The Role of Policy in the Fight Against Desertification in the Middle Atlas Mountains

By all observable accounts, desertification is exacting a toll on the rural populations of Morocco, potentially leading to social and economic instability. With almost all of Morocco and the majority of the African continent characterized by high vulnerability, it is incumbent upon policy makers and program developers to understand the full parameters of the threat to humanity security. Through process tracing, this paper examines the issue of desertification as a function of the macro-level policies that have been implemented, environmental indicators, and the knowledge, behavior and beliefs of rural villagers in one particular targeted location. Without generalizing to the larger population, findings identify the lack of empowerment as a key factor inhibiting progress in the fight against desertification. This includes the failure to include women in promoting lifestyle changes and the lack of community and social tools necessary to trigger mobilization amongst individual villagers. Government expenditures are not likely to be able address these issues through macro-level policies due to the localized nature of the problem. As such, developing a system that effectively transfers knowledge and resources from external entities (government and NGOs) to local actors that can facilitate local empowerment is essential in bringing about the needed action to fight desertification