Princess Lalla Hasna, chairman of the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Environment, chaired the foundation’s board of directors in Marrakesh on Monday.
On this occasion, Princess Lalla Hasnaa celebrated the Foundation’s major achievements.
2021 marked the appointment of Princess Lalla Hasnaa, godfather of the coalition leading the United Nations Decade of Oceanography for Sustainable Development, a network of distinguished and dedicated partners working for the good of the ocean.
As a founding member of the Decade of the Ocean Alliance, the Foundation plays an active role in education and outreach in this area, such as organizing a Blue Talk in partnership with the Portuguese Embassy in Morocco and hosting the second session of the Institution Dialog in the presence of international facilitators over thirty charities.
The Foundation participated in these two preparatory events for the United Nations Ocean Conference held in Lisbon in June 2022.
Princess Lalla Hasnaa also touched upon another of the Fund’s main areas of work, namely the Air and Climate program, under which the Fund and its partners have established a working group to work on a flexible and low-carbon economy. The GHG calculation tool developed by the Fund is currently being updated and improved to take into account the European Union Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which Moroccan companies will follow. These systems will be rolled out gradually starting in 2023.
This tool will measure emissions, which is the first and important step for economic operators in the process of transition to low carbon technologies, which has become an urgent need due to the climate emergency. This instrument will also enable the implementation of the technical measures provided for in Article VI of the Paris Agreement, which will support Morocco in its voluntary commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Princess Lalla Hasnaa also briefed the board members on the restoration of two parks under the Restoration of Historic Parks and Gardens program thanks to the support of the Fund’s partners, namely Khubul Park in Meknes and the Youth Forest in Marrakesh.
The Princess confirmed that two years of the Covid-19 pandemic did not affect the completion of the Fund’s programs; He has a long history of relying on modern communications technology, which has enabled him to continue and advance his programs with the support of his academic arm, the International Center for Environmental Learning. Hassan II.
The foundation’s innovative programs continued to achieve their goals after adapting to the pandemic: 74 environmental schools raised the green flag, 671 young environmental journalists took part in the match, 28 beaches were awarded the Blue Flag, and 22 new companies joined the Air Quality Charter.
The meeting of the Board of Directors is being held for the second time in Marrakesh, where the Fund plays an active role; He rehabilitated Arsat Moulay Abdeslam in 2004,
He has been working on the Marrakech Palm Oasis Protection and Development program since 2007, as well as on the Air and Climate program, as Marrakech is considered a pilot area for activating the greenhouse gas calculation tool. Community, regional and state technicians and entities have been trained to use this tool to develop a regional climate plan or develop electric mobility.
Finally, the city benefits from the Foundation’s educational and outreach programs, which include primary and primary students (environmental schools), middle and high school students (Young Journalists for the Environment) and university students (Green Universities and Africa Youth Education Network), and visitors are also attracted as part of sustainable tourism.
The Board of Directors approved the financial statements for 2019, 2020 and 2021.
