Since the late 1970s, extensive livestock production in the high plateaus of Eastern Morocco, particularly of small ruminants, has been seriously threatened by climate change (CC). Negative impacts include reduction in rangeland forage production and water availability, increased poverty and inequality, and increased degradation of rangelands. Different categories of pastoralists have adopted different combinations of adaptation strategies, but the factors influencing adoption have not to date been investigated. This paper aims to identify the perceptions of pastoralists on CC, to analyze the adaptive responses of different wealth categories, and to determine the factors affecting the adoption of adaptation measures. The Mann-Kendall, Pettitt and Buishand tests and the standardized precipitation index were used to analyze the climate data. Data on adaptation were examined using the chi-square homogeneity test, Kruskal-Wallis test and binary logistic regression. The observed climate trends perfectly corroborated pastoralists' perceptions of significant changes in their local climate since the 1970s: a considerable decrease in annual rainfall and an increase in temperature and frequency of droughts and high winds. There were significant differences (Chi square = 7.603, p = 0.022, df = 2) between small, medium and large pastoralists in the frequency adoption of adaptation strategies, especially between small and large pastoralists (U statistic = 16.000, p = 0.009). The distribution of most adaptation actions also differed significantly between these two groups. Wealthier pastoralists have adopted a greater range of strategies, while poorer pastoralists have less diverse adaptation portfolios, and are more likely to adopt less advantageous strategies such as casual labor. The adoption of adaptation practices was significantly influenced by equipment, educational level, household size, herd size, training received, CC perceptions and agroecological setting. Public interventions to improve the adaptive capacity of pastoralists in Morocco's arid rangelands should be geared towards addressing these determinants and should prioritise small-scale pastoralists.

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Since the mid-1970s, the high plateaus of eastern Morocco have experienced proven trends of climate change (CC) such as a significant decrease in rainfall amounts and an increase in the droughts’ frequency. Consequently, the CC threatens the sustainability of this pastoral ecosystem and negatively affects the breeding of small ruminants, the main local-level livelihood, which becomes more vulnerable due to its high dependence on climatic conditions. This chapter aims to analyze breeders’ adaptation practices by taking into account their social stratification based on the size of the sheep flock in possession. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests to examine the differences in the adoption’ frequency of CC adaptation measures according breeders’ classes and Chi-square independence test to identify the factors explaining these observed differences. The analysis of local adaptation practices reveals that they are endogenous but above all curative, aiming at a short-term logic and have a low to medium relevance compared to the specific objective of adaptation to CC. In addition, there are significant differences in the frequency of adoption of CC adaptation strategies (chi-square value = 8.1112, p = 0.017, df = 2) within categories of breeders, in particular between small and larger breeders (U statistic = 58.000, p = 0.008). The significant factors explaining these differences are socioeconomic (age, household size, equipment, training, and membership of a basic professional organization). It is therefore recommended to target small breeders as a priority and to set up support measures (equipment, training, funding, organization of breeders).

Since the mid-1970s, the high plateaus of eastern Morocco have experienced proven trends of climate change (CC) such as a significant decrease in rainfall amounts and an increase in the droughts’ frequency. Consequently, the CC threatens the sustainability of this pastoral ecosystem and negatively affects the breeding of small ruminants, the main local-level livelihood, which becomes more vulnerable due to its high dependence on climatic conditions. This article aims to analyze breeders’ adaptation practices by taking into account their social stratification based on the size of the sheep flock in possession. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests to examine the differences in the adoption’ frequency of CC adaptation measures according breeders’ classes and Chi-square independence test to identify the factors explaining these observed differences. The analysis of local adaptation practices reveals that they are endogenous but above all curative, aiming at a short-term logic and have a low to medium relevance compared to the specific objective of adaptation to CC. In addition, there are significant differences in the frequency of adoption of CC adaptation strategies (chi-square value = 8.1112, p = 0.017, df = 2) within categories of breeders, in particular between small and larger breeders (U statistic = 58.000, p = 0.008). The significant factors explaining these differences are socioeconomic (age, household size, equipment, training, and membership of a basic professional organization). It is therefore recommended to target small breeders as a priority and to set up support measures (equipment, training, funding, organization of breeders).