In Winter 2026, the Center launched its new series "Scientific and Environmental Diplomacy" with two online events—"The Barn Owl Project: An Ecological Solution in Agriculture for Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians" and "Water Knows No Borders: Transboundary Water Sources in the Middle East."
The Barn Owl Project: An Ecological Solution in Agriculture for Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians
About the Lecture
Professor Yossi Leshem discussed a groundbreaking initiative—begun in Israel and expanded to its neighbors—in which Barn Owls are used as biological pest-control agents of rodents in agriculture. The owls have significantly reduced the use of pesticides in agricultural fields, which severely harm wildlife and migratory birds. The Jordanians and Palestinians joined this project in 2002, and it has been highly successful from both an environmental perspective and in connecting peoples and religions within this region of conflict. In light of the project’s success, it has been joined by other countries around the world, including Morocco, Switzerland, Ukraine, Georgia, Italy, Germany, Zimbabwe, Cyprus, Greece, and the United States. Leshem also described the unique position of Israel as a locus of bird migration, where 500 million birds migrate from Europe and West Asia to Africa and back over Israel twice a year, which allows for many scientific studies on bird migration and protection.
This event was organized by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and co-sponsored by the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA Law, the UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, and the UCLA Center for Middle East Development.
About the Featured Speaker
Yossi Leshem is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, and founder of the International Center for the Study of Bird Migration. In 1971, he began his career at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and was CEO (1991–1995) and chair of its public council.
Water Knows No Borders: Transboundary Water Sources in the Middle East
All major rivers and aquifers in the Middle East cross international boundaries. Integrated water management is therefore essential for protecting water resources in Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority, where most of the coupled surface-groundwater systems are constrained within transboundary basins. The expected future development of urban and intensive agricultural activity threatens the precious water availability and calls for joint efforts to protect our water resources even more. The willingness of all the water partners to form a mutual—at least coordinated—water management authority is vital to ensure the sustainable use of local groundwater. Despite the apparent risk of conflict triggered by the scarcity of water, which is a clear essential commodity, it has thus far catalyzed cooperation on common water-related issues.
This event was organized by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and co-sponsored by the UCLA Department of Geography, the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, the UCLA Water Technology Research Center, the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, and the UCLA Center for Middle East Development.
Professor Emeritus Eilon Adar founded the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where he was the Director from 2004 to 2016. He was Chair of the Board of Directors at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (2019-2025). Since 2022, he has been a visiting professor at the Technical University of Panama (UTP). In recognition of his achievements in hydrology, he was awarded the Alain Poher Chair in Hydrogeology and Arid Zones (2000-2018).