Lisbon: Morocco Fully Committed to Facing Challenges Linked to Protection of Oceans – Minister

Rabat – Morocco is fully committed within the international community to face the challenges linked to protecting the oceans, preserving biodiversity and addressing climate change, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, said Monday in Lisbon.

This commitment is confirmed through the accession of the Kingdom and its ratification of legal instruments on the marine environment and its constant action to strengthen the resulting collaborative frameworks, Sadiki said in his speech at the opening of the 2022 United Nations Oceans Conference, held from June 27 to July 1st in Lisbon.

“Morocco is committed to an ambitious program of development of the blue economy, aimed at strengthening the integration of its maritime sectoral strategies under an inclusive, efficient and innovative vision,” the minister was quoted as saying by a statement from his department.

Morocco has initiated a process of maritime spatial planning aimed at accelerating the emergence of real maritime economic ecosystems in line with the national policy of advanced regionalization that erects the crucial role of the Region in achieving sustainable territorial development, Sadiki explained.

For greater effectiveness of these efforts, complementary actions have been implemented, such as the “Blue Belt” Initiative initiated by Morocco on the occasion of COP22, the fight against marine pollution and plastic, and the establishment of marine protected areas, he added.

Recognizing the environmental challenges and the shared responsibility to fight against the effects of climate change, Morocco has upgraded its National Determined Contribution (NDC) with the ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45.5% by 2030.

According to the minister, the international community must rethink its model of development, as the blue economy offers a new opportunity that fits perfectly with the spirit of sustainability and resilience advocated by the United Nations agenda for sustainable development.

As such, he added, the establishment of rational and equitable governance of the oceans is “necessary.”

The Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, is seeking to address many of the deep-rooted problems laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and which will require major structural transformations and common shared solutions that are anchored in the SDGs.

The conference will seek to propel much-needed science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action.

Morocco is represented at this event with a delegation including officials from the Departments of Fisheries, Sustainable Development, Merchant Marine, the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance and the Royal Navy.

It also includes representatives of the National Ports Agency (ANP), the National Institute of Fisheries Research (INRH), the National Agency for the Development of Aquaculture (ANDA), the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, and representatives of elected bodies.