vbat.orgal-‘Ulā oasis, Saudi Arabia
Major mode - Ethnoecology and evolutionary biology: new researches in the north-western desert of the Kingdom.
- In the core area of al-‘Ulā palm grove, April 14th, 2019, © Vincent Battesti
In 2019, begin two distinct projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in the oasis of al-‘Ulā.
The oasis of al-‘Ulā, capital of the governorate of the same name, is part of Madīna Province, located in north-western Saudi Arabia. Al-‘Ulā, ancient city of Dādān in the wadi al-Qura, was the capital of the Lihyan empire on the incense road. It is located about twenty kilometers from Madāʾin Ṣāliḥ which hosts the Nabataean site al-Ḥijr classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Al-‘Ulā, which is now a modern urban area of about 40,000 inhabitants in a narrow valley, hewn through the sandstone (and basalt) plateau, still has its former walled urban center (al-Dīra) with hundreds of tightly packed mud-brick and stone houses, on a higher part of the valley in order to be clear from the floods.
Two research projects: al-Ulā-AS (Anthropological Survey) + al-Ulā-DPA (Date Palm Agrobiodiv.) :
– al-Ulā-AS: Anthropological survey of al-‘Ulā community and its oasis system.
PI: Vincent Battesti
– al-Ulā-DPA: Ethnographic, genetic, and morphometric analyses of the date palm agrobiodiversity in al-‘Ulā oasis
co-PIs.: Vincent Battesti & Muriel Gros-Balthazard (NYU-AD, New York University in Abu Dhabi).
Both projects are funded by Afalula, the French Agency for the Development of al-Ula, and backed by the RCU, the Royal Commission for AlUla.
- al-‘Ulā AS Project: Anthropological survey of al-‘Ulā community and its oasis system
- al-‘Ulā DPA Project: Ethnographic, genetic, and morphometric analyses of the date palm agrobiodiversity in al-‘Ulā oasis
2019-2024 Project.
Principal investigator: Dr Vincent Battesti
Located in the northwest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the oasis of al-‘Ulā, considered up until recently a remote and isolated territory, is the recent focus of an ambitious development project by the government of the Saudi monarchy (led by the Royal Commission for AlUla).
Prior to any ambitious project, an in-depth study must obviously be carried out to determine, here, the true nature of al-‘Ulā oasis. The challenge is to rely on other oasis cases without overlooking the local anthropological and ecological specificities and to highlight its social and economic functioning. As al-‘Ulā is mainly an agricultural terroir, oasis agriculture deserves special attention (Battesti, 2005), and in particular, the date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.)—see the project “Ethnographic, genetic, and morphometric analyses of the date palm agrobiodiversity in al-‘Ulā oasis” (dir. by Drs. Vincent Battesti & Muriel Gros- Balthazard)—, the engineering plant of this complex and ingenious system created by humankind. But even beyond the date palm: an oasis is a full socio-ecosystem, and a precious natural and cultural heritage. It is the combination of a complex multilayered agriculture system, cultivated species, and local knowledge and practices. A first focus should aim to understand how this system is working and how it has recently evolved. What is its agrobiodiversity, how can it even be measured? Experience (Battesti, 2013; Battesti & Gros-Balthazard et al., 2018) shows us that such an assessment cannot be carried out effectively without considering the local categorization of life, animals and plants, if we do not lose sight over the fact that the local population and its traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) and know-how are at the origin of and have maintained this agroecological diversity (a local human population with its different identities and often complex social organizations that must therefore also be included in the study).
From a scholarly standpoint, little is known about the current state of the oasis. We are unaware of any sociological or ethnological analysis of the oasis (but a book published in Saudi Arabia by Naseef, 1995), just as there is no evaluation of the richness of the local agrobiodiversity of oasis plants and animal. We here propose an understanding of al-‘Ulā oasis with a general and interdisciplinary diagnosis aiming at the relevant local anthropological issues. We propose an assessment of the local agrobiodiversity and its origins, undertaken by a multidisciplinary approach, combining anthropology, ethnoecology (including ethnobotany and ethnozoology), and agronomy. The objective is also to describe the functioning of the oasis as a whole, as a complex result of long-term and daily adjustments by humans and non-humans, by including in our research obviously also on the urban environment and the habitat of the humans and their evolutions.
A doctoral student has been recruited on this al-‘Ulā AS research project for a four-year (2019-2024) thesis in social anthropology (CNRS): Léo Marty.
An agricultural engineer has been recruited on this al-‘Ulā AS research project in 2023 (CNRS): Élise Gaury.
2019-2024 Project.
Principal investigators: Dr Vincent Battesti & Dr Muriel Gros-Balthazard
The oasis of al-‘Ulā, in the northwest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is at the center of an ambitious development project by the Saudi government. Al-‘Ulā is mainly an agricultural terroir. The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is the key plant of this complex man-made system: an essential part of the economy beyond sustenance. The touristic and economic development of the region will have an impact on urban areas and agriculture, and on the date palms in particular. A sustainable project hence requires an accurate assessment of the agrobiodiversity richness of the local date palms.
Here we propose a comprehensive estimation of al-‘Ulā date palm present and past diversity along with the understanding of its origins and evolution through time. The diversity of the date palm grown in the oasis al-‘Ulā seems particularly rich, with varieties unique to this oasis. An ethnobotanical survey will allow to better understand categorization and cultivation practices. Further, genomic and seed morphometric analyses of modern and ancient date palms will inform us on key aspects of the agrobiodiversity. Its provenance and transformation, from the beginning of date palm cultivation in al-‘Ulā till today, will hence be documented.
Beyond the characterization of local germplasm, this project will provide the knowledge that is fundamental to the sustainable development of the oasis. It will also inform conservation and breeding programs.
Photographs taken during a first fieldwork reconnaissance mission in al-‘Ulā (KSA). April 2019
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