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Global Changes, Local Perceptions: Drought Is Perceived to Exacerbate Social and Economic Changes in the Southernmost Cork Oak Forest (Benslimane, Morocco)

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Abstract

The Mediterranean basin is a hot-spot of global and climate changes, to which agro-sylvo-pastoral systems are strongly exposed. This study first describes people-nature relations in the cork oak forest of Benslimane (northern Morocco) through the Nature’s Contribution to People approach, then analyses local perceptions of change of the social-ecological system. Forty-one interviews were conducted with inhabitants of the province during two months of fieldwork. Results show that the forest is central to people both economically and culturally. According to the inhabitants of Benslimane, drought drives new social-ecological dynamics, leading to environmental degradation and resulting in the abandonment of forest uses and relationships. According to participants, rural exodus and a shift toward wage employment are a response to more frequent and intense droughts resulting in local knowledge erosion and abandonment of agro-sylvo-pastoral activities. We discuss how the cascade effects and feedback loops identified by participants as resulting from drought seem to exacerbate global change trends beyond climate change and leading to the erosion of social-ecological resilience.

Résumé

Le bassin Méditerranéen est un hotspot de changements globaux et climatiques, avec des sociétés agro-sylvo-pastorales particulièrement exposées. Cette étude décrit les relations humain-écosystème dans la subéraie de Benslimane (nord du Maroc), par le concept des Contributions de la Nature aux Personnes, puis décrit les différents impacts des changements affectant ce système socio-écologique. Quarante et un entretiens furent menés avec des habitant.es de la province au cours de deux mois de travail de terrain. Les résultats montrent que la forêt joue un rôle central pour les personnes, économiquement et culturellement. D’après les habitant.es, la sécheresse suscite de nouvelles dynamiques socio-écologiques, entraînant une dégradation de l'environnement ainsi que l'abandon de certains usages et liens avec la forêt. D'après les participants, l'exode rural et l'orientation vers le salariat constituent une réponse à la fréquence et à l'intensité accrues des sécheresses, phénomènes qui conduisent à l'érosion des savoirs locaux et à l'abandon des activités agro-sylvo-pastorales. Nous examinons comment les effets en cascade et les boucles de rétroaction identifiées par les participants comme découlant de la sécheresse semblent exacerber les tendances liées aux changements globaux — au-delà du seul changement climatique — et compromettre la résilience socio-écologique.

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Data Availability

Data are available in Supplementary Files. The anonymous interview transcripts used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank everyone who made this work possible, especially all the inhabitants of Benslimane for their welcoming and the time they spent with us during interviews. Thanks also to everyone involved in the COOPERAIE project (“Understanding the threats and opportunities for biodiversity and local knowledge related to cork oak forests in the North and South of the Mediterranean”), notably Anne Bousquet-Mélou, Mathieu Santonja, Virginie Baldy, Hassan Fougrach, and Thierry Gauquelin for their support throughout the research process. M.G, G.M, and I.T.-T. received support from the French government under the France 2030 investment plan, as part of the Initiative d’Excellence d’Aix-Marseille Université (A*MIDEX AMX-22-CPJ-05), as well as the IRD ANR-CPJ contract number 402299/00. The COOPERAIE (A*MIDEX 2022 INTERNATIONAL—Research and Training, AMX-22-IN2-82) project indirectly supported this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IMBE, Aix Marseille Université, Avignon Université, CNRS, IRD, Marseille, France

    Manon Grunewald, Giulia Mattalia & Irene Teixidor-Toneu

  2. Laboratory of Ecology and Environment, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’sick, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco

    Bouchra Rachdi, Rachid Rahhal & Wadi Badri

  3. High Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques, Rabat, Morocco

    Rachid Rahhal

  4. Cooperative “La Casa de Flora, Production and Valorization of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants”, Benslimane, Morocco

    Hafida Bahassane

  5. Laboratori de Botànica–Unitat Associada CSIC, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació–Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Giulia Mattalia

Authors
  1. Manon Grunewald
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  2. Bouchra Rachdi
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  3. Rachid Rahhal
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  4. Hafida Bahassane
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  5. Wadi Badri
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  6. Giulia Mattalia
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  7. Irene Teixidor-Toneu
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Contributions

M.G., H.B., and R.R. conducted the investigation. M.G. eleborated the figures. M.G. and G.M. conducted the analyses. M.G., G.M., B.R., and I.T.T conceptualised the study, designed the methodology, and wrote the original draft. B.R., G.M., and I.T.T. supervised M.G. All authors contributed with resources, facilitated administrative tasks, validated the results, and reviewed and edited the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Irene Teixidor-Toneu.

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The research team is composed of two local (R. R. and H. B.), two non-local Moroccan (B. R. and W. B.), and three European researchers (M. G., G. M., and I. T.-T.), with areas of expertise across the natural and social sciences. Both local researchers and the first author conducted interviews in Moroccan Arabic, that were transcribed into French with transcriptions validated by local researchers. The diversity of disciplines and perspectives of the co-authoring team has contributed to an integrated interpretation of the narratives documented and analyzed in this article.

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Giulia Mattalia and Irene Teixidor-Toneu shared last authorship.

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Grunewald, M., Rachdi, B., Rahhal, R. et al. Global Changes, Local Perceptions: Drought Is Perceived to Exacerbate Social and Economic Changes in the Southernmost Cork Oak Forest (Benslimane, Morocco). Ethnobot. Econ. Bot. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-026-09700-5

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