HELSINGIN YLIOPISTON MAANTIETEEN LAITOKSEN TUTKIMUSRETKIRAPORTTEJA 49 Encounters Across The Atlas FIELDTRIP IN MOROCCO 2011 Edited by Paola Minoia and Inka Kaakinen HELSINGIN YLIOPISTON MAANTIETEEN LAITOKSEN TUTKIMUSRETKIRAPORTTEJA 49 ENCOUNTERS ACROSS THE ATLAS FIELDTRIP IN MOROCCO 2011 E dited by Paola Minoia and Inka Kaakinen Layout and cover design: Heidi Kouvo Cover photograph: Paola Minoia ISSN 0786-2172 Unigrafia Helsinki 2012 EXPEDITION REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI 49 CONTENTS Foreword ....................................................................................... IV Paola Minoia Part I: Articles and essays D esertification trends and local action in the oases of Tafilalt, outh-S East Morocco .......................................................... 8 Lahcen Kabiri Problem of water management in the watershed Tansift ............... 20 El Hassane Boubekraoui Urban growth, territorial and social reorganization in Marrakech .................................................................................... 33 Mohamed Ait Hassou Environmental impacts of soil erosion: methods to control erosion in Tafilalet ............................................................ 46 Katri Heiskala & Turo Hjerppe Water quality pressures and water management in Errachidia and Marrakech, Morocco ............................................ 58 Jaana Kuisma & Helena Haanperä Rural-urban migration in the TafilaletR egion .............................. 72 Belinda Kivivuori, Juha Niemelä & Matias Andersson Public transport system in the city of Errachidia .......................... 83 Maria Viitasaari Urban planning in Morocco ......................................................... 90 Kaisa Kinnunen, Wilma Toljander & Mari Kovasin II The socio-economic impacts of heritage tourism in Morocco ...................................................................................... 101 Ira Lahovuo & Minna Nuutinen Tourism services in Errachidia: supply and location ................... 112 Ossi Ahonen & Petri Hård Part II: Travel journal T ravel journal ............................................................................. 124 Travel itinerary List of participants Sat 22 Oct 2011: Katri Heiskala ............................................. 127 Sun 23 Oct 2011: Jaana Kuisma ............................................. 128 Mon 24 Oct 2011: Petri Hård ................................................ 129 Tue 25 Oct 2011: Kaisa Kinnunen .......................................... 130 Wed 26 Oct 2011: Wilma Toljander ........................................ 131 Thu 27 Oct 2011: Juha Niemelä ............................................. 132 Fri 28 Oct 2011: Turo Hjerppe ............................................... 133 Sat 29 Oct 2011: Belinda Kivivuori & Matias Andersson................................................................... 134 Sun 30 Oct 2011: Ira Lahovuori ............................................. 135 Mon 31 Oct 2011: Ossi Ahonen .............................................. 136 Tue 01 Noc 2011: Minna Nuutinen ........................................ 137 Wed 02 Nov 2011: Helena Haanperä ...................................... 138 Thu 03 Nov 2011: Maria Viitasaari ........................................ 139 Fri 04 Nov 2011: Maria Kovasin ............................................ 140 III FOREWORD Fieldtrips are fundamental experiences familiarity with new names of places, in students’ lives, and differ from other populations, cultural practices, people curricular studies for the positive, and (e.g. local contacts), etc. They start often overwhelming, involvement forming a group’s common lexicon. they are able to produce in students. In case the travel program is made in Fieldtrips give students the possibility cooperation with local researchers, to fully immerge into areas and topics the trip also gives the opportunity to that are far from their daily routines. observe how the world is studied and They also provide some rare occasions to described, and how different kinds of practice theories and methods acquired geographies are produced in various in class, before the Master theses -work. cultural and political environments. Being part in a group allows sharing This is a way forward to a cultural reflections, conceptualizing the events openness or multiculturalism that is in real time and consolidating the getting more and more importance in lessons learnt. Furthermore, even the our lives. preparations for a fieldtrip abroad, and This olumev aims to report particularly out of Europe, are exciting. all these experiences, which we We could say that the trip already starts had in the occasion of a fieldtrip in in class, when students start acquiring Morocco between 4th October and 21st knowledge about new areas and getting November 2011. The research fieldtrip IV was part of the curricula in Geography recall, some research methods to be and Regional Studies, and 15 Bachelor practiced in the field: mainly qualitative and Master students participated in it. methods, involving observations, visual This report is divided in 2 sections, the analysis, interviewing and reporting. first one containing the contributions The students had to present their field from three Moroccan researchers and study plan and initiated their work by the students’ study reports; and the collecting literature references, maps second one the daily travel diaries. and images. The trip was preceded by a As said, our “mission” seminar held in Helsinki in September, was facilitated by the cooperation in collaboration with Inka Kaakinen. with three academic institutes: the During the seminar, we presented an Faculty of Science and Techniques of outline of Morocco from different Errachidia of the University Moulay perspectives: cultural, political, Ismaïl of Meknès; the Faculty of environmental, etc. The country is Letters and Human Sciences of the fascinating for the many changes University Cadi Ayyad of Marrakech; that are currently happening there, and the Institute of African Studies of and the many challenges that it is the University Mohammed V Souissi facing. Desertification, agricultural of Rabat. We are grateful to the deans crisis, migrations, investments and the colleagues of these universities turn into a tourism-led economy, for their hospitality and the generous multiculturalism, and the Arab spring support they have provided for our that had peacefully brought a new students. Constitution: these were among the We are particularly indebted many topics that were discussed during to Professor Lahcen Kabiri from the seminar. Errachidia, who organized the activities On the basis of my previous during the first week, guided an experiences in the country, I proposed excursion to the dam of Hassan Dakhil, two study areas: the Tafilalet region, on and responded to all kinds of questions the Southeast border with Algeria; and regarding the environmental and social the region of Marrakech. These two challenges in the oases. In Errachidia, regions presented good case studies we participated in an opening seminar for the students. On the basis of their on sustainable development challenges specializations, they could choose in the oases of Tafilalet, and our to focus on different issues, namely: students had the chance to present their water scarcity, soil erosion, rural-urban work hypothesis. After the seminar, our migrations, tourism development, students had the possibility to work heritage tourism, city planning, and with students of the hosting faculty transports. who had interests in similar topics The seminar also helped the and went together to some visits and students to familiarize with, or to interviews. The week was closed with V a workshop where students could share side, with questions inspired by the their preliminary results. classical elements of orientalism that Thesecond week was in the are part of the tourism gazing and Marrakech region. Special thanks also performing; while, on the Moroccan go to Professor Hassan Ramou, from the side, questions were related to the University of Rabat, who accompanied typical components of an imaginative us to the mountains of Imlil to finnishness or at least northerness. My explore the environmental and social role, in most circumstances, was mainly changes induced by a shift from the as a translator, and I was considered traditional pastoralism to the tourism as having a culture in-between, being economy; and also to the coastal city from Southern Europe and used to of Essaouira, to observe productive both cultures. Anyway, the respective activities and urban development knowledge have got more complexity issues. We are also thankful to and become less stereotypical; and it Professors El Hassane Boubekraoui is important to recognize that we have and Mohammed Ait Hassou, from the much in common, including scientific University of Marrakech, for holding a interests. seminar and an excursion to explain us The field trip had quite a watershed-related problems and urban hectic schedule, but nevertheless it development issues in Marrakech. was also great fun. It was my first Their contributions are also presented personal experience in guidance of in this book. Finnish students and I have personally Finally, I hope that this learnt a lot from it. Now Tutkimusretki overall experience can contribute to (research fieldtrip) as a course is not building bridges between Finland and part in the study curricula anymore, Morocco, at least within our groups of but I hope