Morocco adapts, with the ACCMA project

Mohamed Tafraouti in Middle East Online presents a detailed summary of a worthy adaptation effort: …[T]he Adaptation to Climate Change in Morocco–ACCMA- project has over three and a half years conducted scientific research that produced almost 75 studies through which it sought to shed light on the harshest rural areas of Morocco, a region at the mercy of extreme weather conditions in the Moroccan Rif and northeastern coastal Mediterranean zones, namely in Nador, Berkane and Driouech. The studies were structured around axes that embodied the main grievances of a population that endures social vulnerability, rural isolation and depleted resources.

The ACCMA Project proposed an action plan for the integrated coastal zones management in the context of climate change and weaved a social dynamic between the inhabitants of targeted areas and the various local decision makers. This approach acquires even higher importance since the region under study hosts three wetlands of international importance classified as RAMSAR Sites, namely the lagoon of Nador (Mar Chica), the Cap des Trois Fourches and the estuary of the River mouth of Moulouya, besides the Gourougou Mountain which is also a site of biological and ecological interest and ecosystems endangered by human activity and climate change.

The Project has come to an end, having fulfilled its objectives and identified the emergency interventions needed on the part of decision makers, the civil society and the population to improve their adaptive capacity to potential climate change impacts….

Lagzira Beach in Morocco, shot by Hugues, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license