Publication: Terroirs in the South: Toward a New Model? A Moroccan Experience

Long associated with negative connotations, the concept of “terroir” has become a mark of quality for agricultural products and distinctive rural landscapes. Moving beyond purely commercial considerations, it also draws on the ideology of sustainable development by incorporating social and environmental concerns.

The success of terroir now extends beyond Europe’s borders. A growing number of countries in the Global South have embraced the idea that promoting local resources and rural heritage can be a key focus of their development policies.

Drawing on the Moroccan experience, the authors examine the success of transferring this concept to the Global South. Can terroir policies help create or consolidate supply chains and redefine local products that meet the quality standards of urban consumers? Can they generate inclusive local projects that highlight the bio-cultural complexity of these places? Under what conditions can “terroir,” linked to the implementation of geographical indications and the development of rural tourism, constitute a new model for economic, social, and territorial development? To what extent are local actors capable of taking ownership of initiatives that are currently driven from above?

Given the growing importance of issues related to climate change and major socio-political upheavals—including the mobility of people, ideas, and products, and concerns about the conservation of resources and local cultures—this book invites us to consider this transformation of the terroir as a source of universal challenges and potential.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Terroirs in Morocco: Between History and Innovation

1. Local Territories in Morocco: Tested by the Long-Term Sociopolitical Construction of Territories
2. The Rural Forests of the High Atlas 
3. The Unique Territories of Peasant Irrigation in Morocco 
4. Acacias and Saharan agro-pastoralists
5. Behind Argan Oil: The Argan Forest
6. From beekeeping regions to honey-producing territories?
7. Innovation dynamics in Morocco’s arid hinterlands

2. Heritage preservation: a new form of governance?

1. The challenges of heritage preservation in Morocco’s regions
2. What heritage preservation processes for the conservation of rock art sites?
3. Legal pluralism and micro-policies in natural resource management

3. Rural tourism and the promotion of local products

1. The emergence of a rural tourist destination 
2. Tourism and foreign residents in Morocco’s hinterlands
3. Expressions of female identity and tourism development in Morocco’s hinterlands
4. The “argan oil” industry in Morocco 
5. From moussems to themed festivals and fairs
6. Tourism and the promotion of local distinctiveness

CHARACTERISTICS

Publisher: IRD Éditions/Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Rabat

Series: Synthèses

Publication date: November 15, 2016