The agricultural sector employs 40% of the Moroccan population who rely on forests, wetlands and coastal ecosystems for their livelihoods. However, these resources are under threat from a variety of sources, including overexploitation, climate change, pollution, urbanization and the degradation of ecosystems. This threat also affects the natural heritage of the National Parks and calls for the implementation of actions to preserve and valorize its ecosystems.
Toubkal National Park located in the High Atlas Mountain, Morocco.
In response to these challenges, the country is in the process of revising its current National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP, 2011-2020), considering the new targets of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, an effort to be led by the National Committee on Biodiversity, an institutionalized, inter-ministerial working group that also involve key stakeholders from the private sector and civil society for the cross-cutting consideration of biodiversity.
Following on the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adoption last December, the national agency of waters and forests (ANEF) and the Ghabati Hayati project implemented by Expertise France and funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), held last March a consultation on its implementation for Morocco. This was the occasion for representatives from the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, the Department of National Parks and Protected Areas, National stakeholders, AFD and the Post 2020 Biodiversity Framework – EU support projects to share experiences on some of key GBF targets for Morocco.
Participants of the consultation, Rabat, Morroco. © Expertise France
For M. Zouhair Amhaouch, Director of the Parks and Nature Reserves Division: « Nature can provide solutions to protect natural ecosystems and put people at the heart of nature conservation. Regeneration and reforestation of natural landscapes and watershed management are nature-based solutions implemented by the High Commission for Water and Forests. » As part of Morocco’s 2020-2030 forest strategy, the ANEF has set itself the goal of reforesting 50,000 ha/year.
However, there is still a need for more focused incentives and collaboration mechanisms with the private sectors to facilitate the sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services. M. Ali Benryane, Managing Partner – SDI global consult stressed the fact that « The mainstreaming of biodiversity must involve all sectors. A strong governance is necessary. Biodiversity does not know sectorial boundaries, contrary to administrations. »
Extensive engagement with key stakeholders, as well as consultations with the wider public, will strengthen the actions and help to ensure a ‘whole of society’ approach to the biodiversity crisis. Support from key stakeholders is crucial to the successful implementation of the GBF.
Several initiatives have been launched to support countries developing NBSAPs and biodiversity Finance Plans, such as:
- BIOFIN, an initiative of the United Nations Development Program ;
- NBSAP Accelerator, Colombia initiative ;
- HAC 2.0 (High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People): implementation of the “30 x 30”.
Back in 2020, our project, Future Earth and IRD co-organized a workshop in Rabat on sustainable production and consumption. Experts, CBD national focal points, private sector representatives, civil society and international organizations representatives worked on co-building an action agenda to use science and sustainability to better reach Sustainable Development Goals.
As a follow up, our project is currently in discussion to specifically support the country to reach GBF targets 10, 14 and 16 in line with the Moroccan authorities and the orientations provided by the NBSAP. It will help to develop guidance for the sustainable management of productive systems through the integration of biodiversity and its many values into policies, regulations, planning, and development processes.
The support will provide key stakeholders with knowledge, technical assistance, and resources to accelerate biodiversity action and transformation on the ground. A successful implementation also requires a good understanding of the GBF various dimensions, and its pathway to the 2030 goals and 2050 vision.
On behalf of the Post 2020 Biodiversity Framework – EU support project, M. Didier Babin, Senior Strategic Scientific Advisor, emphasized the international community’s diplomatic success in Montreal, the importance of the media coverage around COP15, and the large participation of business, including the financial sector, but also representatives of the Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs) and of the Subnational and Local governments (SNLGs). If no Heads of state were present at the high-level segment, the active participation of a large number of biodiversity Ministers was crucial for the GBF adoption. By addressing the main sources of biodiversity loss and degradation, the GBF attempts to take scientific community alerts and IPBES reports into account. M. Babin then presented COP15 main decisions in relation to the monitoring framework, resource mobilization, capacity-building and development, cooperation to support GBF implementation, as well as the action plan on soil biodiversity, SNLGs action plan, communication strategy, and gender.
The main orientations taken from the GBF according to Didier Babin were identified as follows:
o Enable participation at all levels of government;
o “Live well in balance and harmony with Mother Earth”;
o Transformation of our societies’ relationships with biodiversity;
o Catalyze, enable, and galvanize urgent transformative action by governments, SNLGs, with a whole-of society participation;
o Decisions centered on stakeholders (Business, finance, SNLG, consumers, women, young people, etc.) through government actions.
“It is via each government’s actions that we will be able to take transformative actions at local and national levels.” concluded Didier Babin.
All Parties must now translate the agreement into national actions by preparing national strategic plans and financing plans thus contributing to halt and reverse biodiversity loss worldwide.
