Morocco struggles to fight deforestation

25/03/2007

Human activities are largely responsible for a loss of forest cover in Morocco. The government is taking steps to combat deforestation, but more remains to be done.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat—25/03/07

[Sarah Touahri] Morocco currently loses 30,000 hectares of forest per year

In recent years ecologists and officials have raised the alarm that without sufficient awareness campaigns and government action, Morocco may lose its forests. According to Hammou Jader, Secretary-General of the High Commission for Water, Forests and Desertification Control, the country currently loses 30,000 hectares of forest per year, due to a number of problems including human activity, climate change and fires. Jader said that in most cases, the risk from fires is "caused mainly and directly by humans".

Although fires are a problem throughout the year 80% of them occur between June and October. The cause of half of the fires is never discovered, although 40% of fires are known to result from negligence such as field burning, forest clearing, campfires, discarded cigarettes and smoking beehives for honey collection. Morocco's January and February frosts frequently blight large numbers of trees and make it easier for forest fires to spread.

According to the High Commission for Water, Forests and Desertification Control, deforestation can contribute to flooding and topsoil loss as plant cover is less able to play its role in regulating water flows and protecting against soil erosion. The commission is therefore trying to address the situation by restoring forest density and the balance of the ecosystem. Reforestation will be necessary to satisfy the growing demand for wood products brought about by the country’s social and economic development.

The government has implemented laws, regulations and prevention and control measures in high-risk forest districts. An inter-ministerial committee has drafted a national forest fire prevention strategy which outlines the regions threatened by fires and their main causes. The strategy aims to help put in place a prevention and information programme to tackle the problem in stages. The programme's overall objective is to ensure that the rate of regeneration will be higher than that of forest loss.

Morocco currently plants nearly 37,000 hectares of new forest per year and efforts are being made to increase this rate. In Jader’s view it should be possible to achieve a rate of 50,000 hectares a year and ensure the survival of the country’s forests. Most of the country’s lumber is produced from cedar and pine forests which cover a mere 227,000 hectares, barely 4% of the country’s total forests.

Morocco’s forests cover an area of around 9 million hectares, or 12% of the country’s surface area. Its natural forests cover a total of 5.8 million hectares, while it has 3.2 million hectares of esparto grass steppes. The country has 530,000 hectares of planted forest.