The 2008 Joint Meeting of the Society for Range Management and the America Forage and Grassland Council. |
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
24
Rangeland Management Policy in Western North Africa
Mounir Louhaichi and Douglas E. Johnson. Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, Oregon State University, 202 Strand Ag Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331
Rangelands of western North Africa occupy land between the Sahara desert and marine coastal zones that is dominated by harsh environmental conditions. Rainfall is low and erratic, temperatures and evaporation rates are high, and soils are often shallow and poor. Management of these rangelands for sustainable yield remains a major challenge. Our research analyzed policies, development strategies and managerial techniques used in this region. Policies impacting the agro-ecological and rural socio-economical spheres were found to be similar in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. For example, livestock protection policies during drought encourage governmental interventions via various forms of assistance to herders including: distribution of subsidized animal feed, rescheduling of loans, investments in water development, and expansion of animal health programs. Although they have helped limit production losses, these programs have also had negative environmental impacts such as loss of desirable plant species from overuse with subsequent replacement by low value or poisonous plants and reduction vegetative cover resulting in accentuated soil loss. Lack of comprehensive grazing policies and enforcement of existing laws exacerbate land degradation. Encroachment of agricultural practices into traditional rangeland increases pressure on remaining rangelands resulting in overgrazing and degradation. Traditional pastoral and nomadic systems, which evolved over hundreds of years, contained strategies for coping with vagaries of the climatic, physical, and biological environment. In the colonial and post colonial period the relatively free movement of livestock was severely restricted through the creation of international and administrative boundaries, which cut across pastoral routes. This mismatch accentuated the sedentarisation of herders, overgrazing, and destruction of woody plant species through burning for fuel. This paper presents an overview appraisal of rangeland condition in North Africa and suggests recommendations for policy makers and land managers to reverse the decline of rangeland condition in the region.