The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved financing of 84 million euros (€M) for a project to support the inclusive and sustainable development of forest areas in Morocco.
The project aims to contribute to strengthening the resilience of the Moroccan economy to climate change, and to improve the water cycle in particular, said an AfDB statement issued on the occasion of its Annual Meetings 2024, the official opening ceremony of which took place on Wednesday in Nairobi.
Targeting some 6.5 million people living in rural areas in the regions of Rabat-Sale-Kenitra, Marrakech-Safi, Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima and Souss-Massa in 4 watersheds and 4 national parks, the project will support the emergence of a rural middle class through sustainable management of natural resources, the inclusive promotion of forestry value chains and the development of forestry and aquaculture entrepreneurship, the same source added.
The operation will benefit cooperatives, interprofessions and small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the forestry and aquaculture sectors in the target regions.
According to the ADB, the project will contribute to achieving the ambitions of the “2020-2030 Morocco’s Forests” strategy through a series of actions, including the integrated management of four national parks, the promotion of biodiversity by reintroducing extinct and/or threatened species of fauna, and the restoration of land affected by erosion through biological treatment.
