Goal 15: Life on Land
PROTECT, RESTORE AND PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE USE OF TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS, SUSTAINABLY MANAGE FORESTS, COMBAT DESERTIFICATION, AND HALT AND REVERSE LAND DEGRADATION AND HALT BIODIVERSITY LOSS
Research
Situated in a bio geographically diverse region amongst three continents, Israel is one of the world’s richest regions in biodiversity across the planet. Our researchers and graduate students at the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, and Faculty of Natural Sciences study biodiversity evolution under environmental stress. Institute researchers study animal, plant, and fungi diversity, genomics, and their intersection with biomedicine and biotechnology; computational biology; bioinformatics; ecology; and nature conservation.
The Tourism Management journal featured a recent article by Prof. Andrea Ghermandi, from the Herta and Paul Amir Faculty of Social Sciences, which investigates cultural services accrued to local domestic and international visitors who come to the Usumacinta floodplain in Southern Mexico. The research combines analysis of social media photos and high-res land covering mapping, providing valuable information to decision makers for improved tourism management and conservation strategies.
Public Engagement
iNaturalist, a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic Society, helps identify plants and animals in your immediate environment.
In 2020, iNaturalist Israel became the newest member of the network through collaboration with the University of Haifa. The partnership builds on our longstanding use of iNaturalist for various ecological monitoring projects in Israel.
Dr. Maya Negev, of the School of Public Health and Head of Health Systems Policy and Administration Program, from the Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, is a member of MED 2050, an ambitious foresight exercise aimed at mobilizing decision-makers and stakeholders around strategy for sustainable development in the Mediterranean region.
Learning & Students
The artificial light emitted by the ground at night and visible from space marks the presence of humans on earth. A recent study published by PhD candidate Nataliya Rybnikova, et al. in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, compared the performance of several machine learning methods for coloring panchromatic nighttime satellite images.
A new concentration in Applied Practice in Geography and Environmental Studies offers the Department’s students the opportunity to intern in relevant NGOs, government offices and companies. Throughout their internship period, students attend a course that assists them in navigating their first experience in the workforce.
Operations
The Hecht Museum, located at the University of Haifa, was established by the late Dr. Reuben Hecht, who was interested in the archaeology of the Land of Israel, and diligently collected archaeological artifacts representing the material culture of the Land of Israel in ancient times.
A new exhibit of rare and ancient musical instruments from the collection of the late Amiram Zamani is now on display at the Dr. Reuben Hecht Arts Center. Irit Altshuler Zamani donated the collection to the Department of Music in memory of her late husband. Zamani’s collection offers a wide selection of flutes, mandolins, guitars as well as lesser known instruments – like koto, biwa, bodhrán and sitar – from all over the world.