The consultative communication meeting with the departments and institutions concerned with protecting the biological site of the Moulouya estuary

Within the framework of the project: "Protecting the Moulouya Estuary and its Biodiversity Through Participatory Democracy"

Funded by the European Union within the framework of the Citizenship Participation Program and under the supervision of the United Nations Office for Project Services and with the support of the National Council for Human Rights and the Ministry of State in charge of human rights and relations with Parliament and civil society.

The Ecological Community of Northern Morocco organized, on Thursday, December 10, 2020, at ten in the morning at the headquarters of the Ecological Community of Northern Morocco at 30, Tangier, Hay El Hassani, Berkane, a communicative and consultative meeting with the departments and institutions concerned with the protection of the biological site of the Moulouya estuary in order to discuss and present a petition in this regard and to provide conclusions and project results.

The meeting took place at the headquarters of the Ecological Community of North Morocco, in the presence of representatives of the assembly office, public administrations and representatives of civil society organizations. The meeting took place according to the program set for him in a presence, while respecting the precautionary measures of spacing and the use of masks and sterilizers ... where the meeting opened with a speech by Mr. Mubarak Sebaei, the coordinator of the environmental group, who referred to the context of preparing the project and related to the advocacy role that the assembly plays in protecting the mouth of Moulouya and The right to a healthy environment, as he mentioned the various stations in which the assembly registered its attendance by recording its position whenever it comes to the occasion that requires it. Then the floor was given to the representative of the Regional Director of Water, Forests and Combating Desertification, Mr. Abdelhak Shaheer, who pointed out the need to respect the water flow as the element that extends life in the estuary and maintains balance, and in this context, he praised the efforts made by civil society in order to protect the Moulouya estuary because the latter is considered A kiss for migratory birds, which calls for protection. Finally, he concluded by saying that the administration he represents is open to civic initiatives and joint action to preserve downstream and downstream biodiversity.

As for Mr. Mohamed BENHANNI, representative of the Regional Directorate for Environment and Sustainable Development, he referred to the classification of the site, its importance, extension and advantages, so that it has sand dunes and a migratory bird haven, making it a distinguished site worthy of protection intervention to preserve its biological diversity. And he added, that coordination and communication with the regional directorate to capitalize and evaluate the studies carried out by the ministry, with the aim of empowering civil society to obtain scientific research material that can be relied upon for every litigation action.

Also, the absence of a representative of the Water Basin Agency of Moulouya and a representative of the Eastern Region Council, who were invited to this communicative and consultative meeting, due to their important role in protecting the biological site of the Moulouya estuary and its biological diversity.

After the welcoming speech and the intervention of the institutions present, the Ecological Assembly of Northern Morocco presented in the person of the agricultural engineer Mohamed Benata, on behalf of Mr. Abd al-Rahman El-Amrani, who was unable to attend for health reasons, a presentation on the achievements and results of the project "Protecting the Moulouya estuary and its biological diversity through participatory democracy" where he referred to the context Presentation of the project, which came as a result of the many imbalances and serious threats that threaten the Moulouya drainage, such as pollution of all kinds, depletion of its water resources, and the destruction of its ecosystem. .

In the end, the content of the petition to preserve the ecological throughput of the Oued Moulouya, which was submitted to the Council of the East side as a director of the project, was presented by Dr. Mohamed Benata, an agricultural engineer, head of the solidarity and cooperation space for the eastern region, a founding member of the environmental grouping of northern Morocco, which raised a fundamental problem, which is related to the scarcity Water in Moulouya, and this is linked to the nature of the projects that are being built that do not respect the individual requirements of wet areas on the one hand and the National Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development. Therefore, he called for the necessity of preserving nature and water flow, especially that some species of creatures are threatened with extinction due to the absence of protective measures. In the end, he indicated the manifestations of the threat downstream through field inspection. To indicate that the consultative meeting was an opportunity to present a video tape of the field graduation that the beneficiaries of the training sessions made, where they stood on the ground on the threats and danger facing the downstream.

After the end of the interventions, under the direction of the human rights expert Abd al-Salam Amkhtari, the attendees interacted with their contents, so that the attendees ’interventions were formulated in the form of recommendations according to the direction of the meeting’s management, and the interventions resulted in a set of recommendations that are complementary to the recommendations that were concluded by the awareness day that was organized earlier. Accordingly, the recommendations contained in this report include all the suggestions that emerged from the project in the course of implementing its components, as follows:

 Invest in studies completed by the guardian ministry in order to adopt measures aimed at protecting the Moulouya estuary and its biodiversity.

 Building a partnership between the environment sector and civil societies active in the field, and in this regard the associations submit to participate in the requests for proposals opened by the ministry in this regard.

 Seeking to create a balance between the trend towards building dams as a measure to solve water problems and the natural roles played by reserves.

 Rationalizing the construction of dams within an equation that balances the environment and agriculture.

 Thinking of alternatives other than building dams to perform the same function as the latter, with full respect for the environment.

 The biological site of the Moulouya drainage was rescued from the state of drying out, in order to protect its ecosystems and preserve its vital area, so that it could effectively regain its roles on the natural and socio-economic level. In this regard, the adoption of a regional strategy that takes into account the sustainable management of the water public domain requires:

 Reconsidering the projects programmed for the east side to build new dams on Wadi Moulouya within the framework of the water program for agriculture and drinking water for 2020/2027 (Safsaf Dam, Tark Guersif Dam, Bani Azaman Dam in Driouch, and the expansion of the Mohamed V Dam) that will negatively affect the ecological throughput The water course of Oued Moulouya will lead to dire consequences for the biological site of the Moulouya estuary that is classified in the International Ramsar Convention, especially the Safsaf Dam.

 Reducing water pumping at the Moulay Ali pumping station and Awlad Stout pumping station to preserve the ecological throughput of the Moulouya Valley.

 Preserving the quality of Moulouya water, protecting it from pollution, and confronting polluters with the penalties stipulated by law.

 Protect Moulouya from chemical and organic pollution resulting from industrial, agricultural or urban units.

 Preserving the red juniper so that the forest formed by it is on the verge of extinction.

 Work to reduce the erosion dynamics that disturb the sedimentary balance of the Moulouya estuary coastline.

 Reducing the salinity level in the valley.

 The search for a balance between maritime and riverine dynamics.

Reducing urban sprawl.

 Respect the speculations and patrols issued regarding the exploitation of quarries.

 The nature of the agriculture to be adopted.

 Adoption of the integrated measure instead of the sectoral measure for downstream protection.

 Fill the legal void contained in the Coastal Law.

 Executing the provisions of international conventions ratified by Morocco.

 Translating the characteristics of wet areas in the basic texts related to coastal development: urbanization, water law, maritime law, and reserves law.

Involving civil society organizations and environmental associations in particular.

 Creating regional committees in which the competencies of several ministerial sectors intersect.

 Reducing human pressure on the site by rationalizing the exploratory visits.

 Enhancing the vigilance of civil society regarding pressure stations and dams that may be built on Wadi Moulouya.

 Preserving the historical forts on the site as historical monuments that enhance the human heritage.

 Improving wastewater treatment technology and reviewing the location of its outlet to reuse pure and treated water in agriculture or irrigation of green spaces.

 Operating environmental guards to monitor the biological site of the estuary and impose penalties against violators.

 Ensure the flow of water coming from Ein Zebdeh and the adjacent Ein Al-Shabak sources that feed the dead shield of the Moulouya Valley and the wet area in the right bank of the Wadi Moulouya.

 Protecting biodiversity by preventing shellfish fishing or limiting indiscriminate fishing that depletes the biological richness of the downstream.

 Establish a museum for birds and reptiles and all the biological diversity available on the site.

Ecological cluster of northern Morocco

Berkane on December 25, 2020