A memorandum of understanding for cooperation in environmental protection was signed between Morocco and Senegal on December 12, 2018. The signature took place on the sidelines of the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (Cop24) in Katowice, Poland.
Climate change issues are common to many African countries. Faced with this, the Senegalese Minister of the Environment, Mane Thierno Dieng, proposes this formula: “We must approach them with common means and the pooling of our actions”. A memorandum was signed on the 12th of December 2018 between his country and Morocco to this effect by the Moroccan Secretary of State for Sustainable Development, Nezha El Ouafi, and the Senegalese Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development.
Future collaboration between the two countries will focus on waste management, environmental protection and sustainable development. The memorandum will enable the two States to strengthen their cooperation on environmental governance, particularly in the fight against climate change, coastal preservation, coastal erosion and marine pollution. Both sides will share experiences on the field with a view to capacity building and mutual technical assistance. They will also exchange information on various programmes in the sector and, of course, carry out joint projects to protect the environment. For the implementation of the cooperation agreement, a committee will draw up three-year action plans for which it will define the various tasks to be carried out.
Through this cooperation, Senegal wants to benefit greatly from Morocco’s experience in combating climate change. Morocco was ranked first in Africa in the sector in the 2019 edition of the Climate Change Performance Index, published in December 2018. Morocco produces nearly 40% of its electricity from solar energy and demonstrates its leadership in Africa on a daily basis on the sustainable development issue.
Luchelle Feukeng
