Except that there, we do not know the source of its palm trees which invade our big cities. Do they come from Zagora where the inhabitants and farmers have constantly denounced the uprooting of palm trees, or from the palm groves of Marrakech which are experiencing their worst crisis in centuries? The other question that arises is what do we do with the uprooted trees? Where will they go next ?
On the networks, the complaints and the anger of the citizens concerning the uprooting of trees and their replacement by palm trees grown. On the group ” Save Casablanca“, several Bidaouis expressed their incomprehension in the face of this situation and their urgent need for green space and trees for their well-being and that of their children.
Joined by MoroccoLatestNews UK on this subject, Mohamed Benata, agricultural engineer, Dr in Geography, President of ESCO, founding member of ECOLOMAN and fervent defender of the environment is concerned about this phenomenon of uprooting of trees and their replacement by palm trees , which according to him, has nothing ecological.
Native of Oujda, Mohamed Benata tells us that the city suffered the same fate a few years ago, when the authorities decided to uproot all the carob trees and replaced them with imported trees. An act that drew the anger of the citizens of Oujda who denounced it loud and clear. Thus, the reason that prompted the authorities to cut down his trees was that the wife of a city official had just opened a tree nursery and had a lot of trees and palm trees to liquidate. And so it was a good deal and a good reason to deprive the city and its citizens of its carob trees which offered them a certain beauty and freshness, he tells us.
” Firstly, it is an illegal act to uproot palm trees which is punishable by a fine of 10,000 DH for each palm tree uprooted without authorization. Even its transport is illegal and is subject to fines, if they do not have the necessary permits. Afterwards, the problem does not arise at the level of the palm trees sold in the nurseries, but rather the palm trees of 5-6 meters in height and which are torn from Marrakech and Errachidia to be planted in the middle of the city.“, explains the ecologist, noting that in principle, “ the gendarmerie must intercept its trucks transporting its palm trees and check the necessary authorizations. Otherwise, carriers must pay a fine“.
Apart from the legal side of things, Mohamed Benata argues that even from an aesthetic point of view, ” it is not logical to remove a healthy tree, which creates shade, freshness and beauty, to replace it with a palm tree several meters high, which is not beautiful if we put it in the middle of a city”.
Similarly, Mohamed Benata specifies “ that the planting of palm trees in the city has no benefit either on the climate or on the environment noting that their place is in the desert and not in the urban environment. According to him, it is a business that benefits a layer of long-armed nursery owners who take advantage of their influence to make a lot of money and who do not care about the environment or the well-being of citizens“, he concludes.
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