Moroccan environment NGO launches awareness campaign for air pollution

The Oxygen Association for Environment and Health, a Moroccan NGO dedicated to raising awareness about the environment, has launched two digital campaigns on social media, one aimed at fighting air pollution in the country, and the other aimed at protecting Kenitra’s forest “Maamoura.”

Those digital campaigns are aimed to raise awareness among the Moroccan community in the digital world to alert officials about the danger of air pollution caused by factories and laboratories in the major cities of the Kingdom, which leads to the spread of respiratory diseases among citizens.

Ayoub KRIR, the president of Oxygen Association for Environment and Health told Hespress English in a statement that his association is still processing the second campaign related to the Forest of Maamoura, stating that “this forest is among the biggest in the world, and now it is facing eradication.”

“Real estate projects contribute to decreasing the forest’s space, in line with the city’s local authorities,” he said, adding, “the second digital campaign will last until we get to make an end to this unacceptable behavior.”

The president of the NGO, headquartered in Kenitra, explained why he established the association in the city and stated that “It [Kenitra] has a rich ecological diversity,” he said, adding, “the region has significant forest wealth, as Maamoura represents 70% of the Rabat-Sale-Kenitra region’s total forest area, in addition to the sea, Sebou’s river, and green spaces, including Eucalyptus and Pine trees.”

“Minerals are the source of wealth for this city, as it has a high quality of drinkable water compared to other cities,” he continued.

KRIR further explained that the city ranks 3rd in Moroccan economic activity, after Casablanca and Tangier, with many factories and companies established within its boundaries which threaten the environment with pollution caused by coal and garbage.

He said these threats pose a danger to both the health of citizens and the environment, which causes respiratory diseases such as asthma and pollution.

“The first digital campaign in fighting air pollution aimed mainly at encouraging local and national governments to take immediate and sustainable measures to protect citizen health such as removing industrial zones from the center of major cities and imposing a pollution tax on factories that violate health regulations,” he explained.

As for the sustainable development goals of 2030, the president of the association said that it was imperative to work together “to achieve these goals from now on so that we could achieve a green economy in the country in the medium and long term.”

When asked about his stance on COP26, KRIR said, “COP as a whole wasn’t successful. There are still some countries that do not adhere to the Paris Agreement, and there are so much efforts to put into place, as polluting countries must reimburse non-polluting countries.”

As of Wednesday, December 22, the Oxygen Association for Environment and Health has organized a workshop that targets children attending a school in Kenitra, in coordination with the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. The workshop aims to raise awareness and educate children about habits they should adopt early on in order to protect the environment.