Politiques du développement et dynamique environnementale dans les terrains montagneux du Haut Tell friguien occidental (Tunisie du Nord)

Abstract

The indigenous peasantry of Haut Tell in Tunisia, displaced from the plains to the slopes following agricultural colonization, practiced various activities harmful to local ecosystems by breaking the traditional relative balance between the population and its environments. The state of advanced degradation of these ecosystems has prompted the Tunisian government to adopt a restoration and conservation policy which consists of carrying out large-scale water and soil conservation works, in particular reforestation with Aleppo pine.The weakness of interventions for opening up and equipping mountainous terrain has led to a reverse dynamic towards the plains in order to reach basic services. These departures have eased the pressure on forest ecosystems, which has resulted in a positive assessment of reforestation actions. The opening up of the mountain population following the recent relative opening up has eased the pressure on the vegetation cover. The results of these changes appear in the local landscape through the forms of degradation or recovery of forest vegetation.

Keywords

• Tunisian High Tell
• dynamics of population
• rural development
• politics of restoration and conservation
• dynamics of vegetation
• Mediterranean ecosystems