Mountain Partnership

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Tunisia

Tunisia is located at the eastern extremity of the Maghreb and its mountains areas are made up of the final section of the two Atlas ranges which meet within the country, covering an area of around 2 million hectares. The mountain areas to the north, the centre and the south of the country are diverse in geology and landscape; from the Mediterranean cliffs to the dyrs in the high plateaux of Tunisia, to the southern sand-dunes and the Sahara Desert. These areas are relatively densely populated, with about 1.5 million inhabitants, roughly 16 percent of the country's population. Revenue is largely derived from agriculture and forestry. There are four national parks and seven natural reserves situated in mountainous areas.

The mountains of Tunisia are important sources of water (supplying 80 percent of the nation's water), agricultural land, and forests of a wide variety of different tree-types: including pine, oak, eucalyptus, cypress and acacia. These environments are exceptionally rich in biodiversity and home to rare and diverse ecosystems, but they are also very fragile. Various animal species are in danger of extinction, such as the Ichkeul buffalo and the gazelle. Overgrazing, erosion and desertification, lack of infrastructures, and insufficient awareness of development models are some of the major problems that need to be addressed in these areas.

The mountain regions of Tunisia are also important from a cultural and historical point of view. They contain important archeological and historical sites; traces of previous invaders and the ancient mountain-dwelling peoples of the region. Mountains are also a potent symbol of the country's struggle for independence, and have harboured fellagas and nationalists. Different ethnic groups still inhabit the mountains and are principally divided between those who inhabit the humid, snow-capped regions and those who live in the continental steppes and desert areas.

Tunisia has been implementing sustainable mountain development projects for some time, and in the last decade the country has begun to introduce various watershed management policies as well as strategies for the conservation of waters, soils and forests. The Government has always aimed to involve local populations in the management of ecosystems and other projects. Future objectives are to reinforce economic and social conditions for mountain communities, to introduce sustainable agriculture in difficult areas and to make conditions generally more attractive in mountain regions in order to draw back some of the many who have left.

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