Brochure on the root causes of overgrazing in Morocco
By Roads Less Travelled
In order to better understand the root causes of overgrazing and the different dynamics that lead to it, Roads Less Travelled – a global partnership of Yolda Initiative, DiversEarth and Asociación Trashumancia y Naturaleza – engaged Dr. Fagouri Said to delve into the issue and investigate the situation in Morocco.
Customary laws and traditions, land use changes, wider socio-political and economic changes and pressures were taken into consideration. Dr. Fagouri met with several shepherd communities in different parts of Morocco, eliciting their perspectives. Mobile pastoralism has shaped the Mediterranean landscape for thousands of years.
In the last 50 years, the abandonment of this practice has had a negative influence on biodiversity in some parts of the Mediterranean whereas in other parts, like in the Maghreb, overgrazing or badly managed grazing negatively impacts biodiversity. Unfortunately in such cases the whole practice is blamed rather than searching for the real root causes that lead to unsustainable practice.
