ENTERPRISES IN VILLAGE ISRAEL AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

For a number of years, the moshav, a typical form of Israeli smallhold ers' settlement, has been undergoing a series of transformations, evid enced by the growth in non-agricultural activities, whether by local i nitiatives or in response to external entrepreneurs, carried on within their confines. The introduction of these enterprises into the moshav im, has brought environmental nuisances and irritants whose effects ar e usually more severe than those created by agricultural activities. T here are the source of protests by moshav residents, expressed in form al complaints addressed to the agencies responsible. In a survey condu cted among three moshavim at the outskirts of the Tel-Aviv metropolita n area, a region where the effects of non-agricultural activities are particularly noticable, it was found that at least 65 per cent of thos e surveyed perceived the force of irritants as very high or unbearable . The residents feel that real damage has been caused to their natural surroundings and, in consequence, to the quality of life on the mosha v. The environmental impacts of non-agricultural enterprises on moshav im are particularly serious when they occur adjacent to the home and, when the moshavim lack appropriate infrastructures (such as drainage, sewage and waste removal systems) to minimise the extent of the nuisan ce.