Community partnership: An economic aspect in heritage conservation projects

Desertification is a natural environmental degradation phenomenon that threatens ecosystems globally. Numerous studies have explored the natural and human factors contributing to environmental degradation. Human activities can potentially accelerate or mitigate environmental degradation, especially in marginal areas. When resources in these areas fail to meet the needs of local populations, human migration occurs, leading to the loss of vital human potential necessary for preserving biodiversity and ecosystems. This migration further accelerates environmental degradation. Therefore, addressing the needs of local residents and improving their standard of living by leveraging the natural environment’s potential is crucial. This approach fosters a strong connection between the population and their communities, encouraging efforts to preserve and develop environmental resources as a foundation for sustainability. Consequently, strategies for developing marginal areas and conserving their environmental and human resources should be prioritized in policies aimed at combating environmental degradation and the desertification problems linked to human migration. The discussion includes development projects based on community participation as an approach to growth in isolated areas to protect them from environmental degradation, employing a comparative analysis methodology. This involves examining five case studies from Arab, regional, and international contexts in similar areas. The goal is to identify their characteristics and success factors, emphasizing the role of community partnership in conserving the environment. Various aspects are discussed, including administrative structure, participating parties in financing, strategies, scope of work, and the returns and benefits from these experiences, followed by a deductive approach to extract research results from the outputs of the previous analysis processes.