Morocco prepares "green" charter for 2010
2009-10-01
A planned environmental charter will regulate the monitoring and recycling of waste in Morocco.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 01/10/09
 [Hassan Benmehdi] Because solid and liquid waste disposal is a pressing problem, Morocco is preparing a charter to protect the environment. |
Morocco plans to unveil an environmental charter next year to govern water and solid waste management in all public and private sectors, while preserving natural resources and spaces.
"Environmental protection is a long-term investment, and all players, starting with industry, must adhere to it," economist Mohammed Grine told Magharebia on Thursday (September 24th), adding that polluters will have to pay "'green taxes': something they've never done before."
The project to draft the charter, which will be unveiled in March 2010, is spearheaded by King Mohammed VI. The monarch chaired a meeting with government officials on the subject on Thursday.
According to data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the cost of environmental damage is calculated to be around 8% of Morocco's annual GDP.
The charter will aim to ensure that all projects adhere to environmentally-friendly specifications, providing "proof of Morocco's will to sign up for a progressive policy to reconcile the imperatives of socio-economic development with the preservation of the environment and sustainable development," according to a Trade Ministry communiqué issued the day of the meeting.
The charter aims to make up lost ground in water management. According to the government agency responsible for water and the environment, Morocco produces more than 750 million cubic metres of waste water annually, of which only 100 million cubic metres are treated and a paltry 10 million are re-used. Under the new charter, the target is to increase waste water recycling to more than 96%. The treated water will be used to irrigate green spaces and farms.
Abdelkébir Zahoud, who is in charge of water and environmental issues for the government, told Magharebia that the government will open a debate on the charter at the regional and national levels and organise a nationwide tour to collect opinions. Conventions signed with the 16 regions around the country will soon allow the government to establish an environmental observatory in each region, which will generate annual environmental reports, monitor the ecological situation, and tackle problems.
The charter will cover the creation of waste disposal sites, the treatment and recycling of waste water, the categorisation of open spaces such as forests, the fight against air pollution and the preservation of nature reserves.
The industrial sector will also have to abide by the environmental charter.
The government will adopt a "polluter pays" principle to encourage the industrial sector to make necessary green adjustments to their business practices, according to the Trade Ministry statement. Officials will work closely with the sector to set a cap for liquid waste production, which will be introduced by 2013.
"We're going to hear some people speaking out against rises in production costs," said Grine. "But we have to introduce measures so that industries will pay in accordance with the amount they contribute to environmental damage."
"The need for environmental protection is more pressing than ever in Morocco," said MP Fatima Moustaghfir. She emphasised all aspects of the environmental programme, and said efforts must start with the creation of public parks, cleanliness, and public toilets.
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Lamiri Mustapha Posted 2009-10-01
His Majesty, the King, may God give glorify him, thinks about everything. It is rare that you find a country that thinks about this subject.
Samir Posted 2009-10-01
It's about time someone is addressing the environmental problems in Morocco. I'm just concerned that the wide spread corruption in morocco will undermine any effort to enforce the environmental regulations; as it is the case with any legislative. It is definitely a good step in the right direction.. btw... I definitely like the Public Toilets approach :)
Jamal Morelli Posted 2009-10-02
Thank you, Fatima Moustaghfir! Tell me who I need to vote for to make sure this gets through - who are the responsible parties in Fes, for example? Hamdolilah... this is great news for such a consistently filthy and polluted place.
BENATA Mohamed Posted 2009-10-02
Hello- I would just like to reply to Miss Sarah Touahri to remind her that the issue with the national environment charter is not an issue of its text, but an issue of the spirit of collectivism, which concerns all Moroccans, not just the government. Moreover, His Majesty King Mohamed VI’s appeal came to crown the efforts and activism of Morocco’s environmental protection NGOs, which strongly criticised the Moroccan government. The latter had not taken responsibility to respect the environment and protect the citizen’s natural heritage, particularly with the “Azure Plan” for the development of mass tourism, which destroyed the Moroccan coastline.
el sabri said Posted 2010-01-27
Oh, nice! May this charter transform into an everyday foundation in the field. And may every single one of us take seriously the noble cause that is the protection of our environment, so that our children do not pass a harsh judgment on the legacy we leave them.
lahlou Posted 2010-01-29
I think that the issue of the environment must be dealt with at two levels: the global environment, where we should not pay the bill of the big polluters, which are paradoxically the richest countries, and the environment at the national level, where there is an effort to make at the community level, which is basic, proximate body of democracy and deregulation and of all our joys and, unfortunately sorrows. In effect, it is at the level of these entities that city plans take form, that green spaces disappear, that avenues become streets, that streets become alleys and anarchy comes to life, that shantytowns continue to pop up (the hotbeds for elections). There is nothing but questions, garbage, common transport, parking, play areas. This is the legacy that is left to our children. Our representatives have full pockets for their own children, as they do nothing for free. The problem—the real one—is, in my opinion, not one of charters and the legislation regarding its implementation and ensuring its exemption. Therein, political consensus must bear evidence of the parties’ courage.
EL ALLAM Posted 2010-01-30
Better late than never! Let us not forget that Morocco is a developing country. This topic, which is currently fashionable at the global level, is just beginning to be taken seriously by the rich countries! How can we blame our top leaders for taking to long or not doing enough? –And all the more so given protecting the environment is above all else a matter of money? Do you believe that our country has the money to build treatment plants everywhere? or healthy, organic agriculture? or change 80% of its parking lots? or install wind turbines and solar panels to produce electricity? Do you believe that we can pass on building on the seafront and still maintain tourism in so doing? How can you think to ask the poor inhabitants of shantytowns to, who do not even have the drain so as to throw everything down it, to respect the environment? Is it not necessary to mind that scourge first and fill these empty stomachs before speaking about this topic? Believe me, the environment is not so simple! This requires material, financial, state and also individual and personal effort without a doubt! It is true that each of us can participate and in his own way be mindful of all his actions in his daily life, protecting the environment from his leaky faucet and the plastic bags everywhere! It is also true that the environment is everyone’s affair!!! Let us, the citizens we are, be responsible. Are we going to leave a sick planet, which is suffering from all sorts of pollution on a daily basis, to be the inheritance of our future generations!? Are we proud of destroying in less than two centuries what other human preserved for millennia? Is this not the evidence of our competition in all domains?
asma Posted 2010-02-04
I hope they discuss it with all Moroccans.
نادية Posted 2010-02-05
I hope that all elements for the environment will be activated, not remain just slogans!
sophie Posted 2010-02-07
What is frightening in Morocco is all the plastic bags that you see handed out at the market and then find flying in the desert and everywhere else, especially in the sea. (I am thinking about Agadir’s beach.) What a horror it is to see this beautiful country “sacked”. We need to address these plastic bags immediately—there are biodegradable bags!—and packaging by limiting the consumption of industrial foods like McDonald’s. Furthermore, it seems that hemp is an awesome plant, from which we could make a bunch of biodegradable things. I think that it grows quite well in Morocco. So who can make this change quickly?
Mourad Posted 2010-02-23
This is a good initiative, which contributes to maintaining sustainable development while implementing steps to preserve nature, unlike the burying of solid waste or, worse yet, transforming them into underground water catches for natural drinking-water springs and refined water reservoir pipelines. Another solution to the latter can be imagined, such as setting up canal routes to water the gulfs, like those in Los Angeles, distributing water via tankers trucks to refill pools. See for yourself at the archive of the Secretary of State charge with Water and Environment, Mr Abdelkirm Zahood’s entry in the SNRT, Alaoula in the main Arabic newspaper on 24 September 2009 at 8:30pm.
سارة بنعوف Posted 2010-03-04
My country is one of the most strategic positions in the world. For me, I consider this a gift from God. There are regions which aren't yet well-known. I hope they'll become tourist destinations. I have summed up my comment. Bye!
حسناء Posted 2010-03-24
Thank you!!!
l'environnemnt Posted 2010-04-19
All of this makes me happy. I want to start an environmental business. Long live the king!
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