The Disappearing Oasis

Halim Sbai knows he cannot save the oasis, but he is doing everything he can to let the world know what’s happening on the border with the Sahara.

The Disappearing Oasis, an immersive film by Contrast, produced in partnership with the European Forest Institute (EFI), illuminates desertification, which threatens the livelihood of more than 2 million people living in the oases (fertile areas in a desert) of Morocco. Climate change is one of the main causes for degradation of these fragile ecosystems. Lack of opportunities drive people away from the oases, leaving empty lands for the Sahara to grab. Even though locals cannot save the oases by themselves, Halim plants palm tree seeds every year to try and stop desertification.