The challenges of ‘participatory’ development in a semi-authoritarian context: the case of an essential oil distillation project in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco

Abstract

Decentralisation implies that responsibilities for development planning and management are transferred from central governance levels to sub-national levels, including local governments. Decentralisation reforms assume that local people's greater involvement in local decision-making will lead to more sustainable social and environmental development. Participatory rural techniques and approaches have been devised to support decentralisation reforms. This article presents the case of a multi-donor-funded ‘participatory’ essential oil distillation project in the High Atlas of Morocco. The project sought to respond to urgent issues around natural resource conservation, desertification, poverty alleviation, and out-migration of Berber communities towards urban areas. The article addresses the role that institutional partners and local authorities played in the implementation of the project. Based on extensive empirical fieldwork, the findings demonstrate that the approaches utilised by...