Jill Oron, Noam Weiss, Reuven Yosef
International Birding & Research Centre in Eilat, P. O. Box 774, Eilat 88000,
Israel
ibrce@eilatcity.co.il
The International Birding and Research Center in Eilat is a lot more than
a ringing and research station. It has developed over the last ten years into an
amazing sanctuary on the edge of an ever-increasing city.
In this presentation we explain the way in which we sustain such a project in the
long term. The IBRCE is a non-profit NGO, which means that we have to find all
our funding.
Our first concern is conservation. We were given the local garbage
dump by the municipality and have transformed it into a haven for migratory
birds and local wildlife. We have a rehabilitation center for injured and
exhausted birds as well as providing an area for the half billion birds that pass
over the region twice a year to rest and feed.
But how does it pay? We have split our targets into four areas.
1. Research ? we bid for research projects in the region. In the past two years
we have completed two environmental impact studies for the Israel Electricity
Company and The Israel Airports Authority.
2. Tourism ? has been on-going at the IBRCE on a very low level but has been
developed extensively in the past year. We now offer a wide range of services
in guiding and lecturing
3. Professional Services ? We offer help to farmers in a variety of ways ?
whether it is by catching Bee-eaters in melon fields, Sylvia warblers in
vineyards, or Ring-necked Parakeets in date palms. All birds are released after
ringing them well away from the fields. We are also involved in an ongoing
project to reduce the numbers of invasive Indian House Crows now causing
problems in Eilat.
4. Education ? Noam teaches in two schools in Eilat and we also host many
schools at the Bird Sanctuary. Dr Reuven Yosef lectures at Ben Gurion
University and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.
We invite everyone in SEEN to come and visit!




