Rabat – The Moroccan Secretary of State to the Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Sustainable Development, Nezha El Ouafi, released the annual national report on the cleanliness levels of Moroccan beaches, at a press conference in Rabat on June 24.
The report reveals the results of tests at 451 coastal resorts, across 169 beaches throughout Morocco. It identifies whether they meet Moroccan standards of water quality, and compliance with norms set by the Ministry for Environment in relation to bacterial and fecal content in seawater.
The report finds 98.3% of the resorts evaluated comply with water quality norms. The major beach destinations of Agadir, Imsouane, and Essaouira all meet the standards, as does the Ain Diab beach of Casablanca.
The report identifies the cleanest beaches in the country, those with the international “Blue Flag” award. This year, the international Foundation of Environmental Education awarded the “Blue Flag” to 21 Moroccan beaches, including Sidi Ifni, Essaouira, Safi, Bouznika, and Skhirat, for cleanliness and sustainability.
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At the press conference, El Ouafi noted that the Blue Flag awards “represent the international recognition of the considerable efforts made by the stakeholders of Moroccan beaches.”
The report also finds seven resorts in Morocco do not meet the standards for safe swimming. These resorts are located at the beaches of Oued Merzeg, 25km south of Casablanca, Ain Atiq beach, near Temara south of Rabat, and Jbila III near Assilah, in the north of Morocco.
The beaches do not conform with norms due to water contamination or due to the high recorded number of swimmers in comparison to the toilet infrastructure in the area.
The report recommends that Moroccan communes set up more sanitary infrastructure along all beaches, including toilet blocks, showers, and rubbish bins.
The report is published annually by the Ministry for the Environment. As noted by El Ouafi at the press conference on Monday, the results are a tool to encourage citizens and stakeholders to continue with their efforts to improve seawater quality, through the installation of appropriate infrastructure along beaches.
