Morocco Stands out in Africa for Sustainable Ocean Management

Morocco was distinguished as the second best performing African country for the quality of its sustainable management of ocean resources, the US-based National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) said in a recent report.

Morocco came after Seychelles and was followed by Egypt in the Ocean Health Index issued by the NCEAS while Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Côte D’Ivoire lagged at the end of the ranking.

A total of 10 elements are assessed to arrive at a country’s overall ocean health score, including food provision, biodiversity, coastal livelihoods and economies, tourism and recreation, artisanal fishing opportunities, clean waters, carbon storage among others.

The North African country has developed in 2016 a comprehensive strategy called Blue Belt aiming at boosting the sustainability of fisheries and coastal resilience to climate change.

Part of its international environmental action, Morocco was elected in 2017 as vice chair of the high-level UN Conference on oceans that aims at reversing the decline in the health of oceans through garnering support for solutions and active engagement.

Globally Morocco was ranked second best performer behind Sweden in the Climate Change Performance Index, which measures climate protection, greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, energy consumption, and climate policy.