Morocco Natural Resources Management and Community Development

This document is a summary report of the U.S. Peace Corps Morocco’s “Natural Resources Management and Community Development” project concerning the Commune of Imin’tlit in the Province of Essaouira. Imin’tlit is situated within the Arganerae Biosphere Reserve in the valley to the north of Mount Amsittene. This report summarizes the ecology, agriculture, and economics of the region as revealed through participatory analysis and other sources. It also describes several possible development projects for the community. The Commune of Imin’tlit, while relatively small (population 5,119), has been selected as one focus of an international effort to conserve and manage sensitive areas in the Mediterranean Region. This project, Gestion et conservation des sites sensibles en matiere de biodiversity has a local focus, SMAP/Essaouira, which is headed by ENDA Maghreb. It is a joint effort of several non-governmental organizations (the WWF, The Chouala Association of Education and Culture – ACEC, and the local Imin’tlit Association for the Development and Protection of the Environment) as well as Governmental bodies (Moroccan Department of Water and Forests, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Agriculture) and has received funding from the European Union. In addition to other activities, this project has performed research resulting in the creation of three reports (in French): An environmental diagnostic of the Amsittene Forest, a socio-economic diagnostic of Imin’tlit, and a study of the rural tourism potential of the Province of Essaouira. The centerpiece of the socioeconomic diagnostic is a survey undertaken in 2000 that questioned 90 families (15% of total) in the Douars of Ait Hmad, Ait Skri, and Ait Slib. This survey is the source of most of the statistics (unless noted otherwise) in this report. These reports, in combination with the application of Participatory Analysis for Community Action (PACA) tools for the past two years, have formed the basis of this report.本报告为美国和平队摩洛哥分部针对索维拉省（Essaouira）伊明特利特公社（Imin’tlit）开展的“自然资源管理与社区发展”项目总结报告。伊明特利特公社坐落于阿姆西滕山（Mount Amsittene）北侧山谷内的阿尔甘树生物圈保护区（Arganerae Biosphere Reserve）范围内。本报告通过参与式分析及其他相关数据源，梳理了该区域的生态、农业与经济概况，同时阐述了针对该公社的多项潜在发展方案。伊明特利特公社尽管规模较小（总人口5119人），已被选为地中海区域敏感区域保护与管理国际行动的重点试点之一。该项目全称为《生物多样性敏感场地管理与保护》（Gestion et conservation des sites sensibles en matiere de biodiversity），本地实施单元为索维拉SMAP项目，由马格里布ENDA（ENDA Maghreb）牵头。本项目由多家非政府组织（世界自然基金会（WWF）、舒阿拉教育文化协会（ACEC）以及当地伊明特利特发展与环境保护协会）与政府机构（摩洛哥水利与森林部、教育部、农业部）联合推进，并获得欧盟资金支持。除其他活动外，该项目还开展了多项研究，形成三份法语报告：《阿姆西滕森林环境诊断报告》《伊明特利特社会经济诊断报告》及《索维拉省乡村旅游潜力研究报告》。本社会经济诊断报告的核心内容为2000年开展的入户调查：针对艾特哈迈德、艾特斯克里与艾特斯利卜杜阿尔（Douars of Ait Hmad, Ait Skri, and Ait Slib）地区的90户家庭（占当地总户数的15%）进行访谈。本报告中绝大多数统计数据（另有标注者除外）均来源于此次调查。上述三份报告结合过去两年应用社区行动参与式分析（Participatory Analysis for Community Action，PACA）工具所获取的成果，共同构成本报告的撰写基础。