Ocean Decade: Princess Lalla Hasnaa reaffirms Morocco’s strong commitment to support Africa

Morocco’s Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection & Patron of UN Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development Alliance, has voiced the Kingdom’s steadfast commitment to strengthen cooperation ties with Africa in accordance with the far-sighted policy spearheaded by King Mohammed VI.

In an address made Wednesday in Monaco to the high-level opening segment of the third edition of the “Ocean Decade Foundations Dialogue,” the Princess said: “Africa needs substantial and massive support. That is why we are striving to jointly undertake and share concrete steps for successful sustainable development on a continental scale.”

“We are also taking action on behalf of Africa, its young people and the countries of the South as a whole. Their resilience should be strengthened to counter the threats of climate change that affect the entire African population,” added Princess Lalla Hasnaa.

This commitment was reiterated in the Bouknadel Declaration, presented at the UN Ocean Conference, held in Lisbon in 2022, and will be reaffirmed at the Barcelona Conference scheduled for 2024, she said, calling for a swift action to protect the coastal strips of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans from rising sea levels and pollution, affirming that this appeal concerns the whole of Africa.

The Princess welcomed the fact that the North and South shores are engaged in a two-way interactive dynamic, so that “Our Mare Nostrum is asserting itself as a vector of unity, rather than a dividing line”.

The goal of the Monaco meeting is to ensure the success of the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development, she said, recalling that as a founding member of the Alliance, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection was associated with this initiative launched by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

Under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, Morocco has been implementing the “Clean Beaches” program since 2001, said the Princess, citing in this regard “the Blue Flag” project and the successful rehabilitation of the Marchica lagoon on the Mediterranean coast.

This exceptional natural site, once condemned to asphyxiation by effluent, is now in such a good phase of regeneration that oyster farming has been reintroduced, said the Princess.

“From now on, the Decade will include two programs that have been carried out for years, namely the ‘Clean Beaches’ program and the ‘Sustainable Coastline’ Awards. The first recognizes and rewards concrete actions carried out in Morocco, notably in terms of improving beach cleanliness, creating artificial reefs for fry populations, setting up mobile purification stations and promoting scientific research on algae. The second program, entitled #bharblaplastic or #beachwithoutplastic is deployed during the summer season and aims to raise awareness of the need to clean up the oceans by eliminating plastic waste,” underlined Princess Lalla Hasnaa.

“Currently, we are in the process of introducing a third program in line with the Decade’s objectives”, which aims, among other things, to support the university student community in developing knowledge of the ocean, said the Princess, stressing that this project is dedicated to the entire African continent.

In collaboration with the Hassan II International Center for Environmental Training, training resources, mainly online, have been developed that the Kingdom for the benefit of the Decade, explained Princess Lalla Hasnaa, recalling the launch, four years ago, of the African Youth Climate Hub, which is meant to involve young people, provide them training via an online platform and, as an incubator, support various projects.

The high-level opening segment of this 3rd Foundations Dialogue for the Ocean Decade is co-organized by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

During their three-day meeting, participants and delegates of international foundations will discuss ways of supporting the actions already underway within the framework of this Decade, and those yet to be launched, in order to achieve the targeted goals by 2030.

As a founding member of the Ocean Decade Alliance and the Ocean Decade working group in Africa and the Adjacent Island States, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection has, since the first edition of these dialogues, acted as the mouthpiece of the South and Africa in order to secure the necessary support for countries lacking sufficient resources to counter climate change and its impact on the oceans.

At the second edition, held in Morocco under the aegis of Hassan II International Center for Environmental Training, participants jointly adopted the Bouknadel Declaration, calling for action and international financial solidarity. Implementation of the Bouknadel Declaration was the focus of the 3rd Dialogue in Monte Carlo.

Launched in 2021 by the United Nations, the Ocean Decade is a global initiative seeking to deepen scientific knowledge of the sea and protect the oceans.