Mediation agreement to resolve an environmental conflict and its social implications: The case of Wadi Zalmon (Israel National Park)

Mediation refers to an informal process in which a neutral third party helps parties in conflict attain an agreement which they were unable to reach on their own. It is mainly used to solve social, economic and political problems, but its characteristics allow using it to resolve also environmental disputes. The purpose of this article is to examine over a period of time the different attitudes of some groups of populations (communities, municipalities and governmental authorities) toward mediation agreement and its implications. The agreement was signed for an area which was declared a National Park due to its unique landscape-characterized as a cultural landscape (a landscape which represents a combined works of nature and of man). Examination over time is intended to expose whether changes have taken place in the populations in respect to the agreement and its social and cultural influences on them. The paper is dealing with Wadi Zalmon, a stream flowing from east to west in Western Galilee, in the north part of Israel and its environs. In this declaration are involved many populations, which represent the multicultural distinctiveness of Israeli society: Christians, Moslems, Bedouins and Jews.