Morocco, aware that "the fight against climate change is not just about reducing greenhouse gas emissions; it also involves sustainable land management", is committed on several fronts, particularly those of preserving ecosystems, conserving biodiversity and reducing the precariousness of vulnerable populations, noted the Sovereign in this speech which was read out by Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki.
This commitment is reflected in actions undertaken at the regional and international levels, each with a national dimension, added HM the King in the speech addressed to the participants in this meeting organized on the sidelines of the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
Thus, "Morocco, which hosted the COP 22, is also the country that has raised its Nationally Determined Contribution to a 45.5% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030," recalled in this context HM the King.
Other eloquent examples of the national declination of this unwavering commitment to the environment, HM the King cited the strategies "Forests of Morocco 2020-2030" and "Generation Green 2020-2030", which are part of the objective of reversing the process of land degradation, reducing the spread of desertification and mitigating its impact while promoting human and social development.
Furthermore, the Sovereign underlined the centrality of the issue of water which is at the intersection of “My commitment to the fight against drought, to safeguarding biodiversity and preserving ecosystems".
As a result of this determination to preserve and protect this essential resource for life, the "National Water Plan" set up by the Kingdom serves the objective of ensuring water security and the necessary water resources, in quantity and quality, said the Sovereign, noting that the New Development Model places the preservation and promotion of water resources among the priority issues of a development model that is as anchored in the present as it is turned towards the future.
Given the importance that Morocco attaches to this vital sector, the "Hassan II Great World Water Prize" is both a platform for the promotion of global awareness and a prestigious forum for emulation, where innovative, sustainable and integrated solutions compete to advance the cause of water resources, the Sovereign stressed.
This cause should not be perceived as a "theoretical issue, nor is it a subject for rhetorical debate. It is a harsh, unforgiving reality which is taking a toll because of increasingly frequent, severe and devastating droughts,” the Sovereign insisted, noting that with more than 1.5 billion people impacted worldwide and more than $124 billion of economic losses over the past 20 years, the recurrence of droughts and the rate of land degradation really is a “major challenge” for the world today.