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Rabat – At the gateway to Morocco’s vast Sahara Desert, a growing number of volunteers are stepping up to tackle the spread of plastic waste deep into desert landscapes. Bottles, plastic bags, and other debris are being cleared from the sands by residents and environmental activists determined to protect the fragile ecosystem.
As part of the 20th International Nomads Festival, held in mid-April every year in M’Hamid El Ghizlane, attendees and musicians took a break from the music event to pay respect to the environment around them. The clean-up initiative began at the northern entrance of the village – which holds a population of around 6,600 people in the Zagora province of southeast Morocco.
M’Hamid is known locally as the last town of civilization before entering into the open desert, and is a frequented stop for not only tourist caravans, but also historically traders and desert travelers alike.
Volunteers got to work picking up debris from the most polluted part of the town, and the initiative received attention from international media, including AFP, the Belgian Radio-Television for the French Community (RTBF) and Arab Weekly.
“In Morocco, clean-up efforts are often concentrated along coastlines and in forested areas, but the desert is suffering just as much,” said Nouredine Bougrab, founder of the International Nomads Festival and a resident of M’Hamid. “Plastic waste here doesn’t just disappear. It stays in the sand, carried by the wind, and endangers both people and animals.”
According to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, as reported by AFP, Morocco generates around 8.2 million tons of household waste every year, and only 6- 7% of this is recycled. To put it in perspective, sustainability expert Hassan Chouaouta explained to RTBF outlet that this amount is equal to 811 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower, or enough to fill 2,780 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Anthropologist Mustapha Naimi points to mass plastic production, poor waste management infrastructure, and wind-borne pollutants as key contributors to the pollution crisis in the desert. “The waste is contaminating grazing lands, riverbeds, and nomadic routes. It’s a direct threat to the Saharan environment,” he said.
Beyond environmentalism, the 20th edition of the International Nomads Festival celebrated the rich cultural heritage of nomadic communities, featuring, dance, crafts, gastronomy, traditions and a diverse musical journey that included beloved local and international artists including Nass El Ghiwane, Les Pigeons du Sable, Kader Tarhanin and Imarhan Timbuktu.
Among those joining the campaign is Ousmane Ag Oumar, a 35-year-old Malian and member of the Tuareg blues band Imarhan Timbuktu. “This clean-up is essential not just for nature, but for the survival of nomadic communities that rely on livestock,” he said.
Pastoral nomadism — a traditional way of life based on seasonal migration and livestock herding — is in sharp decline in Morocco. The most recent census of nomadic populations in 2014 recorded just 25,274 individuals, a 63% drop from 2004, as climate change, shrinking grazing areas, and the disappearance of transhumance routes are driving many nomads toward sedentarization.
Rural sociologist Mohammed Mahdi notes that nomadic herders receive minimal state support compared to subsidies granted to agriculture, particularly export-oriented farming. “Many herders have simply gone bankrupt and left the profession,” he said.
Mohamed Oujâa, 50 years-old, a musician from the Gnawa group Les Pigeons du Sable, stressed the cultural and environmental importance of the initiative. “A clean environment is essential for our future generations,” he said. “This is just the beginning, we hope to see more campaigns like this throughout the desert.”
