JERUSALEM, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israel's government has set a national plan to monitor its maritime space in the Mediterranean Sea to prevent pollution, at a cost of 55.2 million new shekels (about 14.67 million U.S. dollars).

The plan was raised by the state's ministers of environment, energy and science, for gathering information and publishing it to the public, said a report by the Hebrew-language website Ynet on Thursday.

In recent years there has been an increase of activities in the Mediterranean, including the development of natural gas reservoirs, seawater desalination and developments along the coasts.

It raises the need for full information on the health of the marine system, and the trends and changes in it for policy purposes.

At the same time, Israel has a commitment under the 1976 Barcelona Convention for monitoring the environment of the Mediterranean. The regional convention was signed to prevent and abate pollution from ships, aircrafts and land-based sources in the sea.

The new plan is carried out to preserve the health of the ecosystem and to identify trends and long-term changes that are affected by human intervention or natural processes.

As part of the program, an advisory committee of leading scientists will be set up, which will include leading marine scientists.

Israel's Minister of Environmental Protection Ze'ev Elkin told the website that "the plan joins the revolution that we led regarding the Mediterranean, which included the reduction of the flow of more than 95 percent of the carbon to the sea according to the Barcelona Convention." Enditem

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