Oases: Sentinels of the Desert

A Garden of Eden in the Wild West, an oasis in America: Los Comondú is one of 120 oases located in the 1,200 kilometre long desert in Mexico's Lower California. Here it rains only a few days a year and the temperature reaches up to 50 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, water flows in Los Comondú, which enabled the first settlers from Europe to conquer this part of America - and even to perform the miracle of growing wine in the desert. The first inhabitants of Los Comondú were Europeans. Today, the oasis, long isolated and relatively unknown, is gaining attention. Scientists are fascinated by this Eldorado where water becomes wine - because that is exactly what happens in Los Comondú. Today, cowboys and winegrowers inhabit this gem in the desert.

Oasis is the cultural origin of the powerful families of Abu Dhabi – and a place that is constantly changing: lettuce is now grown here, on the border to the desert. The local farmers cultivate palm groves whose dates are among the best in the world. This landscape has never been as green as it is today. Throughout the oasis’ long and turbulent history, man has harnessed the water to enable life in the desert.

To the north of the Sultanate of Oman, in the middle of the Djebel Akhdar mountain range, there is a small green phenomenon. In one of the driest regions in the world, residents have been able to create lush gardens on rocky slopes. These oases consist of terraces where fruit trees, vegetables and crops grow. Damask roses also bloom here. Rose water, valued throughout the Middle East, comes from the flowers for which the region is known. Water is extremely scarce in this desert region, but there are springs in the depths of the mountains. As early as 2,000 years ago, people showed their creativity by bringing precious water to their farms through channels that were sometimes cut several kilometers into the rock. These canals are called Falaj and are the lifelines of the villages. Even today they roam the oases of Djebel Akhdar.

In eastern Morocco, at the foot of the Atlas, the Tafilalet Valley is home to one of the largest oases in the world. But this set of islands of greenery in the middle of the desert, fed by an ancestral irrigation system, is threatened by climate change. Decrease in water resources, soil degradation, rural exodus: the oasis of Tafilalet faces many challenges. Accompanied by a team of scientists, the inhabitants implement various projects: they restore the khettara, underground galleries that capture rainwater and groundwater, and modernize their beekeeping or livestock techniques. It is also an opportunity to rethink the role of women in Moroccan society.