October 22, 2007 marked Clean Up the World Day in Israel, and the Clean Coast Project of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Nature and Parks Authority marked the day with a wide range of coastal and underwater cleanups in cooperation with Clean Up Israel, Israel throughout the week. Thousands of schoolchildren from schools in such coastal cities as Herzliya, Haifa, Netanya and Ashdod, as well as members of youth groups and soldiers, came together to clean up undeclared beaches in their cities (beaches which are open to the public but do not have lifeguard facilities). Cleanups took place throughout the day and were accompanied by information activities on the subject of coastal cleanliness and preservation. Some 500 trainees from the naval training base in Haifa turned out to clean the coasts of Haifa Bay on Thursday, October 25, 2007. This represented only one of the myriad educational and information activities which took place in bases of the Israel Defense Forces throughout the country within the framework of the Clean Coast Project. A cleanup campaign also took place on October 25th in three coastal sites near Caesarea Harbor with the participation of an association for youth at risk from the Hadera and Ohr Akiva areas known as ?Nirim in the Community? and in cooperation with intermediate school students in Caesarea. Large quantitities of rubbish were collected, most washed ashore from the sea during recent storms. The completion of this year?s campaign was marked by a special ceremony of the Clean Coast Project and Clean Up Israel, with the participation of Australia?s Ambassador to Israel, Mr. James Larsen, in Caesarea Harbor. Two additional activities are scheduled for the end of the week on Friday, October 26, 2007: cleanup of the Jaffa marina and its environs with the participation of harbor employee, boat owners and volunteer divers and an underwater cleanup of the Caesarea Harbor with the participation of dozens of divers. More on the Clean Coast Project Israel's coastline spans some 185 km along the Mediterranean and 14 km along the Gulf of Eilat. Of these, some 150 km are undeclared coasts (without lifeguard facilities), rich in flora and fauna, and constituting a cultural, economic and environmental resource. Most of these open, undeclared beaches are plagued by neglect and by the accumulation of litter, which are associated with aesthetic, health and safety nuisances both to the public and to marine and coastal fauna. Some of the litter is left behind by irresponsible members of the public while some originates in the sea in neighboring countries. The Clean Coast Project calls on local authorities to take responsibility for the coasts within their jurisdiction and invites the general public to fulfill its moral duty and to take part in cleaning up these coasts and contributing to their maintenance and the preservation of their inhabitants. The three-year Clean Coast Project was first launched in June 2005, and the results are measured every two weeks by means of a Clean Coast Index. Results have shown major improvement in coastal cleanliness throughout the country.
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