Bouknadel – Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, chaired the award ceremony for the 4th edition (2022) of the Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coastline Trophies on Sunday at the Hassan II International Center for Environmental Training in Bouknadel, rewarding initiatives that have contributed to the protection of the coastline and oceans.

At the beginning of the ceremony, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa followed an opening film and a video clip entitled “Manifesto”, performed by actor, director and playwright Ismail El Fellahi.

Her Royal Highness then followed screen projections of the “#B7arblaplastic” (plastic-free sea) campaign and the Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coastline Awards, as well as a video tribute to the late artist Mohamed (Mao) Bennani, designer of the Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coastline Award.

Afterwards, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa presented the 2022 Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coastline Trophies to the winners in the “Clean Beaches”, “Sharing and Living Environment”, “Protection and Enhancement of Natural Heritage”, “Education and Youth” and “Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility” categories.

The “Clean Beaches Program” trophy, which rewards an initiative in favor of one or more beaches, in terms of management, development, preservation, education and information, was awarded to seven initiatives.

These are the Holmarcom Group (Cleanliness Brigade : Na9iw B7arna); Crédit Agricole and Arimal Dahabia association (Boundi Family Competition); OCP, Safi site (Supervision and mobilization of local associations at Souiria K’dima beach); Banque Populaire Fondation (Installation of a trash fish for a public sensitized to plastic waste recycling); Marsa Maroc (Citizen mobilization on the Ain Diab Extension beach “Ms Choual”); Redal and Zero waste Skhirate Association (Recycling fishing nets left on the beach into useful objects); and Ciments du Maroc (Sayfok village on the Safi municipal beach).

The “Sharing and Living Environment” Trophy was awarded this year to five initiatives to enhance public and natural urban and peri-urban spaces along the Moroccan coastline. They are Marjane de plongée et des sports nautiques Association and Redal (Festival of underwater sports); Essalam Association – Dakhla (coastal observatory of the Dakhla Oued Ed-Dahab region); club de plongée et sports maritimes Association in Tangier (Operation Pelican to clean up the seabed); ONEE-electricity branch and TC Travel (Paving stones and ecological bricks); and Cohin-Environnement (Waste Water Box, Ghazoua wastewater treatment plant).

The “Protection and Enhancement of Natural Heritage” Trophy, which rewards the most interesting achievements in improving knowledge of the coastline, conserving its biodiversity and fragile ecosystems, and initiatives to control threats to the safety and integrity of the Moroccan coastline, was awarded to seven projects.

They are: Abdelmalek Essaadi University (Development of models for monitoring emerging contaminants in the coastal waters of the Mediterranean coast); the Association des amoureux de la mer pour la pêche sous-marine et la préservation de l’environnement (The Blue Dolphin); Mohammed Premier University in Oujda and the Tes Green Maroc Association (Setting up a unit to raise awareness and study microplastic pollution); the Association Champions Fnideq chasse sous-marine (Platform “Maroc marin” on marine biodiversity in Morocco); Science Faculty in Ain Chock- Hassan II University in Casablanca (Use of seaweed washed up on the Moroccan coast for organic farming); Chouaib Doukkali University (Enhancing the value of invasive seaweed by extracting biopesticides); and the Khnifiss Association network (Ecotourism valorization of the biodiversity of the Khnifiss National Park through the creation of a Moroccan Atlantic Sahara bird observatory).

The “Education and Youth” Trophy, which rewards the best environmental education actions, projects, studies, research or programs carried out by schools, high schools, university institutions, research centers, and public and private organizations, was awarded to 9 projects, namely Redal and the Petits Débrouillards Association; Bahri Association (Clean and Play); Société de Développement Saïdia-Groupe CDG (Happy Walls: ecological art); Fnideq Commune and Champions Fnideq chasse sous-marine Association (Environmental incubator in educational establishments); BMCE and Zero waste Skhirate (Installation of a beach library at casino plage); An-Najah school support Association for Ark school (Tales to build civic behavior towards coastal preservation); Polydisciplinary Faculty of Safi- Cadi Ayyad University (Sea Mun Safi Model United Nations Maritime); ONEE- water branch (Awareness-raising and introduction to the profession of water quality control); and the National Airports Office (An exhibition on the beach to raise awareness of the effects of plastic waste on the coast and ocean).

The “Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility” Trophy, dedicated to initiatives by economic operators who have chosen to integrate an environmental, social or economic approach that has a positive impact on the Moroccan coastline, was awarded to seven initiatives.

These are the Tanger Med Foundation and the Sahel Association for development and culture (support for people with special needs); the rayonnement culturel Association (youth initiatives for a sustainable coastline); the Agir Association (the Odyssea Iliad Agir marine observatory); the Alhad Aljadid Association for traditional and communal fishing in Fnideq (cleaning up the port of Fnideq and protecting marine life); Doralo aquaculture cooperative (Promoting aquaculture among fishing cooperatives); STMicroelectronics (Protecting the environment and moving towards sustainable development); and Société d’aménagement et de promotion de la station de Taghazout/ SAPST-Groupe CDG (Taghazout Bay and sustainable tourism).

Her Royal Highness then posed for a souvenir photo with the winners of the 4th edition of these trophies.

For their 4th edition, the Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coastline Trophies have extended their scope of interest to the oceans, and are now officially registered as a full-fledged activity of the Decade of Ocean Science by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

A decision that reflects the Foundation’s commitment to ocean preservation, under the leadership of Her Royal Highness, both in Morocco and in Africa.

The 4th edition was a great success, with a sharp rise in the number of applications compared to the last edition: 157 projects, compared with 120 in 2018, were submitted by the various candidates – associations, academics, municipalities, companies, public bodies, etc. – for the five Trophy categories.

The projects submitted addressed topical issues such as the impact of climate change, plastic pollution and the protection of biodiversity. Others showed real creativity in the development of pollution mitigation devices, while university research was mobilized to study and protect natural heritage. To raise young people’s awareness of the environment and the oceans, creativity and, above all, interactivity were the order of the day.

Later on, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa visited the “Seconde vie” (second life) exhibition, which showcased the most outstanding projects carried out as part of this 4th edition, including fishing nets (Doralo aquaculture cooperative), carpets woven from recycled plastic (Redal and Zero Waste Association), and ecological paving stones and bricks (ONEE- electricity branch and TC Travel), before presiding over a reception in honor of the participants.

On her arrival, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa was greeted by the minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, the wali of the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra region, Mohamed Yaacoubi, the president of the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra regional council, Rachid El Abdi, governor of the Salé prefecture, Omar Touimi, president of the Salé prefectural council, Noureddine Lazrak, first vice-president of the Ameur communal council, Belghazia Esskat, president of the Moroccan Employers’ Association, Chakib Alj.

Her Royal Highness was also greeted by the official partners of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, namely the minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, the minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Ait Taleb, the minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Fatima Zahra Ammor, the minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohammed Abdeljalil, the minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, the wali, secretary general of the Ministry of the Interior, Mohamed Faouzi, the director general of the National Water and Forest Agency, Abderrahim Houmy and members of the Foundation’s Board of directors.