Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection highlights main achievements, flagship initiatives in 2023

President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, Princess Lalla Hasnaa, highlighted the main achievements and flagship initiatives carried out by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection for the year 2023.

Princess Lalla Hasnaa made the remarks while chairing the Foundation’s Board of Directors meeting in Fez on Tuesday.

She thus recalled her ongoing commitment to African youth through the African Youth Climate Hub (AYCH) initiative, as she underlined in her speech at the opening of the first annual High-Level Meeting of the “Partnership for Green Education”, organized by UNESCO and the Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates, on the sidelines of COP28.

In this speech, Princess lalla Hasnaa had emphasized the importance of equitable data sharing with the countries of the South, while calling for concrete action to reduce the digital divide on the African continent.

Reaffirming her role as Patron of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development, an initiative overseen by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO), she had announced several projects launched by her Foundation, notably at the third Foundations Dialogue, held in Monaco in June 2023.

These projects, which complement programs already in place for many years, such as the “Clean Beaches” program, to which the “Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coastline Trophies” and the “Bharblaplastic” (plastic-free seas) operation have been added, aim to support the African university students’ community in promoting knowledge of the oceans.

In collaboration with the Hassan II International Environmental Training Center, these projects have generated training resources, mainly online, to be used as part of the Ocean Decade.

The Foundation’s commitment to decarbonize national economy was also a key point in her speech, which tackled the training provided to partner companies in the use of the carbon footprint calculation tool to measure their emissions, and the climate finance training aimed at local authorities.

The main highlight of her address was the announcement, to board members, of the inauguration of the historic Lahboul Park in Meknes, a restoration project carried out in collaboration with various partners of the Foundation.

Princess Lalla Hasnaa concluded her address by warmly thanking all partners for their continued support and unwavering commitment to the environmental initiatives carried out by the Foundation, thus contributing to a more sustainable and balanced future.

The Board of Directors approved the financial statements, following the opinion of the auditor, who certified that the financial statements were consistent and fair, and gave a true view of the results of operations for the years 2022 and 2023, in all material respects.

The Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection was created in 2001 at the initiative of King Mohammed VI, to help raise public awareness of crucial environmental issues.

The Foundation’s core mission is to educate and raise awareness of environmental protection among all audiences. Its priority targets are young people, from the earliest age to students, and then citizens, civil society, businesses, administration, local authorities, universities and research.

The Foundation has teams dedicated to its many programs, and the Hassan II International Environmental Training Center, its academic arm, which is strategically positioned in line with the Foundation’s educational approach, through and around the environment, thus placing Education for Sustainable Development at the heart of its concerns.

It runs selected environmental protection programs for which it federates numerous local and international partners.

The Foundation’s activities are focused on five key areas: “Education for sustainable development”; “Protecting the coastline and the ocean”; “Air quality, climate, and safeguarding and development of the Marrakech palm grove”; “Sustainable tourism”; and “Restoring historic parks and gardens.”