Amazigh Pastoral Adaptation to Prolonged Drought in Southeastern Morocco

United Nations Permanent Forum On Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) Community Knowledge Practice Documentation

Author: Stephanie Zabriskie
ORCID: 0009-0000-9273-1529
Affiliation: Humanculture (Indigenous-led nonprofit organization)
Capacity: Founder and Executive Director

Community Knowledge Contributors:
Yahya Aadjou Amazigh Elder
Ait sl Caid Fatima Amazigh Women's Council Leader

Indigenous Community / Region
Amazigh Indigenous community, Saharan region, Merzouga, Morocco
Indigenous knowledge systems; climate change; biodiversity and ecosystems; sustainable livelihoods

Abstract

Amazigh nomadic pastoral communities in southeastern Morocco have sustained desert livelihoods across generations through mobility-centered knowledge systems that coordinate water access, forage use, and livestock management across shifting desert landscapes. Between approximately 2018 and 2025, one of the most severe drought periods in recent regional history disrupted traditional mobility routes, depleted groundwater sources, and caused significant livestock losses across the Saharan region. This submission documents the household-level and community-wide adaptation practices through which Amazigh pastoral households maintained continuity during this period. Key practices include the reorganization of daily movements around reliable municipal water access points near Merzouga, women-led daily water collection by foot or donkey, a strategic transition from camel herding toward more drought-resilient goat herding, and the preparation of crushed dates from locally collected date palm resources as supplemental evening feed for goat herds — a practice with deep roots in Amazigh and broader North African oasian traditions. Knowledge guiding these adaptations is transmitted intergenerationally through participation in daily pastoral life, with elder women playing a central role in demonstrating feed preparation techniques and seasonal judgment. Despite temporary spatial concentration near water infrastructure, households maintained nomadic housing, social organization, and pastoral identity throughout the drought period. Although Morocco declared the drought over following the 2025–2026 rainfall season, ecological recovery remains incomplete and households continue monitoring conditions. This case illustrates how Indigenous pastoral knowledge systems reorganize under environmental stress while preserving cultural continuity, and highlights the central and underrecognized role of women’s labor in sustaining household water security and livestock survival during prolonged drought.

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Amazigh Pastoral Adaptation to Prolonged Drought in Southeastern Morocco