There is a need for a coherent approach towards the issue of water, taking into account, in the variety of trans-national, national and local contexts of the Oases, the effects of climate change, the diversity of each geographic region in relation to the local hydrogeological setting, the water collection and irrigation techniques, the water infrastructure present in each territory. A water capital that must be identified, making the most of it to ensure its availability, its regeneration and prevent its pollution, necessarily incorporating new technologies which rediscover the value of systems based on traditional knowledge.

Innovative practices in the management of soil, water and energy resources, are necessary to the survival of the entire planet, not only to prevent the disappearance of Oases. It is true, however, that in the desert environment such measures cannot be postponed. For this reason, in agriculture, effective water management will also depend on solar power. The use of such technology can be aimed to supply energy to the collection of water by the wells in the palm groves. An extraction which, thanks to the particular technology of solar pumps, is achieved without depleting the resource. With the addition of a further result: the reintroduction, through such an innovation, of the traditional collective water management customs, the starting point of life in the Oases. By moving away from the use of individual, one household wells, which together with climate change has led to the exhaustion of groundwater, farmers in the Oases can return to associate among themselves, both to share the yield of a single well, managing and subdividing the flow at fixed times, and to bear the installation costs.

Traditional agriculture in the Oases is not a mere production system for family consumption, but the activity that founds the Oasis itself. This gave birth to an historical landscape, which is maintained by traditional cultivation methods on a small scale and with low profit margins. Support and funding must therefore go to those farmers who, by their practices, succeed not only in preserving biodiversity and life in the open desert, but also in protecting the uniqueness and aesthetic quality of that particular landscape. The special features of the place of origin are actually crucial even in the economic cycle, in bringing added value also to local products of a larger territory, such as a province, a region, and indeed a nation. The image of the historic-traditional landscape is in fact a “seal of excellence”, that alone can summarize the “typical” product properties, be it agricultural or artisanal, but can also convey a distinctive and wider cultural heritage. That is why the traditional Oasis needs adequate and effective recognition.

Giving life back to the traditional, often semi-abandoned, villages in the Oases is possible, provided that the restoration work is aimed at returning to the community, first and foremost, the spaces dedicated to collective life. Such interventions must take into account their inherent aesthetic qualities, valuable and necessary visual representations of cultural and spiritual values. In this way, public spaces and some of the old buildings can be returned to religious ceremonies and traditional festivals; this “recovered” use can be the starting point for a gradual rediscovery, that is also symbolical – as a place of representation and belonging – for all its inhabitants. For this to happen, the re-appropriation by the community must begin in the very early planning stages: communicating with the former residents and getting them involved in the restoration project fosters direct participation, the rediscovery of local history and segments of collective memory. To this we must add the involvement of workers who are still able to use indigenous materials and local techniques, passing on their skills to the new generations. Thus begins a process that, in time, might spread to other parts of the village, leading to the renovation of private homes, where some can return in the summer season or during Ramadan. The total destruction of the village, which occurs as a result of the erosion and sanding up caused by neglect, could, once again, be averted.

Tourism can be seen as a double edged sword: an opportunity to showcase Oases and their cultural heritage that will allow their survival or, otherwise, the agent of a degradation which brings their end closer. When it comes to landscape, the integrity of which is crucial to the touristic appeal of the Oases, the greatest risk comes from construction of new neighbourhoods and new hospitality structures in the vicinity of the old villages. Projects which are authorized and executed without taking into account the aesthetic and functional criteria inherent to such places, and not least erected using building materials which are inappropriate not only in respect to the architectural context, but also to the climate. Energy-consuming buildings, conceived according to criteria which are increasingly found to be unsuitable even in a large metropolis, and which, in the Oasis, are meant to signify modernity, end up altering its appearance and weakening its touristic potential. What can easily be done instead is the recovery of traditional village buildings and their promotion as excellent hospitality facilities, adopting policies and strategies that subordinate financial support to the maintenance of local architectural features. Other facilities that deserve to be promoted are those shaped by local nomadic tradition, tented accommodation with a very low environmental impact, located in the desert or in the proximity of an Oasis, wonderfully integrated within the natural environment and suitable to withstand the harsh desert climate.

Actions that safeguard life in the Oases are effective when local communities get involved in decision making and have their say about the international cooperation programmes and national policies that affect them directly. Precondition for this to happen, are new forms of self-organization of the local actors, able to create new spaces for debate: forums dedicated to the identification of needs, priorities, strategies, to which village women and youngsters bring a contribution, all of them being traditionally absent from the assemblies with government functions in the community. In addition, training activities involving the various sectors which are the very foundation of the Oasis’ integrated economy, should be implemented. These being a valuable occasion for an extensive exchange between communities located far apart from each other, equally affected by the changes induced by new socio-environmental scenarios. Here, the identification of current problems is followed by the possibility of sharing solutions that combine innovation and local knowledge.