Morocco takes the presidency of the United Nations Forum for the Forests for the first time

At the heart of his plea: the strategy ” Morocco forests 2020-2030“, Presented as an integrated management model in the face of the challenges of climate of the biodiversityone you rural development. But beyond the speeches, the situation is tense. The Moroccan forestry area, as an example, covers 13% of the territory, but deteriorates at an alarming rate: 17,000 hectares disappear each year, victims of the climate change of the fireand overexploitation . Or sept millions de Moroccanslive in or around these spaces. For them, the forest is anything but abstract: it heats, nourishes, cares, protects. It is also a latent conflict between protection and survival. The director of the ANEF did not elected this reality. He insisted on the central role of local populations in the national strategy, which aims to reforest 600,000 hectares by 2030, produce 460 million forest plants and generate more than 27,500 direct jobs.

A redesigned governance, a model to share

Thus, during this forum, Morocco presented its newforest governance based on the creation of two public agencies – the ANEF and the National Parks Agency – and the implementation of more than 200 local forest development groups. Objective: make rural communitiesfull -fledged partners, and no longer tolerated users. This approach, experienced in particular in theRif in Ifrane or in the arganeraieFrom the southwest, made it possible to structure more inclusive decision circuits and co-constructed eco-development projects. It is accompanied by an ambitious reforestation plan: 600,000 hectares scheduled by 2030, supported by the production of 460 million forest plants, with a growing place in the private sector.

A financial, technological and human challenge

If the ambition is clear, its realization poses a delicate equation. How to finance, at the national level, a forest transition capable of responding to Ecological emergenciessocial and climatic? THE Fonds forestier nationalwhich represented almost 70% of the budget of the water and forest administration in 2016, remains a structuring lever. But on his own, it will not be enough to cover all of the needs linked to thereforestation the regeneration of ecosystems or the equipment of the territories. This is why Morocco explores several additional avenues: recourse toartificial intelligenceTo better monitor fires and follow the evolution of plantations, implementation of forest certification devices and development of sectors with high added value, such as the ecotourism the forestry or the valuation of aromatic plants and medicinal.

In this dynamic, the Forum the New Yorkalso served as a springboard for the next deadline: in June 2025, an international event will be organized in Agadir devoted to community management of forests. The objective will be to exchange concrete experiences, to enhance the Technological innovationsand identify new sustainable financing mechanisms. In addition, the election of Morocco in May 2024 at the Forum office for the period 2024-2026, as a representative of the African continentconfirms his growing commitment to international forest governance. A position that allows it to actively contribute to the implementation of the United Nations Strategic Plan for the 2017-2030 forests, articulated around six major objectives: fight against thedeforestationrestoration of ecosystems, mobilization of resources and strengthening cooperation between states.