Exploring Agricultural Fires Of Oasis Ecosystem in the Region of Ghardaïa (Algerian Desert). First Results from Observations on the Field

Recently, the oasis ecosystems of the Sahara region have experienced agricultural fires that mainly affected palm groves. The region of Ghardaïa does not escape from this problem, as its oases have experienced varying fires and degradation of natural resource in its ecosystem. To cope with this alarming situation, various actors must be involved in fighting fires and fire prevention. This research, conducted in the Ghardaïa region, followed three main steps involving the characterization of oasis fires, the analysis of fire occurrence in relation to the human and environmental factors, and finally conducting a qualitative survey of 90 palm groves distributed across five oases in Ghardaïa region to understand the local agricultural fire problem. Results show the necessity of making the local population more aware of the risks that agricultural fires pose to them, and the irremediable degradation of the oasis ecosystem, climate change, and its very poor, polarized, and fragile economy of subsistence. A culture of risk needs to be developed within the oasis system to limit vulnerability and the likelihood of destructive fires.