Rabat to Host Meeting Wednesday on International Day for Biological Diversity

Rabat – State secretariat for Sustainable Development will organize a meeting on Wednesday in Rabat on the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity, celebrated on 22 May each year.

The meeting will bring together representatives of ministerial departments, scientific research institutions, as well as other non-governmental actors, United Nations agencies and donors in Morocco, according to a statement by the State secretariat.

The theme chosen by the United Nations for this year, “Our Biodiversity, our Food, our Health”, aims to highlight the importance of biodiversity as the basis of our food, our health, and as an important element in balancing the food system and improving human health, the same source added.

In Morocco, the national biodiversity survey showed that the country has a rich diversity of biodiversity components, both in terms of plant and ecosystem. The study concluded that 600 animal species and 1,700 plant species are threatened with extinction.

It is worth to mention that Morocco received the third prize for the best national biodiversity information exchange mechanism at a ceremony held on the sidelines of the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Egypt in November 2018.

The Kingdom of Morocco joined the global effort for biodiversity conservation by signing the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992 and adopting it in 1995. It is also committed to implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for the period 2011-2020, including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.