Rabat – The cost of degradation caused by air pollution is estimated at 1.62% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the latest national report on this issue, said, on Monday in Rabat, Secretary of State for Sustainable Development Nezha El Ouafi.

During a meeting organized on the sidelines of her visit to the National Laboratory for Studies and Pollution Monitoring (LNESP), in the presence of the head of government, El Ouafi stressed that air pollution is a field to which the State Secretariat attaches special importance due to its direct impact on people and the environment, noting that the laboratory is the scientific and technical instrument of the State Secretariat for Sustainable Development in the area of pollution monitoring and control.

The LNESP has mobile units and state-of-the-art equipment to monitor and control air quality, she said during the meeting organized on the occasion of World Environment Day.

This celebration is an opportunity to present the programs conducted by the secretariat with all partners, in particular the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environment Protection, the Directorate General of Local Authorities and the Directorate of National Meteorology, in the field of monitoring and control, said El Ouafi, citing the publication of a set of texts for the implementation of law 13-03 relating to the monitoring of air pollution and the control of facilities and means of transportation.

She also recalled the creation of a National Air Quality Monitoring Network, composed of 29 fixed stations and 4 mobile units, in addition to the adoption of the National Air Program, in partnership with government departments and public institutions, which will increase the number of fixed stations from 29 to 101 by 2030.

These efforts also include the establishment of standing regional committees for air quality monitoring and surveillance in certain regions.

For his part, head of government Saad Dine El Otmani emphasized, in a statement to the press, that the celebration of the World Environment Day is an opportunity to review efforts made in the field of air quality surveillance and monitoring in all Moroccan cities.

The National Air Quality Program made positive progress, in parallel with other programs, he said, giving the example of the development of waste sorting, recycling and cost reduction, which will relieve pressure on cities and families.