The Israel Nature and Parks Authority this week began moving machinery into the Evrona Nature Reserve, just north of Eilat in southern Israel, to undertake the long-awaited removal of some 40,000 tons of soil polluted by a massive oil spill in 2014.

In December that year, some five million liters (1.32 million US gallons) of crude oil gushed into the hyper-arid reserve from a pipe owned by the Europe Asia Pipeline Company. The pipe broke at the entrance to the nearby Kibbutz Be’er Ora during work to relocate infrastructure prior to the construction of Ramon Airport.

Seasonal water channels over an area of 145 dunams (36 acres) were contaminated.

Research carried out by HaMaarag — the national ecosystem assessment program — found not only that oil was still present at varying depths, but also that while older acacia trees with deep root systems had survived, there were hardly any younger trees, indicating problems with germination and seedling development.

Acacias are a so-called keystone species on which multiple plants, animals, and microorganisms rely. These include gazelles, which obtain food and water mainly from acacia leaves in the summer.

Various cleanup techniques were tested on pilot plots in the reserve. One that used bacteria to break down the oil was eventually chosen but was........

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