During the last few decades, considerable land-use changes have
occurred in Israel (Orenstein & Hamburg, 2009). Historically most of
the northern Negevwas Bedouin grazing territory. The geographical
distribution of accessible rangeland in the Negev changed due to
afforestation programs of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and
concentration of population in townships, along roads, and along
water lines. As a result, the available rangeland areas and stocking
rates in the Negev have fluctuated. Previously-grazed areas have
been afforested, converted to irrigated or rain-fed agriculture,
turned into natural reserves, often used as large military reserves,
converted to rural and urban settlements, or left unused. During this
period, the Negev pastoralists, nearly all of them Bedouin (of several
tribes), have been affected by social, economic, policy and political
factors that have brought about changes in demography, lifestyle,
livelihoods, and dependence on livestock