imposing undue environmental hardships on either current or future generations. Using a comprehensive environmental guidelines map and adjunct measures, the plan was able to point a way by which the population increase could be accommodated without damaging sensitive natural re-sources increasing pollution to unacceptable levels or aggravating population exposure to hazards or nuisances. This plan thus provides a real-world illustration of how, with adequate institutional structure, organization, scientific base and political resolve, a large population increase can be accommodated in a manner that does not preclude sustainability notions, even in a highly vulnerable environment.