Patrimony for Resilience: Evidence from the Forest Agdal in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains

Abstract

"Patrimony and resilience appear today as key concepts for understanding the dynamics of systems confronted with natural hazards. Nevertheless, the theoretical comparison between these concepts drawn from different epistemic approaches is lacking. Our aim is to interrelate resilience and patrimony concepts on the basis of a real example: the Agdal, a traditional forest management system in the Moroccan High Atlas. The role played by the Agdal in safeguarding the patterns of forest resource use by village communities from both external and internal conflicts, from natural hazards, and by securing a long-term supply of resource diversity is highlighted. This role shows the patrimonial character of the forest Agdal for the village communities and suggests an adaptive perspective. The patrimonial construction of the forest gives rise to management systems that allow a major place to experience social and environmental feedback, contributing to strengthened social-ecological system resilience and adaptability in the High Atlas Mountains. The notion of patrimony as a tool of resilience opens up a new interdisciplinary line of research."