Morocco, United Nations celebrate International Argan Day on May 10 in New York

Morocco and the United Nations will celebrate International Argan Day on May 10 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, under the theme “Local socio-economic development and sustainability of the Argan ecosystem.”

Since its proclamation by the UN General Assembly in March 2021, May 10 of each year has been celebrated as International Argan Tree Day, the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement.

This celebration highlights Morocco’s efforts to promote the argan tree as an endemic tree of the Kingdom and as intangible cultural heritage of humanity and ancestral source of sustainable and resilient development.

It also aims to highlight the role of the argan tree in strengthening community resilience, its contribution to food security (SDG 2), adaptation to climate change (SDG 13), water stress (SDG6), and its importance in empowering rural women (SDG 5), through the support and promotion of agricultural cooperatives and organizations (SDG8).

Indeed, Morocco, aware of the environmental issues and the challenges facing the argan ecosystem, is committed to developing and maintaining community practices for sustainable management, in a context of water stress and climate change. Through this international day celebrated each year by the United Nations, the Kingdom shares its knowledge to strengthen the resilience of this emblematic ecosystem, where the Argan tree is a symbol of biodiversity and carries within it know-how and useful experiences for rebuilding a balance between human beings and nature.

The kick-off of the celebrations of this day will be given this year from the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Agriculture Mohamed Sadiki.

This celebration will also be marked by the organization, for two weeks, of an artistic and photographic exhibition on the Argan tree at United Nations Headquarters, as well as a reception in honor of the community of Ambassadors and officials of the United Nations system, to taste the products of the Argan and discover the offer of the local Moroccan cooperatives.

The event will be attended by several UN senior officials, including the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, as well as representatives of UNESCO, WHO, FAO, UN Women, and the Green Climate Fund.

Several events at the national level will also celebrate the International Day of the Argan tree: reforestation actions, debates, activities of environmental clubs in schools…

To crown these celebrations, the second edition of the International Argan Tree Fair will be organized in Agadir from May 17 to 21, and will be an opportunity to highlight the dynamics of the Argan tree sector and the progress of the various institutions of the Ministry of Agriculture for the preservation and sustainable development of the Arganeraie ecosystem.