Morocco has officially established eight protected marine areas (AMP) spread over its Mediterranean and Atlantic facades. The announcement was made Thursday by the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, when the 8ᵉ edition of the sea forum in El Jadida was opened.
Intervening at the opening of the forum, the Minister recalled Morocco’s commitments within the framework of the new world framework for biodiversity. The objective set is ambitious, reaching 10 % maritime surface protected by 2030.
Ms. Benali stressed that “30 % of protected marine areas would increase fish biomass by 500 %, offering more certainty to the fishing industry, while considerably increasing added value for local communities”.
Coordinated legal and strategic measures
Under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the kingdom has initiated a series of reforms to protect its marine and coastal ecosystems. “Morocco has implemented, in close consultation with stakeholders, a set of strategic, legal, institutional and operational measures,” said Benali.
She also recalled that the National Sustainable Development Strategy (SNDD) now places the preservation of marine circles at the heart of public action, as a structuring framework to integrate the principles of sustainability in territorial and sectoral policies.
The Minister praised the first results of the plastic “coastal without plastic” plan, implemented in complementarity with the national emergency plan against accidental marine pollution. These joint efforts have made an improvement in the quality of bathing water, with “a compliance rate to 93 % in 2024, compared to 88 % in 2021”, and a significant reduction in waste collected on the beaches “more than 21 %”.
Beyond the regulatory systems, Leila Benali insisted on the importance of collective engagement: “These concrete progress illustrate the importance of collective action, carried by the awareness, education and continuous mobilization of all actors, institutions, communities, civil society, citizens, and in particular Moroccan youth and the associative environment”.
A forum turned towards the sea challenges of tomorrow
Placed under the theme “The sea, the future of the land”, the forum of the sea is held until May 11 in El Jadida. It is intended to be a space for debate and co-construction, bringing together researchers, experts, artists, NGOs, companies and institutional representatives around major issues linked to the ocean and the coast.
The opening session took place in the presence of several personalities, including the General Consul of France in Casablanca, Pascale Tribach, and the governor of the province of El Jadida, Mhamed Atfaoui.
