Drawing on four decades of field-based research, Dr. Bencherifa examines the Moroccan oasis of Figuig as a lived landscape shaped by water management, social organization, mobility, and long-term environmental change. The talk explores how oasis communities have negotiated ecological limits, political shifts, and development pressures, and what these experiences offer for current discussions on sustainability, governance, and human–environment relations.
About the Speaker
Dr. Abdellatif Bencherifa is a cultural geographer whose work focuses on oasis societies, sustainability, and human–environment relations in North Africa. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the President of the Université Internationale de Rabat and as Director of its Public Policy Center. His career bridges scholarship, academic leadership, and public service in Morocco. He has previously served as President of Moulay Ismaïl University, Vice President of Al Akhawayn University, and held senior government posts, including Governor and Wali–Director General of Local Authorities at the Ministry of the Interior. In 2025, he received the International Prize for German Geography from the Frithjof Voss Foundation.
No registration required. Light lunch will be served.
Sponsor(s): Center for Near Eastern Studies, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Department of Anthropology, Department of Geography, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UIR-UCLA Asia-Africa-America Center for Culture, Environment, Society, and Sustainability