Taroudant, Morocco- According to the Worldagroforestry, argan tree density in Morocco “has decreased from 100 to 30 trees per hectare in less than a century.”
Despite the country's efforts to preserve and protect the argan tree, it is endangered and the number of trees per ha is in decline according to a study presented by Mohammed SghirTaleb during the World Congress on Agroforestry held in Delhi, India last February.
Argan tree, which is located in the south west of the kingdom, represents 7% of Morocco’s forest resources covering about 870,000 ha.
Mohammed SghirTaleb said, “The exploitation of argan is not sustainable.”
“What we need is a national strategy on access and benefit sharing which could improve the livelihoods of local people through sustainable use and management of the resource at the local and regional levels,” the researcher added.
Locally known as the tree of life, argan trees produce fruit (almonds like seeds). which are processed traditionally by women, who lately united in cooperatives, to extract the most expensive edible oil in the world, the argan oil.
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