This presentation focusses on the analyze of the socio-economic changes driven by state interventions, which have been carried out, in order to overcome the resulting impacts on local populations in the north of Algeria. These interventions took place in a particular context marked by strong demographic growth and the expansion of the market.
Whereas, interviews and workshops bringing together the different actors were organized. The objective is to present the results of our investigations on the one hand and to open a multi-stakeholder debate to face the reality of the field on the other hand. It is also a question of promoting a participatory approach in the identification of the difficulties encountered.
Particular socio-economic dynamics are remarkable today, the most apparent forms of which are: the breakdown and marginalization of customary organization, the persistence of inequalities in access to public services (school, health, etc.) and resources, the abandonment of the nomadic life, the emergence of new practices, and widespread land degradation. Overall, it can be considered that public action has been ineffective in limiting these regressive dynamics. These interventions have neglected the participatory approach in the actions carried out. They took place in unsuitable political, legal, and organizational environments: weak coordination between the State and populations, refusal of State intervention by the local population, and increasingly frequent conflict situations.
This situation has resulted in a massive rural exodus which for several decades has resulted in a new form of peri-urbanization. This exodus is fueled by the new needs for schooling and access to public services expressed by the agropastoralists interviewed. The widespread awareness of social and environmental degradation underlines the need for the authorities to develop better communication and intervention strategies in the future involving the inhabitants of these territories as well as all the stakeholders concerned.
