DESERTIFICATION IN TUNISIA: colonization and lifestyle

Desertification in Tunisia : colonization and lifestyle

My last post was quite general and I introduced a wide challenge : Desertification. This post will be dedicated to Tunisia, a country which illustrates this phenomenon. 

The case of desertification in Tunisia is really interesting for the history of its establishment and permits to break the shortcomings about causes of desertification and give other factors of land degradation.

Tunisia and desertification :

Deserts in Tunisia Source :MediaTerre

First, Tunisia is characterised by recurring droughts which can be observed sometimes through the period of two or three years succulently. There was a drought that was noticed from 1904 to 1907 (Dhaou, 2003). It is also a region which has a limited availability in water resources (M.Fetoui 2011). It’s easy to see that these features are the perfect conditions for a desertification establishment.

As general desertification establishments, in Tunisia it is also not a sudden shift, but rather characterised by a continuous decline in biological productivity (C.Floret et al. 1977). The population notices it firstly by water scarcity, living this phenomenon through the decrease of agricultural and livestock productions and issues generated by siltation.(M.Fetoui 2011)  

Siltation:

Source : Salmontroutcons Instagram Page

I would like to point out some information about this aspect of desertification because, personally, I realised that I did not suspect any consequences on human activities.

According to the FAO, siltation is bits of sand accumulated on coastlines, along watercourses, and cultivated and uncultivated grounds. It generates many repercussions on human activities burying villages, roads, cultures, dams and irrigation canals (FAO).

Siltation is promoted by uniform grounds surface or low vegetation cover grounds (FAO 1988). Thus, that means decline of soils quality/quantity and a consequent degradation of vegetation cover (M.Fetoui 2011).

I found this aspect of desertification very interesting because it shows particularly the trap of these circumstances. It illustrates exactly the cycle of African activities auto destruction that I mentioned in my last post because uniform ground surfaces and low vegetation cover grounds are promoted by deforestation and agricultural activities.

Before colonization :

In the past, extreme environmental conditions influenced human activities in Tunisia. Therefore they were also determined first by social and cultural circumstances and also economic, institutional and political situations (M.Fetoui 2011).

Before colonization, these human activities were very adapted to lands and resource scarcity.

Extensive methods of pastoral activities were dominant with presence of community-based production (Ali Abaab 1986). As populations were nomadic, agriculture was almost absent on this territory.

Production system:

The arrival of colonial upheavals in the XIXth century impulsed a considerable lifestyle transformation.

These last forty decades were characterised by a significant transformation of system of production and natural resource exploitations (IRA-IRD, 2003). Quantitative and qualitative uses of natural resources are highly modified (Khatteli, 1996).

Indeed, Tunisia changes its extensive exploitation system to a semi-intensive system traduced by investment and land-artificialisation development (Khatteli, 1996). 

So, colonization brought intensification of agriculture in a water scarcity country. A greater exploitation of subterranean waters by drillings and other resources are significant for cultures, but also with the development of tourism activities (IRA-IRD, 2003).

Colonial School of Agriculture at Tunis, and now everybodies going to school for learning how make the best land degradation ever !

Photo source : Wikipedia

Demographic Pressure :

This point comes with demographic pressure. Colonization and agricultural establishment have brought a considerable transformation of the Tunisian lifestyle. Transhumance’s are replaced by sedentary lifestyle (Khatteli, 1981). And this factor influenced a lot on the environmental pressure because, besides natural population growth, settlement promoted demographic increase.

« Ksour » Small « garanry-village » used by nomads to store goods.

Photo source: Desination Dahar

All this, combined with weak institutions facing globalization generating new needs for resources managing leads to inadequate operating practices (M.Fetoui 2011). It’s inadequate for people, but also inadequate for environment sustainability.

Land system and procedure of privatization :

Another great point of the desertification phenomenon in Tunisa is the arrival of private ownership of lands and boundaries (Ali Abaab 1986). This new situation generated during the 70's a privatisation procedure and a rush for lands causing natural resources abuse behaviours (M.Fetoui 2011), indeed, according to the picture below, lands were not mainly bought by Tunisian people but principally by colonizing populations creating therefor more inadequate behaviours.

« Lands for sell from 50 francs the Hectare »

Photo Source : Observatoire Tunisien de l'Economie

I like this study case because I think that it enables us to further understand the complexity of desertification establishment, in contrast of usual more global study cases where we just understand (from my point of view) that desertification is fate.

Indeed, instead of only understanding that African activities are destroying the environment, we can now argue that Tunisian people used to be adapted to their environment, and they were able to have a sane relationship between civilisation and environment.

The external influence from colonizing countries broke this balance and brought a new lifestyle with no adequation with the environmental and social situation generating an overwhelming to populations, governments, natural resources and definitely settled up a messy position for these regions.