Séminaire « Neoliberal politics of resource extraction: Moroccan argan oil » (6 nov, Paris)

La première séance du séminaire de l’année 2013-2014 aura lieu le 6 novembre à 17h 30 dans l’amphithéâtre Claude Lévi-Strauss.

Bertram TURNER, Senior Research Fellow au Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, présentera une communication intitulée :  « Neoliberal politics of resource extraction: Moroccan argan oil »

Vous êtes cordialement invités à y assister (résumé ci-dessous).

Pour information : que ceux qui souhaiteraient intervenir au séminaire interne ou connaîtraient des « volontaires potentiels » parmi les doctorants avancés sachent que les trois dernières séances de l’année (avril, mai et juin) sont encore disponibles.

« Neoliberal politics of resource extraction: Moroccan argan oil »

The presentation addresses the intertwining and coproduction of normative and technological strands in politics of natural resource extraction. It is
explored how the integration of a forestal resource in the global economy by means of normative and technological appropriation is associated with the delegation of responsibility for its conservation and the sustainability of extraction management to local use rights holders. In the process, so is
argued, such entanglements involve the transformation of a local staple into an exploitable global commodity as a niche product.

The case study looks at the emergence of argan oil at the world market. Argan oil is the most expensive nutritional oil worldwide today. It is
lauded for its specific nutty flavors and even has found entrance into the world of high-end cuisine. The oil is also used in pharmaceutical and
cosmetic industry. It is processed out of the fruits of the argan tree which is endemic to southwest Morocco forming a unique forestal ecosystem. The
presentation navigates through various layers of entanglements of law, sciences, technologies and knowledge regimes and explores how those
entanglements materialize in a transformation of the natural resource itself. It is analyzed how such entanglements meet a variety of requirements
necessary for a profitable global commodification at once: the divestment of rights of the local population; the securing of a continuous provision of
the industry with the starting product and its association with the economy of solidarity and equity as a fair traded, certified and protected eco-organic niche product and health stuff.