AfDB: €84 million funding for sustainable development of Morocco’s forests

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved an €84 million funding for the sustainable development of forest areas in Morocco, meant to enhance climate resilience and promote local entrepreneurship.

The project meant to support the inclusive and sustainable development of forest areas in Morocco aims to contribute to strengthening the resilience of the Moroccan economy to climate change, and to improve the water cycle in particular, said an AfDB statement issued on the occasion of its Annual Meetings 2024, officially opened on Wednesday in Nairobi.

The project, targeting some 6.5 million people living in rural areas in the regions of Rabat-Sale-Kenitra, Marrakech-Safi, Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima and Souss-Massa in 4 watersheds and 4 national parks, will support the emergence of a rural middle class through sustainable management of natural resources, the inclusive promotion of forestry value chains and the development of forestry and aquaculture entrepreneurship, the AfDB statement said.

The operation will benefit cooperatives, interprofessions and small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the forestry and aquaculture sectors in the target regions.

According to the AfDB, the project will contribute to achieving the ambitions of the “2020-2030 Morocco’s Forests” strategy through a series of actions, including the integrated management of four national parks, the promotion of biodiversity by reintroducing extinct and/or threatened species of fauna, and the restoration of land affected by erosion through biological treatment.

The project also targets youth and women entrepreneurship in aquaculture and forestry sectors, through facilitated access to financing and the creation of three incubators for agricultural entrepreneurs.

“Initiatives in favor of ecotourism will also be implemented, with the development of dedicated areas in national parks. Additionally, the project will support four key sectors: cork, eucalyptus, aromatic and medicinal plants (PAM), as well as inland aquaculture, by elaborating development plans and processing areas to increase their added value,” explains the bank’s statement.

A center of excellence and forest innovation will be created, as well as a network for exchanging best practices among countries in North, Central, and Southern Africa, to strengthen the management and coordination capacities of the various stakeholders in the forestry sector.

Morocco is home to the largest cedar forest in the Mediterranean, with Cedrus atlantica spanning 134,000 hectares. This ecosystem is currently threatened by climate change and human pressure.