S.O.S. Souss: argan forest destruction in Morocco

Jesus Mellado

The Souss Valley in Morocco still has remnants of forest dominated by the argan tree, which is en- demic to the Atlantic coast of north-west Africa. The tree is valued for its edible oil and its timber and the argan forest ecosystem is rich in species. The forest has been exploited sustainably by man tor thousands of years, but modern developments have destroyed or damaged much of it, espe- ciallyin the lowlands. The author, who worked in the region for three years, is alarmed at the rapidly increasing destruction. He makes a plea for effective protection of the remaining argan torest and for a plan for its sustainable exploitation.

The Souss River, which seldom flows, passes and Anti-Atlas mountain ranges in south-west over the alluvial plain between the High Atlas Morocco. The valley is closed at the east, where •

An old argan tree; the tallest specimens still remaining on the Souss plain are usually close to human habitation («/. Mellado). Argan forest destruction in Morocco cy

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 27 Sep 2021 at 08:19:27, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300022754 the mountain ranges meet, but is open to the At- (Sauvage and Vindt, 1952) and isolated popula- lantic Ocean to the west (Figure 1). Con- tions extend as far as Sagiat el Hamra, well inside sequently, the Souss plain and the smaller adja- the Western Sahara (Valverde, 1957). The al- cent Massa Valley are protected from the ex- titudinal range of the tree extends from sea level treme climatic conditions of the Sahara and be- up to 1500 m. It is associated with a wide variety nefit from more temperate oceanic influences. of plant species, but forms the dominant compo- The climate of the Souss plain, therefore, is rela- nent of the vegetation (Peltier, 1976, 1977; tively mild, compared with neighbouring country Posner, 1986). Other trees growing with the at the same latitude, and has frequent fogs argan include olive Olea europaea and mastic throughout the year. It falls within the range of Pistada lentiscus, and in sandy areas, Phoeni- arid Mediterranean bioclimates (Le Houerou, cean juniper Juniperus phoenicea. On calcare- 1981). ous soils at sea level, it may be found with a The region has a wide variety of vegetation spurge Euphorbia echinus. In the upper limits of types, including marsh and cactus-like stands of its altitudinal range, the argan tree may co-exist spurge shrublands of Macaronesian origin, but with holm oak Quercus ilex and juniper the principal component of the vegetation is the Juniperus oxycedrus. It is, however, in the Souss argan tree Argania spinosa, which is a member of Valley that the argan forest attains its greatest de- the tropical family Sapotaceae. This tree is the velopment as an ecosystem. This tree can grow only species of one of the few genera of the fam- to 10 m on the Souss plain and has a magnificent ily to reach the subtropical zone and is endemic spreading form when unmanaged. It forms more to the Atlantic coast of north-west Africa. It is than 50 per cent of the vegetation cover, with widely distributed from Safi to the Draa river acacia Acacia gummifera and sumac Rhus

NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN

MOROCCO TAROUDANT Safi

WESTERNJL.^ _ „ _ SAHARA/ N Saguiat el Hamra

Key Argan forests of low-to-medium quality j""~"j Argan forests of high quality 1. Inezzgane 2. El Jorf (Ademine forest) Ait-Baha 4. Anezi ?. Areas not surveyed

Figure 1. Tentative range of argan forest in the Souss today. 88 Oryx Vol 23 No 2, April 1989

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 27 Sep 2021 at 08:19:27, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300022754 tripartita as the principal associates. The under- therefore, originate in the Palaearctic, although growth consists mainly of jujube Ziziphus lotus there is a strong endemic element, typical of and woad-waxen Genista ferox, which often Morocco, which is a well-known centre forspeci- form impenetrable scrub. Consequently the ation in the Mediterranean zone. The peculiarity argan forest resembles tropical thorn savannahs of the Souss, however, lies mainly in the relative rather than Mediterranean forests. importance of the species of Macaronesian ori- gin and the interesting remains of tropical origin Peculiarities of the argan ecosystem including the argan tree itself, as well as snakes, Little is known about the composition, structure birds and mammals (Table 1). and function of the argan ecosystem, although passing mention has been made in general re- Land use in the Souss views of Mediterranean woodlands (MAB, 1976; Goodall and Perry, 1979; Di Castri, Goodall and Background Specht, 1981; Evenary, Noy-Meyr and Goodall, 1986). Available information suggests a wide It is likely that the argan forest ecosystem has ecological diversity in the Souss Valley. Plant been exploited by man since the settlement of species richness has been reported from three the ancestral Aryan tribes of the present Berber areas (Peltier, 1976, 1977; Posner, 1986) and people some 3500-4000 BP. The nature of the preliminary surveys of the Massa Valley and sur- exploitation is believed to have been very similar rounding regions list some 30 mammal and 240 to the present-day traditional management of bird species (Hirsch, 1981). About 40 amphibian mountainous areas in the Souss. Such manage- and reptile species have been recorded in the ment was likely to have been light and diverted Souss area (Bons, 1967, Mellado, unpubl.). towards supplying food and fuel-wood for a sparse rural population. The settlement of Arab In addition to this species richness, the Souss people in Berbery during the seventh century AD shares with other Mediterranean regions a great marked the beginning of permanent agriculture diversity of fauna and flora originating in several in the Souss with the development of a complex biogeographic zones. For example, in the rela- irrigation system. This benign management ap- tively well-known herpetofauna, there are pears to have continued well into the nineteenth Mediterranean (69 per cent), Saharan (15 per century when the early European travellers, such cent), tropical (6 per cent) and endemic (10 per as the so-called 'Ali-Bey' (Badia and Leblich, cent) species. Similar proportions occur in the 1814) were impressed by the verdant orchards of composition of birds, mammals and freshwater Taroudant and the surrounding argan forests. faunas (Hirsch, 1981). The majority of species, Conditions in the Souss deteriorated, however, Table 1. Species of tropical origin occurring in the Souss when development was accelerated under Valley French rule from 1912. Further deterioration occurred after independence in 1956, when in- Plants creased human impact led to widespread devas- Argania spinosa Argan tree tation, which continues today. Calotropa procera Calotrope Reptiles The Souss today Boaedon fuliginosum Common African snake Naja haje Egyptian cobra Two quite different kinds of land use are prac- Bitis arietans Puff adder tised in the Souss, the traditional and the mod- ern. Table 2 summarizes the main features of Birds Melierax metabates Dark chanting goshawk both types of management. Traditional manage- ment is now restricted to mountainous regions, Mammals with the exploitation of the argan forest for argan Xerus erythropus Geoffrey's ground squirrel oil (a fine table oil), cattle, firewood and occa- Lemniscomys barbarus Zebra rat sional clearance for cereal growing. At worst, this Acomys spp. Spiny mice Mellivora capensis Honey badger type of management results in the formation of a semi-natural, park-like woodland (Le Houerou, Argan forest destruction in Morocco 89

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 27 Sep 2021 at 08:19:27, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300022754 1981) similar to other Mediterranean parklands, such as the Spanish dehesas. Such management is conducive to the preservation of natural resources. On the other hand, the modern development practised in the lowlands of the Souss and on the Atlantic coast is catastrophic. With the wide- spread settlement of large-scale irrigated cultiva- tion in the Souss and Massa valleys since the 1960s, significant areas of the better argan forest ecosystem have been cleared for crops and the remaining patches have been severely exploited for firewood and charcoal. The resulting pastures have been heavily over-grazed and where re-af- forestation has taken place, exotic acacia trees have been planted. Consequently much of the argan forest has disappeared from the Souss lowland and the remaining stands are very frag- mented and often heavily damaged. This regrettable situation is even worse near the coast. After the earthquake of 1960, the town of Agadir was rebuilt as an important seaside tourist centre, so that tourist pressure has been added to the destructive impacts suffered by the Souss. In Argan forests are overgrazed by goats; tourists addition, the new town has attracted a rapidly may exacerbate this indirectly by paying goat herders in order to photograph goats climbing growing human population from surrounding trees (J. Mellado). areas resulting in the great development of urban settlement along the road network. Most of the ing. Pollution has seriously affected the marshes damage along the seashore is not to the argan of the Souss mouth. Nevertheless, the remaining forest, which is represented only by isolated argan patches are being damaged, including patches inland, but to the dune system, which is some of the finest, such as the well-known and already seriously affected by eucalyptus plant- formerly splendid Ademine Forest.

Table 2. Land uses in the Souss Valley today, with subjective assessment of the strength of the environmental impacts involved in both traditional and 'modern' management.

Land uses Traditional Threat Modern Threat

Agriculturalism Extensive Low Intensive Extreme • Argan oil • Irrigated agriculture • Occasional cereal growing Pastoralism Grazing Medium to High Overgrazing High to extreme • Goats, sheep (occasional • Goats, sheep, overgrazing) cows, camels Forestry Logging Low to Medium Clear felling High to Extreme • Fuelwood, • Logging charcoal • Reafforestation Tourism Overcrowding Extreme (locally) • Urban settlements, Road networks • Pollution

90 Oryx Vol 23 No 2, April 1989

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 27 Sep 2021 at 08:19:27, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300022754 Above: Hundreds of camels from the Sahara contribute to the problem of over-grazing (J Mellado) Below: Well preserved argan forest still occurs in the foothills of the Atlas mountains, but the flatter areas in the foreground are severely damaged (J. Mellado).

Argan forest destruction in Morocco

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 27 Sep 2021 at 08:19:27, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300022754 To summarize, the major changes in the natural sq km in the Souss plain, but neither estimate can resources of the Souss Valley have occurred be considered reliable. It is known, however, that within the last three decades and are continuing most of the lowland forest has been destroyed or today, although the severity of the damage varies seriously damaged. Figure 1 gives a tentative pic- from place to place. Thus, most of the slopes of ture of the present-day extent and status of the both Atlas ranges are relatively undamaged argan forest based on personal experience over thanks to the traditional form of land use. Unfor- the past three years. This large-scale habitat de- tunately such forests are marginal and less com- struction in such a fragile ecosystem poses seri- plex than the rich lowland forests. Moreover, ous conservation problems. The argan forest has overgrazing is becoming widespread even in the a very low regeneration rate and serious soil ero- mountains and damage can already be ob- sion and mineral depletion may be expected. served. For example, several forested slopes Watershed loss may lead to climatic change, with were felled recently when a new road was con- a decrease in the frequency of fogs and an in- structed to Imouzzer along a valley of great crease in droughts. Prevention of further forest tourist interest. In addition to the aesthetic loss, destruction is by far the most important conser- the removal of the trees has resulted in severe vation aim in the Souss. Like most other tree erosion, which has damaged the road itself. The species in Morocco, the argan is the responsibil- lowland argan forest has been widely devastated ity of the government, whether or not it is grow- with only fragmented and severely threatened ing on private or public lands. Nevertheless, both patches remaining. It is only along the margin be- illegal and destructive legitimate logging is taking tween the plains and the mountain slopes that place everywhere. Public irrigation systems re- any high-quality argan forest remains. The fauna sult in large-scale forest destruction, but do not has also been seriously affected by the habitat even provide adequate water supplies besides destruction throughout the Souss area. Although being very costly (Sinclair, 1987). Pastoralism is there are few data available on the present day regarded as an important land-use in the Souss status of the fauna, it is known that at least the (Le Houerou, 1981) but it can lead to wide- large herbivores have been exterminated or are spread and severe overgrazing. Such forms of highly endangered through poaching. Thus the land-use should be abandoned and the tradi dorcas gazelle Gazella dorcas, which was still tional methods re-instituted or expanded (MAB, common east of Taroudant only 15 years ago (J. 1975). Besides controlling logging and grazing, Ulpiano, pers. comm.) is now extinct there and the survival of the argan ecosystem depends on only a few individuals remain elsewhere in Tiznit the immediate and efficient preservation of sig- Province (A. Ayyad, pers. comm.). Species living nificant blocks of the better remaining larger in or near the Souss, such as the scimitar-horned forests as well as the smaller patches of lowland oryx Oryx dammah and the Addra gazelle forest. Some forests are under the control of the Gazelle dama became extinct many years ago government as game reserves (Ait-Baha, Tafine- (Cabrera, 1932). In spite of Hirsch's (1981) state- goult) but public protection is clearly inadequate. ment to the contrary, the edmi gazelle G. cuvieri, is virtually extinct in the area and only a few A Massa National Park project (WWF project specimens of Barbary sheep Ammotragus laer- 3063) has been designed to protect the largest via survive on the cliffs in the Anezi region (A. remaining population of the waldrapp Geron- Ayyad, pers. comm.). ticus eremita in the world and the migratory waterfowl at the mouths of the Souss and Massa rivers. The project is being developed by the US Conservation in the Souss: problems Department of the Interior, but the emphasis has and proposals been put on tourism with little attention to nature Few data are available to quantify accurately the protection. Most of the area to be protected is extent of the remaining argan forests and the de- highly altered rangeland and only small patches gree of damage suffered. Le Houerou (1981) of severely damaged argan forests are included gave a figure of some 7000 sq km as the area in the park (Mellado, Allabou and Alaoui, 1988). of argan forests in south-west Morocco, and Effective conservation of the argan ecosystem Goodall and Perry (1979) put the extent at 4000 requires a general survey of its extent and con- 92 Oryx Vol 23 No 2, April 1989

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 27 Sep 2021 at 08:19:27, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300022754 servation status. A catalogue needs to be drawn Di Castri, F. Goodall, D.W.G. and Specht, R.L. 1981. up of human uses of the area compatible with Ecosystems of the World, II. Mediterranean-Type Shrub- sustainable development and biological conser- lands. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 643 pp. Evenary, M., Noy-Meyr, I. and Goodall, D.W. 1986. Ecosys- vation. tems of the World 12B. Hot Deserts and Arid Shrublands, B. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 451 pp. Coda Fennane, M., Barbero, M. and Quezel, P. 1984. Le thuya de As Caro (1986) has pointed out, it is difficult to Berberie au Maroc: apergu phytog6ographique et ecologique. Bulletin de I'lnstitut Scientifique, 8, 115- convince others of the merits of wildlife conser- 134. vation, but international pressure must try to per- Goodall, D.W. and Perry, R.A. 1979. Arid Land Ecosystems: suade the Moroccan Government not to destroy Structure, Functioning and Management, 1. 881 pp. its outstanding natural heritage through anarchic Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. exploitation (Fennane, Barbero and Quezel, Hirsch, U. 1981. Auant-projet de creation du Pare National de Massa, Royaume du Maroc. Rapport Technique in- 1984). Words will not suffice, and money must 6dit. 74 pp. be provided to compensate in some way the Le Houeiou, H.N. 1981. Impact of man and his animals on people for whom nature conservation may de- mediterranean vegetation. In Ecosystems of the World, plete the already low standard of living. I regret 11. Mediterranean-Type Shrublands (eds F. di Castri, D.W. Goodall and R.L. Specht), pp. 479-517. Elsevier, the short-sighted conservation policy being de- Amsterdam. veloped by the US Government via a network of MAB, 1975. Programme sur l'am£nagement ecologique des preserved areas throughout Morocco. This pol- parcours arides et semi-arides d'Afrique et du Proche et icy is based on short-term gains (tourism) rather du Moyen-Orient (EMASAR) de la FAO. Rapport 30, 57 than on long-term goals of conservation and sus- pp. Unesco, Paris. MAB, 1976. Foret et maquis mediterraneens: ecologie, tainable development for the welfare of the conservation et amenagement. Note technique 2. 84 pp. Moroccan people. Unesco, Paris. Mellado, J., Allabou, A. and Alaoui, B. 1988. L'herpetofaune Acknowledgments du projet de Pare National du Massa (Agadir, Maroc): un apergu ecologique et ses implications dans le developp- This study was supported with funds of the International ment du plan d'am^nagement. Acta OecologiaApplicata, Technical Co-operation of the Spanish Foreign Office. I 9,55-74. thank Mr Julio Ulpiano and family for their hospitality at Peltier, J.P. 1976. La vegetation du Haut Souss. De la Ouled Abdellah and Agadir, while remaining in the Souss cuvette d'Aouzioua au jbel n'Bougzoul. Bulletin de I'ln- valley. Lola Sanchez and Miguel Ulpiano helped me with the stitut Scientifique, 1,119-145. field work whereas the latter and his father (J. Ulpiano) told Peltier, J.P. 1977. La vegetation du massif du Kerdous (Anti- me much of the history of forest destruction in the Souss over Atlas occidental). Bulletin de I'lnstitut Scientifique, 2, 5- the last three decades reported here. I also thank Dr S. K. El- 32. tringham, who kindly provided useful comments and revised Posner, S.D. 1986. Vegetation in the Proposed Gazelle Re- the English style. serves, Massa National Park Project. Unpublished techni- cal report. 75 pp. References Sauvage, C. and Vindt, J. 1952. Flore du Maroc 1. Travaux de I'lnstitut Scientifique Ch6rifien, 4,148 pp. Tanger. Badia y Leblich, D. 1814. Voyages d'AH-Bey elAbassi en Sinclair, L. 1987. Government irrigation subsidies result in Afrique et en Asie. Paris (Old copy without editor and huge economic and environmental losses worldwide. pagination references). Ambio, 16,149-151. Bons, J. 1967. Recherches sur la biogeographie et la biologie Valverde, J.A. 1957. Aues del Sahara Espanol (Estudio des amphibiens et des reptiles du Maroc. These Univer- ecologico del desierto). 487 pp. Institute) de Estudios sity de Montpellier. 321 pp. Montpellier. Africanos, Madrid. Cabrera, A. 1932. Los mamiferos de Marruecos. Trabajos del Museo de Ciencias Naturales, 57,361 pp. Madrid. Caro, T.M. 1986. The many paths to wildlife conservation in Jesus Mellado, Estacion Experimental de Zonas Aridas, Africa. Oryx, 20,221-229. General Segura, 1, 04001-Almeria, Spain.

Argan forest destruction in Morocco 93

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