Rabat – Princess Lalla Hasna, as the chairwoman of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environment Protection, is at the forefront of multiple environmental initiatives in the kingdom and abroad.
During a meeting with the board of directors of the foundation on December 9, Princess Lalla Hasna reviewed the environmental projects that the kingdom launched in 2019.
The foundation manages almost 20 programs in the fields of environmental education, coastline, air and climate, sustainable tourism, the palm grove of Marrakech, and Morocco’s historic gardens.
Field visits
Princess Lalla Hasna made two field visits in support of the foundation’s programs. She first traveled to the Al-Masjid Eco-Schools in Ain Aoudi, near Rabat. The Ain Aoudi site has worked to expand the eco-schools program to include a total of 2,172 schools in both rural and urban communities.
The Princess then visited the Palm Grove Safeguarding Program in Marrakech to gauge its agroecology program. The program benefits the farmers’ families and facilitates an important irrigation mechanism using the city’s wastewater.
Read also: High Atlas Foundation Partners with Clinton Global Initiative in Tree Planting Project near Marrakesh
Hassan II International Environmental Training Center
In June 2019, Princess Lalla Hasna inaugurated the Hassan II International Environmental Training Center in Bouknadel, north of Rabat, and dedicated it to environmental awareness and education.
The center is now at the heart of the foundation’s education, awareness, and outreach programs including Eco-Schools, Young Reporters for the Environment, Clean Beaches, and Air-Climate.
Clean Beaches: ‘bhar bla plastic’
Clean Beaches is an annual campaign that clears 100 beaches across Morocco of plastic and trash in order to fight plastic waste pollution in oceans.
The objective of the campaign is to sensitize beachgoers, and civilians in general, about the dangers that plastic presents for the ocean and its creatures. With its slogan ‘bhar bla plastic’ (better without plastic), the campaign aims to mobilize civilians to clean beaches.
During its 20th campaign from July 3, 2019, to August 31, Clean Beaches helped clear two beaches near Casablanca of 1,700 kilograms of plastic.
Read also: Moroccan University Students and Environmentalists Team Up to Clean Beaches
Air-Climate
The Mohammed VI Foundation for Environment Protection launched the Air-Climate program in 2018 to empower Moroccans in mitigating local air pollution and global warming. The program also aims to educate citizens and businesses about the impacts of greenhouse gases and climate change.
The program has a strong foothold in Marrakech, Morocco’s pilot city for introducing electric motorcycles throughout the country.
African Youth Climate Hub
In September 2019, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environment Protection launched the African Youth Climate Hub in collaboration with the Children and Youth Constituency to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Morocco’s OCP Group, and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University.
The African Youth Climate Hub is a virtual space for exchange and support among young Africans regarding issues of climate change. The hub aims to contribute meaningfully to climate action through youth-based and inclusive projects with a focus on measurable impacts across the continent and on a global scale.
Read also: Straight Talk on Morocco’s Youth Climate Activism
African Youth Initiative on Climate Change
In September 2019, the Moroccan royal presented the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. The project aims to empower African rural communities through a youth-led, collaborative initiative that encourages effective implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Environmental protection and preservation is a key priority of Morocco.
In early October 2019, King Mohammed VI warned participants at the 8th Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers that the current climate situation “has serious and alarming consequences for our planet today.”
As the chairwoman of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environment Protection, Princess Lalla Hasna has long spearheaded the kingdom’s climate initiatives and she shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.
Read also: King Mohammed VI Calls for Collective Action on Climate Change
