2024-04-17 01:49:36
According to a press release from the National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF), the national focal point of the CMS which carries the initiative, the IMFSS was welcomed by all the Parties to this convention as well as by the international organizations of nature conservation.
ANEF recalls that this initiative, mandated for Morocco during the third regional seminar on the conservation and restoration of Sahelo-Saharan Megafauna, held in Agadir in March 2023, aims to establish a framework for cooperation and coordination for the conservation and restoration of Sahelo-Saharan megafauna species and their habitats between the 16 States of the range of these species. These are Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, South Sudan, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Chad.
The IMFSS concerns 9 threatened species of the Sahelo-Saharan megafauna, of which 6 species exist in Morocco: the addax, the scimitar-horned oryx, the Barbary mouflon, the Cuvier’s gazelle, the dama gazelle, and the dorcas gazelle, and aims to encourage the States of the Sahelo-Saharan region to develop and implement action plans for the conservation of these species.
ANEF underlines that its commitment to the conservation of endemic Sahelo-Saharan megafauna has been comforted by the implementation of a certain number of concrete measures, within the framework of the “Forests of Morocco 2020-2030” Strategy. launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on February 13, 2020, aimed at the conservation and rehabilitation of these species and their habitats.
“The commitments and actions undertaken, through this strategy, make it possible to provide appropriate responses for the conservation, restoration and resilience of ecosystems and for the protection of biodiversity in general, including species threatened with extinction,” notes the press release, specifying that specific action plans for the Sahelo-Saharan megafauna endemic to Morocco have been updated for their conservation and the restoration of their habitats, in addition to the strengthening of reintroduction programs into the wild.
Morocco, “leader in the region” in conservation programs for Sahelo-Saharan megafauna, has “the largest numbers in semi-captivity and in the wild of the dama gazelle, the cuvier gazelle, the Barbary mouflon and the addax,” we added.
The IMFSS therefore offers “a collaborative framework where Morocco will play a unifying and leadership role in the region to strengthen the conservation of these migratory species and improve their conservation status”, underlines the press release.
Noting that range States have committed to implementing the provisions of the resolution in their national policies and actions, ANEF considers that this “unprecedented” commitment strengthens “collective action for the preservation of biodiversity and responds to the pressing challenges it faces.
2024-04-17 01:49:36