Abstract
The desert and oases in Libya constitute approximately 95 percent of the country’s total area. Despite some attempts by the government to develop these areas by establishing a number of agricultural projects to be run by the government, mainly in growing grain and legume crops and palm trees, these projects failed due to administrative corruption and the deterioration of the security situation in the country. The private sector has flourished during the last two decades, but due to randomness, the pursuit of quick profits and the weak control of government agencies, these projects did not achieve the desired results. The tourism sector, as well as the traditional local industries in desert areas and oases, have begun to recover in recent years, but unfortunately, the deterioration of security during the last decade has caused disruption to the tourism sector in Libya. The spread of oil and gas production fields in the desert areas and oases did not contribute to the development of these areas, but on the contrary, it caused an increase in the pollution of the desert environment. The main objective of implementing these policy dialogues in these areas is to achieve spatial development and increase population stability and sources of income through investing available local resources. A special questionnaire was designed with the aim of activating the participation of local residents in assessing the current situation of desert areas and oases and hearing their opinions about developing appropriate policies for their areas. This questionnaire was circulated in important municipalities representing desert areas and oases, and then an analysis of these opinions was evaluated for the purpose of proposing innovations for the development of desert areas. A regional dialogue for the five Maghreb countries was also conducted to share opinions and recommendations for the development of the Sahara and oasis in these countries. The results of these national and regional political dialogues have presented a set of proposed innovations for application in the Libyan desert areas and oases, which can be summarized in some basic pillars such as follows: 1. investment on the cultivation of crops adapted to dry environments, including date ix palms, olives, prickly pears, medicinal and aromatic plants, garlic and onion crops; 2. encouraging manufacturing industries for the produced agricultural crops and its raw materials; 3. investment on the desert tourism; 4. reviving local traditional industries. The main purpose of the above-mentioned investments is to achieve providing job opportunities and reducing unemployment rate, producing goods and services for local and national markets and reducing the rate of migration from desert and oasis to cities.