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Agadir – Having faced devastating floods just weeks ago, Morocco is putting together a national plan to address the consequences of recent natural disasters while avoiding a repeat in the future, the government has indicated.
Speaking at the weekly meeting of the Governing Council held on February 4, Morocco’s Deputy Minister of the Interior Noureddine Boutayeb discussed the details of Morocco’s plans to tackle natural disasters.
The official announced the establishment of a disaster evaluation and monitoring system as part of the “Sendai Framework” for disaster risk reduction by 2030. Boutayeb explained the need for a national policy framework for managing natural hazards in cooperation with international partners.
According to Boutayeb, the aim of the system is to assess the efficiency of the country’s disaster monitoring programs, to help ensure the best implementation of the national disaster plan.
The official pointed to floods, soil erosion and earthquakes as some of the risks that threaten Morocco. A recent study conducted in partnership with the government of the UK confirmed this, revealing that Morocco faces serious challenges in terms of water scarcity and material security.
Read also: Morocco’s Solidarity Fund Against Disasters to Compensate Flood Victims
The country’s national action plan sets out to protect citizens from natural disasters, reducing vulnerability to risks while strengthening the infrastructural capacity to withstand various environmental catastrophes. The action plan would also further protect and guarantee the sustainable development of Morocco, explained the minister.
The plan consists of 18 different programs. The programs will cover natural disaster management and assessment, the prevention of natural hazards, improved response capacity, as well as scientific research and international cooperation.
It will be enacted based on four main pillars, said Boutayeb.
The minister recommends an improved involvement of stakeholders at all levels, the diversification of funding when it comes to the prevention of natural disasters, an increased focus on appropriate scientific research, as well as improved international cooperation.
Morocco’s national action plan comes at a time when natural disasters have become increasingly commonplace in the country. Throughout 2020, a series of earthquakes hit Northern Morocco, while devastating floods swept across Casablanca.
According to a 2016 study by Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) in 2016, the number of natural disasters in Morocco increased by four times between 1980 and 2000, and spiked 22-fold between 2000 and 2014.
