The Contribution of Forest Resources to the Historical Territorial Development of the Mountainous Areas in Northern Morocco

The peculiar geographical configuration of the territory allocated to Spain in the Northern Morocco between 1912 and 1956 gave special importance to forest resources, not in vain, the land that could be exploited extended through almost the fourth part of 20,000 km(2) that should have been administered by the legal institution of the Protectorate. During the first years of Spanish presence, the cork oak species, that extended on over 110,000 hectares, was the objective of the agents in charge of forests, since they thought that its exploitation would be the driving force of the forest economy in this area. So, the first exploitation of cork was realized in 1916 around the city of Larache. In the early 30s, when the armed conflicts ended in the Rif, 300,000 kilograms of cork were put out to tender, consolidating this product as the main origin of rents in production and day's wages. We analysed an incipient development of exploitation of esparto grass and palmetto, as well as the sale of fire wood and charcoal. Although, in the middle of the 40s, Franco regime decided to impel definitely the Northern Morocco under the ideological principle called "to increase the value of Morocco", that it was realized, in our opinion, in three main sections. The "Policy of Forest Revaluation" in the decade between 1946 and 1955, which had a global investment of more than 19 million pesetas addressed to reforestation, regeneration of forests, and to building of forest houses. Otherwise the exploitation of the main timber species, especially of the cedar from the Rif and less of local oak and fir, was for urban growth, and for the building of tracks to extract the forest products aimed to articulate road communications in the Northern Morocco. The consolidation of industrial development to manufacture esparto grass, palmetto and tizra, which contributed to increase local inhabitants' per capita income in the North African area allocated to Spain.