“Celebration of the International Day for Biodiversity” ANEF and the European Union
Partners to preserve biodiversity
Couple Mohammed Drihem
In celebration of World Biodiversity Day this year under the theme: “From agreement to action: rebuilding biodiversity”: The Director General of the National Agency for Water and Forests; Abderrahim Houmy performed on Tuesday May 23, 2023; a field visit to the Souss Massa National Park in Agadir; in the presence of a delegation including Llombart Cussac, Ambassador of the European Union in Morocco and a delegation of nine Ambassadors of EU Member States accredited to Morocco.
This visit to the Park made it possible to learn about the various programs for safeguarding extinct and reintroduced animal species, in particular the addax, the oryx and the red-necked ostrich. It was also an opportunity to pay a visit to the Ramsar site of Oued Massa in order to discover the beautiful collection of migratory birds that it shelters.
A guided visit to the eco-museum of the Souss Massa National Park, the work of which has just been completed, enabled the delegation to learn about the natural wealth of flora and fauna of the park, such as the bald ibis, an emblematic species in national scale and of which Morocco is home to the last wild population in the world.
The eco-museum of the Souss Massa park, a jewel that has just been created, will constitute an infrastructure for ecotourism and awareness of the protection of nature in general and of the Souss Massa National Park in particular.
On this occasion, it should be recalled that the review of cooperation between Morocco and the EU in the forestry sector reports a set of programs and projects that have been carried out jointly with European partners and which have concerned several themes, among others: climate change, the conservation of biodiversity, the management of protected areas and the fight against desertification.
It is in this same spirit, moreover, that the new program “Green Earth” – “Al Ard Alkhadra” initiated at the end of 2022 with the support of the EU, aims to support the strategy “Forests of Morocco 2020-2030”. by promoting an ecological transition that creates decent jobs within the framework of forestry development.
It should be noted that the celebration of this day is an opportunity for the National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF) to highlight the efforts made in terms of the conservation of endangered species and the development of the network of protected areas which are the main components of the biodiversity conservation program.
Actions carried out by ANEF; are part of the “Forests of Morocco 2020-2030” strategy launched by His Majesty the King, may God assist him, on February 13, 2020. This strategy constitutes an important turning point in forest management in general and the conservation biodiversity in particular by contributing significantly to the implementation of the new Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. This framework provides for the conservation of at least 30% of the natural ecosystems of land and sea areas through protected area systems and other effective conservation measures.
To this end, the National Agency for Waters and Forests and its partners, in particular the European Union (EU), ensure the development of programs for the conservation of current national parks and their ecotourism enhancement and the strengthening of current programs for the conservation of fauna and to extend them to other threatened or extinct species. It also plans to launch the creation of new protected areas and to set up a natural heritage information system which allows the mobilization of the scientific and technical community around the conservation of nature.