In Morocco, the fourth edition of Green Week recently closed with the creation of green spaces in 25 cities, notably in Casablanca. In this port city, the event led by the mayor Nabila Rmili allowed the planting of 100 trees around the Hermitage Garden. This 100-year-old park covers an area of 14 hectares with vegetation composed of palm trees (phoenix canariensis, etc.), native trees (ficus benjamina) and other species such as the araucaria excelsa which is very popular for interior decoration.
The operation was supported by the French Embassy in Morocco, the Moroccan National Agency for Water and Forests, the Lydec Foundation supported by the Moroccan subsidiary of the French group Veolia, the Africa50 investment platform, as well as the Moroccan Ministries of Water and Equipment and of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. In addition to Casablanca, these institutions also handed over 1,000 seedlings to the heads of schools in 24 cities such as Tangier and Marrakech. This initiative aims to involve students in the climate cause and particularly in the protection of nature.
Greener cities
Morocco’s Green Week 2023 was also an opportunity for political and economic actors in the Kingdom to examine the climate resilience of Moroccan cities through several workshops. “Whether they are recreational or aesthetic, green spaces reinforce the attractiveness of metropolises. Thus, we must act for the rehabilitation of living ecosystems (wetlands, natural forests), the preservation of water resources and biodiversity in urban areas,” says the Association of Teachers of Life and Earth Sciences, which has organised the event since 2020.
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In Morocco, municipalities are the main levers for the implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thus, the Moroccan authorities facilitate partnerships at both local and international levels. In this context, the Visegrád Group, a European intergovernmental organisation made up of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, signed an agreement in 2022 with Morocco’s Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) to set up a composting unit in the Rabat Botanical Gardens. The initiative, which focuses on the use of biofertilisers, will improve waste management in the Moroccan capital.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi