Introduction: Current Issues Facing the Argane Region

The problems in the argane region are varied, yet linked. The environment is threatened by drought, wind and soil erosion, and large scale farming operations, all of which lead to the desertification of this area. These farming operations are often profitable, but usually exact a certain price from the environment. Pesticides, the over-tilling of the soil, and irrigation practices inconsiderate of the low levels in the dams and the continually receding water table all contribute to the degradation of the soil and the pollution of valuable water resources. The people who have the means to perform these farming operations are usually from a large city in Morocco or from abroad, and their main concern is the bottom line, not the future of the region.

There is also the problem of poverty and all its consequences. The population in the argane region is growing, and in rural areas where the climate is arid opportunities to earn a living can be few and far between. Rural exodus is the result and young men and women, as well as young boys and girls, go to the city to find jobs that are almost as scarce as they are in the country. The people who stay in their villages depend on small scale farming and their livestock, which helps them with their basic needs, but costs such as paying for their children's school expenses can be out of reach and contribute to a high level of illiteracy, especially among women.

The environment has, and will continue to have, a socio-economical impact in this region that has such a fragile ecological equilibrium. If environmental conditions continue to decline and the desert continues to claim areas where there is poor water conservation and little regard for maintaining soil quality, the sources or income for rural populations will disappear. If this happens, these people will leave their villages and traditions to become citizens of Agadir, Marrakesh and Casablanca, and this will have quite an effect on the already fragile socio-economic conditions in these cities.