Morocco is a forerunner in new technologies for the environment, says Rik Daems

Morocco is a forerunner in the use of new technologies to protect the environment, said Friday in Marrakech, the President of the Network of Reference Parliamentarians 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 country that is a forerunner in the use of new technologies for environmental protection,” said Rik Daems in an address to the meeting of the Network of Reference Parliamentarians for a Healthy Environment under the PACE, which brings together 55 parliamentarians from 32 national parliaments of member states and observers of the Council of Europe, as the parliament of Morocco which enjoys the status of a partner for democracy since 2011.

He also indicated that the Kingdom has accumulated a convincing experience in the management of water resources, access to drinking water, environmental protection, sanitation and reuse of wastewater.

Rik Daems said 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 to develop legally binding and enforceable instruments to ensure more effective protection of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

“The Network is trying to impact national parliaments to establish and consolidate a legal framework, at the national and European level, to anchor the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, based on the United Nations guidelines in this area,” he explained.

For her part, Carmen Morte Gómez, Head of the Office of the Council of Europe in Rabat, said that this meeting provided an opportunity to highlight the role of the Council of Europe in the integration of the environmental dimension in human rights, noting 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 environmental protection and human rights.

Carmen Morte Gómez indicated that the Council of Europe is committed to helping its member states respond to environmental crimes and to strengthen international judicial cooperation in this area, noting that environmental crimes not only threaten ecosystems and the survival of thousands of plant and animal species, but are also the cause of many diseases that reduce life expectancy in all member states.

In this sense, she praised the Moroccan experience in the fight against environmental crime, recalling that the Network of European Prosecutors for the Environment (ENPE) has granted its first Award of Excellence for 2022 to the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Morocco, in recognition of its efforts in this area.

For his part, Allal Amraoui, member of the Network and the House of Representatives, said that Morocco “remains a world model in the fight against climate change, thanks to a policy of developing clean and renewable energy.

Recalling that Morocco suffers the full force of the consequences of climate change, Allal Amraoui said that “Morocco, thanks to the foresight of the ancestors and a forward-looking policy on water resources management, can now meet the needs of citizens, but for how long?

Calling to react, together and very quickly, to review all economic models based primarily on the massive use of fossil fuels, the deputy noted that these policies must meet the proven requirements of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In this sense, he stressed that Morocco “can be an example to follow in terms of management and preservation of water resources, to ensure sustainable development to project a safe 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 of Water and Electricity, Vice President of the African Water Association, gave a presentation on the national policy of water management, noting that this policy has achieved several achievements and supply the country with water in good conditions including, in terms of major hydraulic infrastructure.

This policy has involved 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 diversion works, wells and boreholes to exploit the groundwater, 158 wastewater treatment plants to treat 56% of urban wastewater and 12 desalination plants of sea water existing for different uses (179 Mm3 / year).

He also indicated that the Office works to consolidate the management and decentralized planning, integrated and participatory water resources; strengthening the bodies and organs of consultation and coordination through the creation of the Basin Council which is a regional forum for discussion around the issue of water management; the establishment of legal bases for diversification of supply through the use of non-conventional water resources; and strengthening the institutional framework and mechanisms for protection and preservation of water resources.

He also highlighted the National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation 2020-2027 (PNAEPI), established under the High Royal Directions, to accelerate investments in the water sector to strengthen the supply of this vital commodity and irrigation, especially for areas most affected by water deficit, for the period 2020-2027.

The PNAEPI provides for the realization of structuring projects in the water sector, including the mobilization of conventional and non-conventional water resources, to ensure the development of the water sector and water supply of the country in a sustainable manner, he stressed.

Held on the sidelines of the meeting of the Committee on Social Issues, Health and Sustainable Development under the PACE, this meeting is marked by the presentation of the Moroccan experience in access to drinking water and exchange of views on clean energy and the great strides made by the Kingdom in this field.

This meeting will also include interactive workshops at the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) in Benguerir.