Managing the environment, people and herds: sustainability of the Moroccan cedar forest
| Date | 04 October 2013 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-08-2013-0035 |
| Published date | 04 October 2013 |
| Pages | 260-277 |
| Author | Nicolas Hamelin,Sonny Nwankwo |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management,Environmental technology & innovation |
Managing the environment,
people and herds: sustainability
of the Moroccan cedar forest
Nicolas Hamelin
School of Business Administration, Al Akhawayn University,
Ifrane, Morocco, and
Sonny Nwankwo
Royal Docks Business School, University of East London, London, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of human factor on ecological conditions
of Moroccan cedar forest with a view to drawing out implication for sustainable forest management.
The study is set against the backdrop of the global depletion of natural capital in a rare axis which, if
not brought under an integrated sustainability purview, might lead to the extinction of this quickly
receding natural resource.
Design/methodology/approach – Data for this research are mined from publicly held databases
but processed through a time series regression analysis in a way that measures variations in
ecological/environmental variables.
Findings – Findings reveal that changes in precipitation and temperature account for a small
but significant amount of variation during the period 1940-2006. However, most of the decline is
attributable to human activities such as overgrazing and illegal logging. These are having far-reaching
implications for forest conservation management.
Originality/value – Human agency, more than any effect of nature, is chiefly responsible for the
unsustainable development in this sphere of natural capital. Whilst this may not altogether constitute
new knowledge, the paper highlights ambivalent positions that both promote and constrain efforts to
sustain cedar forest. Its novelty lies not only in the empirical substantiation it affords but also in
ferreting out strategic initiatives to dis-incentivise unsustainable exploitation of this important aspect
of natural capital.
Keywords Sustainability, Sustainable development, Sustainable environment
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
There is continuing understanding, starting from the famous Earth Summit in 1992
through to the recent (2012) Rio Conference, that urgent actions are needed to secure
core natural assets such as woodlands and biodiversity matters. Considered from
a broader perspective, classical economist such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo and
James Mill have long argued that land (as one of the three factors of production) could
reach a “static state” where further human activity could render void much of the
natural capital. In fact, of all the factors of production, land is the only immobile
factor and relatively fixed. Essentially, there is an extent to which it can absorb
“development” without catastrophic consequences. This makes it rather precarious; its
damage as a result of unsustainable consumption may be irreversible, at least in the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5945.htm
WorldJour nal of Science, Technology
and Sustainable Development
Vol. 10 No. 4, 2013
pp. 260-277
rEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited
2042-5945
DOI 10.1108/W JSTSD-08-2013-0035
The authors are grateful to Mr Aadel Taoufik for his valuable help in researching some of the
data as well as and Ms Anne Shilingsburg and Professor Alan Cooper.
260
WJSTSD
10,4
short-run. This realityis now beginning to unravel in a range ofcontexts. The Moroccan
cedar forest is a classic example.
Cedar forest in Morocco, North Africa, occupies approximately 133,000 ha,
distributed in the Middle Atlas, High Atlas, the Rif Mountains and Tazekka (Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO)of the United N ation, 2008).In the Middle Atlas region
there has been long-term decline in its area and ecological condition, with an estimate
of over 40 per cent of Moroccan forest receding (Thirgood, 1984; UNCED, 1994).
The decline of the cedar forest has been widely investigated, with research funded
extensively by international programs such as FAO and “L’agence Franc¸aise de
Developpement” (El Aissi, 2008; IDRC, 2009). As a result, local forest agencies hold
large data sets but the information is not centralised or readily accessible.
Recent studies have asse ssed the relationship between poo r cedar forest
regeneration and a wide range of environment variables in different regions of the
Middle Atlas (Ezzahiri et al., 1999; Bahmad, 1992; Ba
ˆaris, 1994). These studies
have, however, mostly overlooked the human impacts. This paper assesses the data
on climatic, dendrochronologic and land use variables on forest decline in the Ifrane
province of the Middle Atlas region and draws out the implications for forest
conservation management.
2. Study area
The region under observation is the province of Ifrane in the Middle Atlas region
(Figure 1). It is subdivided into ten communes located around the town of Ifrane in the
Middle Atlas. These communes, with a total population of around 143,380 inhabitants
are: Azrou, Ifrane, Ain Leuh, Ben Smim, Oued Ifrane, Sidi El Mahfi, Tigrigra,
N
WE
S
33°30'0''N 33°30'0''N
33°0'0''N
SIDI
EL MAKHFL
TIGRIRA
EL HAJEB
SEFROU
TIZGUITE
BEN
SMIM IFRANE
AZROU
IFRANE
AIN LEUH
OUED
IFRANE
TIMAHDITE
KHENIFRA
DAYAT
AOUA
Jbel Aoua South
BOULEMANE
33°0'0''N
Source: ©FAO of the United Nation (2008), reproduced with permission
Figure 1.
Study area: forest area –
greyed on the map – with
the ten communes located
around the town of Ifrane
in the Middle Atlas
261
Moroccan cedar
forest
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