Israel Nature and Parks Authority

Israel Nature and Parks Authority

Agency overview
Formed	April 1998
Headquarters	Jerusalem, Israel
Employees	About 1800, out of which 800 permanent
Annual budget	516,470 NIS (2021)
Agency executive	Raya Shurki, Director
Parent department	Ministry of Environmental Protection

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority (Hebrew: רשות הטבע והגנים, Rashut Hateva Vehaganim; Arabic: سلطة الطبيعة والحدائق) is an Israeli government organization that manages nature reserves and national parks in Israel, the Golan Heights and parts of the West Bank. The organization was founded in April 1998, merging two organizations (The National Parks Authority and the Nature Reserves Authority) that had managed the nature reserves and national parks separately since 1964. The director of the Authority is Raya Shurki.

The symbol of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is the ibex, a mountain goat similar to the antelope.^[1] One of the missions of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is enforcing Israeli wildlife protection laws.^[2]