Morocco is a pioneer in the use of new technologies for the protection of the environment, underlined, on Friday in Marrakech, the president of the Network of parliamentarians of reference for a healthy environment under the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Rik Daems.
“We can all learn a lot from the Moroccan experience, a pioneering country in the use of new technologies to protect the environment”, noted Rik Daems in a speech at the meeting of the Network of contact parliamentarians for a healthy environment under the PACE, which brings together 55 parliamentarians from 32 national parliaments of Council of Europe member and observer states, such as the parliament of Morocco, which has enjoyed partner for democracy status since 2011.
He also indicated that the Kingdom has accumulated proven experience in the management of water resources, access to drinking water, environmental protection, sanitation and the reuse of wastewater. .
Rik Daems also indicated that this two-day meeting, held for the first time on African soil, is part of the Network’s efforts to participate in the political process aimed at developing legally binding and enforceable instruments to ensure more effective protection of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
“The Network tries to impact national parliaments to establish and consolidate a legal framework, at national and European level, to anchor the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, based on the guidelines of the United Nations in matter,” he explained.
For her part, Carmen Morte Gómez, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Rabat, indicated that this meeting offered the opportunity to emphasize the role of the Council of Europe in the integration of environmental dimension in human rights, pointing out that the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the conclusions of the Committee of the European Social Charter affirm the undeniable interconnections between the protection of the environment and human rights .
Carmen Morte Gómez indicated that the Council of Europe is committed to helping its member states to respond to environmental offenses and to strengthening international judicial co-operation in this field, noting that environmental offenses do not only threaten ecosystems and survival of thousands of plant and animal species, but are also the cause of many diseases which reduce life expectancy in all Member States.
In this sense, she praised the Moroccan experience in the fight against crime in the field of the environment, recalling that the Network of European Prosecutors for the Environment (ENPE) awarded its first Excellence Award from 2022 to the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Morocco, in recognition of her efforts in this area.
For his part, Allal Amraoui, member of the Network and of the House of Representatives, affirmed that Morocco “remains a world model in the fight against climate change, thanks to a policy of development of clean and renewable energies”.
Recalling that Morocco is bearing the full brunt of the consequences of climate change, Allal Amraoui indicated that “Morocco, thanks to the foresight of ancestors and an avant-garde policy in the management of water resources, can today respond to the needs of the citizens, but for how much longer”.
Calling to react, together and very quickly, in order to review all the economic models based essentially on the massive use of fossil fuels, the MEP noted that these policies must meet the proven requirements of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse.
In this sense, he underlined that Morocco “can be an example to follow in terms of management and preservation of water resources, to guarantee sustainable development capable of making it possible to project a secure future for future generations, their right to drinking water and their food security”.
During this meeting, Abdherrahim El Hafidi, Director General of the National Office for Water and Electricity, Vice-President of the African Water Association, presented a presentation on the national water management policy. water, pointing out that this policy has made it possible to achieve several achievements and to supply the country with water in good conditions, particularly in terms of important hydraulic infrastructures.
This policy focused on the construction of 152 large dams with a total capacity of 19.1 billion m3, 129 small dams to support and accompany local development and 12 under construction, 16 water, wells and boreholes to exploit groundwater, 158 wastewater treatment plants to treat 56% of urban wastewater and 12 existing seawater desalination plants for different uses (179 Mm3/year).
He also indicated that the Office works for the consolidation of management and decentralized, integrated and participatory planning of water resources; the strengthening of consultation and coordination bodies and bodies through the creation of the Basin Council, which constitutes a regional forum for discussion on the issue of water management; the establishment of legal bases for the diversification of supply through the use of non-conventional water resources; and strengthening the institutional framework and mechanisms for the protection and preservation of water resources.
He also highlighted the National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation 2020-2027 (PNAEPI), established on High Royal Guidelines, to accelerate investments in the water sector with a view to strengthening the supply of this vital commodity and irrigation, in particular for the areas most affected by the water deficit, for the period 2020-2027.
The PNAEPI provides for the implementation of structuring projects in the water sector, in particular through the mobilization of conventional and unconventional water resources, in order to guarantee the development of the water sector and the country’s water supply in a sustainable, he said.
Held on the sidelines of the meeting of the PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, this meeting is marked by the presentation of the Moroccan experience in terms of access to drinking water and the exchange of views on clean energy and the great advances made by the Kingdom in this area.
This meeting will also include interactive workshops at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Benguerir.