Biodiversity Conservation and Strategies of Public Awareness. Case Study: The Natural Landscapes of Central Tunisia

Abstract

This research examines global issues concerning the development of mountain areas considered as territories difficult to manage. The case study area is part of the sub-region of High Alpine Steppes belonging to the Tunisian Ridge and reaching Tebessa Mountains in Algeria. The central question of this article is based on the analysis of the links between the representations produced by mountain landscapes and the construction of a border line that must meet the requirements of sustainable development. Eco-landscape determinants and the role of public authorities and population must be better defined so that the products of this space provide a better quality of life endowed with the alternatives of local and sustainable development. Our hypothesis is that the mountain areas of West Central Tunisia still have a real ecological potential little disturbed by a chimerical development, and can constitute assets for the territorial development of the area. The approach adopted by this work is a scoping audit based on the floristic richness and the monitoring of its spatiotemporal dynamics. The results of this research allowed us to draw rich conclusions; the phyto-ecology approach has shown a relative floristic richness that remains highly dependent on the climatic cycles and intervention of human action; this area must be considered as a priority of the public planning policies aimed at improving the quality of lives in these fragile zones in the context of sustainable development.

Keywords

• forest biodiversity
• Tunisian mountains
• landscape fragility
• planning