A Participatory Agrobiodiversity Conservation Approach in the Oases: Community Actions for the Promotion of Sustainable Development in Fragile Areas

Diversity

Houda Zaidi¹  Mohamed Mahfoudhi¹  Khouloud Zammel¹  Francesco Sottile²  Stefania Caron³  Cristiana Peano³ 

[1] Association Persone Come Noi Tunisie, Route de Gafsa, El Hamma du Jérid, Tozeur 2214, Tunisia;Dipartimento di Architettura, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Centro di Conservazione della Biodiversità di Interesse Agrario, Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 14, 90128 Palermo, Italy;Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari, Università di Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini, 1, 10195 Grugliasco, TO, Italy;

关键词: agrobiodiversity;    oasis;    ecosystems;    sustainable development;    socio-ecological systems;   

DOI  :  10.3390/d13060253

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Rural development policies today include significant directions towards ecological transition and sustainability. Biodiversity plays a fundamental role, especially in fragile environments. The North African oases, for example, are socio-ecological structures with delicate balances in terms of natural resources, where the activation of participatory conservation approaches appears today to be very useful, aiming at long-lasting results. This type of approach was applied in the oasis of El Hamma, in Tunisia. The socio-ecological analysis was carried out through semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders of the oasis. The results were used to activate focus groups and to identify, in a participatory way, a conservation strategy for the species and the varieties at risk of erosion or disappearing. From this research, a wide spread of non-traditional date palm and vegetables emerged in a very diverse social context. These products were recognized as highly significant in terms of traditional knowledge by all stakeholders. Therefore, a Maison des semences and a public conservation center for perennial species were created, representing the first step of a participatory conservation model. Seeds of 11 traditional annual species, 10 date palm varieties and, in perspective, many other fruit species and vegetable varieties have been introduced into conservation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown