Fez University to get Green Campus

The European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez (EMU) have signed a financing agreement to support the construction of the university's eco-campus. The cost of the work amounts to 13 million euros and should be delivered by 2020.

The Green Campus of the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez will take on a new face in the coming months. Thirteen million euros will be made available to rebuild and re-equip its ecological campus. The decision follows a financing agreement signed on Wednesday, October 3, 2018 during a ceremony chaired by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mohamed Benchaaboun. It is part of the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) mechanism.

The main aim is to support the university, whose training is mainly focused on green economy jobs. The funding will enable the university to benefit from educational and research facilities, sports areas and a bookshop. The eco-campus will be open to 6,000 students from more than 18 nationalities and people with reduced mobility will be favoured. The project is expected to be completed in 2019-2020.

EU ambassador to Morocco Claudia Wiedey said: “we hope that several students from all horizons (Mediterranean, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe) will benefit and graduate from the Euromed University, imbued with the values of tolerance between peoples, enriched by the virtues of interculturality and equipped with the most useful skills for the local and international labor market”.

EIB Representative in Morocco Anna Barone said: “we are pleased to be able to contribute again, thanks to EU funds, to the development of the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez, which plays an essential role in the field of higher education and research in Morocco”.

The university’s “intercultural vocation and willingness to partner with other academic institutions in the Mediterranean make it a key academic player in the region”, added the European bank representative.

The Euromed University of Fes is a new regional center of excellence promoting dialogue, intercultural exchange, sharing of knowledge and cooperation in the fields of higher education, research and innovation.

This is not the first funding that the University of Fez has received. In 2017, the EIB had already granted it a loan of EUR 70 million and the EU later provided it with EUR 5 million. The eco-campus is among the few in the world that respects international standards and the requirements of sustainable development.

The Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez was established in November 2012. It aims “to promote exchanges, intercultural dialogue and academic and cultural partnerships in the Euro-Mediterranean region as well as high-level training and research.” Its campus is considered green because the infrastructure is environmentally friendly and focuses on renewable energy.

Luchelle Feukeng



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Morocco Installs Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles

Morocco's Institute for Research in Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN) has announced the start of the installation of the first charging stations for electric vehicles in Morocco's highway rest areas.

As part of the Green Miles project, initiated by IRESEN in partnership with Schneider Electric, Autoroutes du Maroc are working on the establishment of the first pilot network of charging stations at rest areas every 60 km along the Tanger-Agadir motorway.

"In total, there are 37 terminals, with 74 charging points of different powers that are being installed on the highway rest areas to cover the 800 km route," said the statement, adding that the establishment is part of a global approach that integrates coupling with solar power, intelligent communication between terminals and the development of innovative solutions that take into account all the specificities of the Moroccan socio-economic context.

Initiated in 2017, these facilities are the result of numerous research and development projects on sustainable mobility that the Institute has conducted since 2014 at its research platform Green Energy Park in Benguerir.

Studies have demonstrated the importance of charging infrastructure as a driver for the development of electric mobility in Morocco. Thus urban areas are in full expansion, and a significant source of solar energy, electric cars, which can be adopted to renew the current fleet, while saving more than 15 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year.

The charging stations were co-financed by the IRESEN and the Schneider-Electric group, while the engineering, the studies and the installation of the charging stations are done jointly by the fuel distributors, IRESEN and ADM.

The first stations of the Afriquia group are in the process of being equipped and will be followed in the next three weeks by the installation of the charging stations in the other rest areas of the fuel dispensers present on the Tanger-Agadir motorway.


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Green Bus Line for Rabat

A new environmentally-friendly bus service will be in operation around the city of Rabat by summer 2018, according to Maghreb Arab Press (MAP)

In a report carried by Morocco World News, Mohamed Sadiki, vice-president of the Al Assima group, who are in charge of the management of urban transport, has said that the modernisation of transport services in the kingdom’s capital will be done through the introduction of the new green line.

Al Assima launched an international call for tenders for the bus project in February, but Sadiki says, “the identity of the project bidder will not be unveiled until the summer of 2018.”

Al Assima aims for the bus line to alleviate city traffic congestion and is committed to renewing the fleet by rolling out as many as 600 vehicles.

The 1,084-kilometer-long transport network in Rabat-Sale-Skhirat-Temara is served by 58 lines and the number of passengers is estimated at 60 million people per year

It is hoped the easing of traffic congestion will also lower the accident rate. This week, thirty-six people were injured after two buses collided Wednesday night in Rabat.

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Morocco's Plastic Bag Ban - a Year On

It has been almost a year since Morocco formally prohibited the manufacture, import, export, sale and use of plastic bags. The law was published in the Official Bulletin of December 14th 2015 and came into force in 2016 with a national campaign entitled Zero Mika - No Plastic

Zero Mika applied to all plastic bags except those for agricultural and industrial sectors as well as household waste collection. Isothermal bags and those intended for refrigeration and freezing were also exempt.

Despite scepticism in some quarters, the result exceeded expectations. Within a week of the ban being announced, shoppers had taken to carrying basket and using paper bags instead of plastic. Since that time there has been general acceptance of the policy.

Sadly, the plastic bag ban has resulted in a blackmarket in plastic bags with Moroccan authorities seizing more than 420 tonnes of plastic bags in the year since the entry into force of a law prohibiting their use,  According to the Ministry of the Interior they have also intercepted more than 421 tonnes of plastic bags, 70 manufacturing machines, 16 vehicles and arrested 55 people.

With the legislation dubbed "zero mika", or zero plastic in Arabic, Morocco became one of the first countries in Africa to impose a total ban on plastic bags, along with Rwanda.

Since the law took effect, the authorities have been strict to ensure its application, especially in shops and supermarkets in larger cities and towns. The government has described as "encouraging" the results of the ban, saying it had virtually eradicated the use of plastic bags in the country.

Moroccans have instead taken to using fabric bags

The ministry of industry has set up a 20 million euro ($21.8 million) fund to help companies affected by the law.

The government has described as "encouraging" the results of the ban, saying it had virtually eradicated the use of plastic bags in the country.

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Smartphone App to Help Preserve the City of Fez

The city of Fes has just launched a new application for smartphones intended for all its inhabitants. Called "I preserve my city" (je préserve ma ville), it allows its users to report any problems observed in the streets of Fez

If, during a trip, people find lighting that does not work, garbage cans overflowing or a hole in a sidewalk, they send a photo and a comment with their smartphone .

The city services receive the message and launch a team to intervene on the premises . When the problem is resolved, the person who reported it is kept informed ... and warmly thanked.

Thanks to this new mobile phone service, the inhabitants of Fez can all be involved in the cleanliness and good condition of their city . This is a citizen application that we would like to see developed in all the major cities of Morocco. It would allow every city dweller to live in a cleaner and well-maintained environment.

Check it out here: http://www.jepreservemaville.ma/

Je Préserve ma Ville - أحافظ على مدينتي

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Earth Day Morocco

Morocco Celebrates Earth Day Every Day!  Morocco has long been a climate advocate, becoming the first African and Arab country to host a Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) in 2001. In November 2016, the country—dubbed a “perfect place for the world’s biggest climate change conference,” —again hosted world leaders in Marrakesh for COP 22, this time with the task of implementing the historic Paris Agreement from the year before

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI urged participants at COP 22 to move beyond promises to “tangible initiatives and practical steps,” and to respect and support the priorities and resources of developing countries.

“Holding this conference in Africa,” he said, “is an incentive for us to give priority to tackling the adverse repercussions of climate change, which are growing worse and worse in the countries of the South and in insular states whose very existence is in jeopardy.”

Since November, Morocco has ensured that the climate action agenda moves forward as COP 22 President, hosting a number of events and workshops with members of Moroccan civil society as well as international stakeholders on capacity building, sustainable industrial areas, and more. Morocco sent a delegation to the World Bank/International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington, DC this month to address issues of climate finance, and is working closely with the incoming Fiji COP 23 Presidency in advance of the Bonn Climate Change Conference in May.

Meanwhile, Morocco continues leading the way on sustainability and renewable energy at home:

1. Morocco has enshrined environmentalism in its governing documents. Article 31 of the country’s 2011 Constitution guarantees citizens’ right to “the access of water and to a healthy environment”; while Articles 71 and 152 address the government’s responsibility for environmental protection and oversight.

2. Morocco has set ambitious energy goals. Morocco has committed to generating 42% of the country’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, and 52% by 2030.

3. Morocco is a world leader in solar energy production. The country’s NOOR solar power complex is the largest in the world – so large it is visible from space; and by completion, will be capable of producing 2,000 megawatts of energy. In addition, Morocco currently maintains 13 wind farms and plans to build at least six more before 2020, capable of producing a total of 2,000 megawatts of energy.

4. Morocco is serious about waste reduction. The Moroccan Parliament signed a bill into law on July 1, 2016 banning the use, production, or import of plastic bags; and Rabat hosts an active recycling and waste-management centre that employs disadvantaged people to sort through waste for reusable, recyclable and saleable material.

5. Morocco understands the importance of raising public awareness on climate change issues. That’s why Morocco’s Association of Teachers of Life and Earth Sciences works with the Ministry of Education to promote awareness.

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Morocco's Million Trees in a Day Project

On Saturday, Morocco's High Commissioner for Water and Forests and the Fight Against Desertification (HCEFLCD), Abdeladim Lhafi, launched a national initiative to plant over one million trees in a single day, in over 210 areas across the country

"I plant a tree in my territory to develop the forest of my country" 

The project under the Patronage of HM King Mohammed VI, was announced in the town of Jbilat in the province of Rhamna (Azib Sidi Bouathmane) in the presence of the Governor of the province, Farid Chourak. The event was launched with the theme "I plant a tree in my territory to develop the forest of my country".

The national reforestation campaign 2016 will involve the planting of more than 40 million seedlings over an area of ​​45,000 to 50,000 ha. The previous reforestation program annually increased forest cover by 1% between 1990 and 2000 and by 2% between 2000 and 2010.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Morocco is among the 25 countries that have reversed the trend of degradation of their forest ecosystems.


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"Zero Mika" - Creates Blackmarket in Plastic Bags

Morocco's move to ban plastic bags was initially hailed as a success. However, as plastic bags became scarce, a blackmarket sprung up. At first it was people taking rubbish bags in the street and emptying the contents before washing the bags and selling them. Now it has become as bigger business, with smugglers importing tons of plastic bags

Customs police bag some illegal plastic

In Marrakech, a large quantity of plastic bags were seized. As one local paper put it, "The law of zero Mika seems to have been compromised by smugglers".

After illegal plastic bags were found in Nador and Oujda, now twelve tons of plastic bags have been seized by the local authorities in Marrakech. The operation "zero Mika" (zero plastic bags) seems to be "threatened by the smugglers, " reported the daily newspaper, Al Massae.

On Tuesday local authorities, in coordination with the services of the Marrakech Prefecture, discovered three truckloads of plastic bags stationed in the Bab Ksiba Park, in the Kasbah district of the old medina. The bags, transported from Casablanca, were intended to be sold in the local markets.

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Morocco Bans Importing Italian Waste After Uproar

The public uproar over the arrival in Morocco of 2,500 tons of waste has forced the Moroccan government to finally end the controversy surrounding waste - a stunning win for Morocco's environment movement

Mustapha El Khalfi - "Morocco will ban waste imports"

Following a cabinet meeting the Communications Minister Mustapha Khalfi announced that Morocco had decided to ban the import of waste from Italy.

Silvia Velo, Italy's Under the Secretary for the Environment, had claimed that the 2,500 tons of waste shipped June 17 to Morocco was not dangerous. She said in essence that it was the debris of plastic, cardboard and wood in particular. However, the newspaper Le Monde and the Italian Health Institute both confirm the high toxicity of waste imported from Italy. Earlier, Moroccan officials  had claimed that the Italian waste is safe.

 The Italian Parliament has just received a report from the Institute of Hygiene confirming the danger of such waste on humans and on the environment. The same report indicates that the burning or burial of such wastes cause chronic diseases especially in infants and children. The report points out that such waste can cause cancer and burial causes the poisoning of groundwater.

The Moroccan authorities decided on a second analysis of waste. If the analysis shows non-compliance of with current standards, incineration permits will not be issued by the Ministry, and "the waste will be returned to the country of origin at the expense of cement factories who intended to burn the waste," said environment Minister Hakima El Haite.

There have been loud calls for the resignation of the Environment Minister. On a possible resignation or dismissal of the Minister of the Environment Hakima Elhaité El Khalfi simply replied: "This issue was not raised at the Council of the Government."

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Moroccans Up in Arms Over Italian Garbage

Moroccan civil society has mobilised against the arrival of 2.500 tonnes of toxic waste from Italy

In an on-line petition activists are asking the environment ministry to cancel authorisation for the incineration of Italian industrial waste in treatment plants in Morocco. The petition calls for intervention from the Royal Cabinet to prevent the country from "becoming the collection centre for international waste".

The Italian waste dump  'Taverna del Re'

On the eve of the COP22 climate conference in Marrakech in November and a few days after the ban on plastic shopping bags came into force the environmental consciousness of Moroccans is on alert. « Le Maroc n’est pas une poubelle! » - "Morocco is not a rubbish bin" quickly became a favourite quote on social media.

Back on June 30th, The View From Fez and Morocco's Arabic language newspapers carried news of the arrival from Italy of 2,500 tonnes of plastic and pneumatic waste, with the acronym RDF (refuse derived fuel), creating panic among environmentalists. The garbage is reportedly due to arrive from the southern Campania region, from a fuel depot called 'Taverna del Re' that is headquartered between the provinces of Caserta and Naples. A total of 5 million tonnes of waste will be delivered to the northern agricultural region of El Jadida under a three-year agreement, media sources report.

A statement to the public, issued by the environment centre in El Jadida, condemned the shipment of waste "that is proven to be dangerous and toxic, causing human and environmental damage and lead to the emergence of many acute and chronic illnesses, as well as birth defects and lifelong disabilities." &nbsHowever, the environment ministry insists that everything is in order and that the waste is "not dangerous, is used as an alternative to fossil fuel and comes from international processing centres".

It says the refuse "does not contaminate the environment" and, on the contrary, represents "a first step towards collaboration with other European (waste) processing centres, a sort of preliminary trial for the development of a local RDF production supply chain". The importation will be fully legal and carried out under the close supervision of the source and destination countries.

Moroccans are not sleeping easily, however, and the petition launched at the weekend collected 11,000 signatures in just a few hours. In addition, Ouadi Benabdellah, an MP for RNI (Rassemblement National des Indépendent) on the centre right has presented an interrogation directed at environment minister Hakina El Haité.  Hopefully this attempt by Moroccan liberals to take the matter to parliament will result in a ban of the shipments.

The newspaper Le Monde and the Italian Health Institute confirms the high toxicity of waste imported from Italy. Contrary to what the Moroccan officials which indicate that the Italian waste is safe. The Italian Parliament has just received a report from the Institute of Hygiene confirming the danger of such waste on humans and on the environment. The same report indicates that the burning or burial of such wastes cause chronic diseases especially in infants and children. The report points out that such waste can cause cancer and burial causes the poisoning of groundwater.

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Today Marks The First Day Of Morocco's Plastic Bag Ban

Morocco is the second-largest plastic bag consumer after the United States. Moroccans use about three billion plastic bags a year, according to the Moroccan Industry Ministry. That averages out at 900 bags per year for each of Morocco’s 34 million people 

At the same time Morocco ranks alongside Costa Rica, Bhutan and Ethiopia as one of the world’s greenest countries, a fact partially due to its ambitious goals to crackdown on carbon emissions. Recent sustainability measures have turned the country into a green leader among developing nations, and the city of Marrakesh is due to host a global climate change conference in November 2016.

The country’s battle with the plastic bag has been in the works for years. Efforts in 2009 to ban the production and use of black plastic bags, which litter the country’s streets and beaches, were only partially successful, as authorities struggled to curtail informal production of the bags.

A landmark bill passed by the Moroccan parliament last October banned the production, import, sale and distribution of plastic bags across the country. The bill, which became law on July 1, is part of a larger environmentally conscious effort across the kingdom to go green.

Environmentalists welcome the plastic bag ban but say that it may take years for consumers to change their habits and, as the July 1 deadline approached, shops, street sellers and retailers across the country scrambled to stockpile reserves of reusable bags. The change, they say, will not be easy.

Jennie Romer, a New York-based lawyer says a blanket ban on the use of plastic bags will take some getting used to,  “It's a big cultural shift with that type of broader law,” she said. “As long as the government has the motivation to really enforce that. There is a lot of potential. The government entity that is implementing it has to be completely on board in order to make that really happen in practice.”

While Industry Minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the initiator of the bill, said on his Twitter account that “several alternative solutions” will be made widely available, such as bags made of paper and fabric. He added that “freezer bags were excluded.”

For weeks now, awareness campaigns throughout the country have been warning Moroccans against the use of bags, which take hundreds of years to degrade. Their message is simple: plastic bags are unhealthy and dangerous for the ecosystem in a country that struggles to clean its streets and where fields of rubbish plague the local environment.

“They do it to promote the image of Morocco as an environmentally friendly country, which is partly true, but not completely,” Mamoun Ghallab, a sustainable development consultant, said during a recent beach clean-up event in Casablanca.

Ghallab said the government hasn’t done much to raise environmental awareness. Some campaigns about littering have been done, he added, but their cartoonish design made them only marketable to children. “If citizens are not aware of the concerns and the challenges we’re facing, things will go much slower,” Ghallab said. “Everything begins and ends with the citizens.”

But the UN Environmental Performance Review of Morocco, which has analysed the country’s environment protection progress since 2012, reported that Morocco “fails to address environmental challenges, which can gradually become economic and development challenges”.

According to a 2013 study released by the German Society for International Cooperation, Moroccan cities only collect 70 percent of solid waste. And the World Bank has reported that less than 10 percent of collected waste is disposed of in an “environmentally and socially acceptable manner.”

Yassine Zegzouti, 30, president of Moroccan advocacy organisation Mawarid, said it is possible for Morocco to totally ban plastic bags, but that changing consumer habits will be the most challenging part.

The government has shown a commitment to putting the ban into practice, he said, not only through TV spots encouraging citizens to change their habits, but also by investing millions of Moroccan dirhams into encouraging the industry to transform their production of the bags.

“The formal sector will need four to five years to comply with the new law,” said Zegzouti.

“But the use of plastic bags is anchored in consumer habit,” said Zegzouti. “All actors need to change these habits to not have any damage in the future.”

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Environmentalists Condemn Italian Dumping of Rubbish in Morocco

Moroccan environmentalists are up in arms over a shipment of rubbish from Italy being sent to Morocco. After the latest rubbish arrival associations for environmental protection have protested against the arrival of a large ship, from Italy, to Port of Jorf Lasfar

The 2,500 tons of waste plastics, rubber and used tires, is being be moved to Casablanca and Settat, to be burned in cement plants. Mohamed Khalidi, President of the Regional Centre for the Environment and Sustainable Development, stressed that "this incident is not the first of its kind. A number of associations have already had to deal with other shipments and rubber tires to burn in a cement plants in Morocco."

In a statement to the public, the centre in El Jadida condemned the shipment of waste "that prove dangerous and toxic, causing human and environmental damage and lead to the emergence of many acute and chronic illnesses, as well as birth defects and lifelong disabilities."

Mohamed Khalidi also asked the authorities to "put an end to such behaviour and to punish any person intending to import toxic substances to Morocco to burn and pollute the environment."

Morocco is not "a waste repository"

Mohamed Khalidi is surprised that people pollute the environment at the same time as Morocco has launched the Zero Mika (no plastic bags) campaign and will host the 22nd UN climate conference, COP 22. He also noted that a demonstration will follow this weeks the statement issued by the centre, to attract the attention of officials at local, regional and national levels, and intends to ask them to stop all behaviour harmful to human health and which affects the reputation of the country, which, he says is not "a waste repository".

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Morocco's Clean Beach Campaign

Morocco is making progress in the task of cleaning up its swimming beaches.  During the 2015-2016 season, the rate of compliance with the bathing water quality standards for Moroccan beaches reached 97%

Ba-kacem Beach

91% of beaches in the Mediterranean area, comprising 45 beaches with 99 monitoring stations complied with the national standards. In the North Atlantic region (81 beaches and 223 monitoring stations) reached 98% compliance. The South Atlantic area (26 beaches and 64 monitoring stations) topped the list with 100% compliance.

Chemical analyses, mycological and typological, showed that the waste on beaches consisted mainly of glass, organic materials, metals, paper, plastic, wood and cigarette butts.

Blue Flag - Saidia Beach 

22 beaches spread across Morocco this year received the Blue Flag award for the summer season 2016, awarded by the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment chaired by Lalla Hasna and the International Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), this distinction is granted according to several criteria monitored throughout the season by a national committee. Inspections assessed the water quality, site management, the management of waste, awareness and environmental education.

Hociema - another Blue Flag

Since the introduction in 2002 of the Blue Flag label the initiative has seen a vast improvement in beach management. In 2005 only five beaches qualified for the Blue Flag. Thanks to the "Clean Beaches" movement started in 1999, there are 87 Moroccan beaches entered for the 2016 summer season.

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Another Push to Ban Plastic Bags in Morocco

Morocco is to continue its fight against plastic bags with a special cleanup between June the 24th and the 26th. The focus will be on “black areas,” where plastic bags are everywhere. The project, called Zero Mika, has been launched by the Moroccan Coalition for Climatic Justice (CMJC)

The CMCJ hopes that this awareness raising project of awareness will strengthen the use of alternative products to replace plastic bags.

With the Conference of Parties (COP 22) in Marrakech approaching, the Zero Mika campaign has been launched to replace plastic bags in Marrakech before COP 22.

The CMJC is a coalition of approximately 150 associations, key networks and syndicates, who will organise awareness programmes and teams collecting rubbish in many cities of the kingdom.

This campaign will also seek to mobilise the public with a call to action for all citizens.

In 2015 the Minister of Industry proposed a bill to ban the import, export, manufacture, and use of plastic bags and to impose heavy fines on violators. On March 24, the government ratified a decree to apply the provisions of the bill.

There are a billion plastic bags used every year in Morocco and without an effective recycling policy, most of the bags are polluting soil and seeping into groundwater as they decay.

The CMJC launched the hashtag #zéromika to invite users to participate in the operation. It is also suggesting an alternative - the Gouffa - a wicker basket. They have featured this in a series of video just released on Facebook .

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Moroccan Students to Plant 50,000 Trees

By 2017, school students in the Casablanca-Settat region will be involved in an environmental protection project that should see the planting of 50,000 trees

"A tree for each student"

This operation, which is part of an ongoing project initiated by the ministry several years ago under the motto "a tree for each student", is intended to strengthen awareness regarding the dangers of climate change.

During the last 20 years, 90% of the 6,457 natural disasters were caused by floods, storms, heat waves, and drought - all related to weather events, according to a report from the UN Office for Disaster Reduction.

The office estimates that the real cost of disasters is between 250 and 300 billion dollars per year. Similarly, according to the centre for research on the epidemiology of disasters, more than 600,000 people died and 4.1 million others have been victims disaster or were homeless following disasters caused by climatic events.

According to Amadou Idrissa Bokoye, science climate expert for the environment, Africa stands out as the continent most vulnerable to natural hazards, and where the repercussions of these are often the most significant. Between 1980 and 2008, natural disasters killed about 25,000 deaths per year and 320 million affected over this time in Africa.

Floods alone have killed dozens of Moroccans in the past two years

The tree planting project in Casablanca-Settat comes on the eve of the COP22 conference to be held in Morocco.  Students will not only plant trees, but will better understand the issue of climate change. Each student will take care of the tree they plant and follow its evolution throughout their school career with the aim of enhancing awareness of the need to protect forests and biodiversity and develop eco-friendly behaviour.

Since the project began back in 2008, 80,000 trees have been planted in schools

Despite the existence of some historic green spaces Casablanca, such as the Park of the Arab League, the ISESCO Park (Ex Murdoch garden) or the Hermitage, the total area of green spaces (nearly 5m2 / person) remains well below the World Health Organisation recommendation (20m2 / capita).

The operation "a tree to each student" also complements the efforts of all stakeholders, including elected officials and civil society, and aim to increase the green areas in the region.

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Earth Day in Fez - Photo Essay

E a r t h  D a y

Earth Day in Fez was celebrated by a group of thirty children from around the Fez Medina. They came together to participate in a drawing and art workshop to express their personal feelings about the environment. The project was funded by the ALC/ALIF Environment Club

The workshop was coordinated by Omar Chennafi with artistic direction from Australian textile/installation artist Kim Simon. She was assisted by Mitch O'Sullivan and New Zealanders Georgia Bartlett and Katy Hassall.

The aspiring artists are given guidance by members of the ALIF/ALC Environment Club

Australian artist Kim Simon

New Zealand artist, Katy Hassall, gives a helping hand

Local children of all ages joined in

Children from the Fez Medina Children's Library also took part with two of the librarians coming along to assist the children.

After their works of art were completed the children were delighted by the notion of turning their work in to a "planet" to hang in their rooms or on neighbourhood trees.

The Fez Medina Children's Library librarians were happy to help

New Zealander, Georgia Bartlett, displays a young girl's work

"Clean water, clean air and a happy home - the perfect environment "says Salahadeen

"Just like the earth" - the drawings are transformed

"All my own work for Earth Day"

Hanging the finished work

A great Earth Day for the Medina kids

The artists celebrate a great Earth Day 2016

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Fez Medina - Kids Art Workshop for Earth Day

E a r t h  D a y

Kim Simon will facilitate the Art Workshop for kids. 

Sunday, April 24 at 10:30am - Meet at the Batha Fountain

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The Famous Fez Chouara Tannery Gets a Makeover

Probably the most visited site in the Fez Medina, the Chouara Tannery, is undergoing a transformation. With all the dye vats being rebuilt. Sue Bail, reports for The View From Fez

The 11th-century Chouara tannery still operates as it did a thousand years ago.  It is the place where cow, sheep, goat, and camel hides are brought to be preserved, dyed, and turned into the handbags, jackets, and wallets sold in the surrounding souks. However, at the moment the tannery resembles a construction site, with two large cranes and 240 builders working around the clock.

There had been speculation in the last few years that, because of environmental concerns, the tannery might be moved out of the Medina. The major concern was that of waste water pollution. However, as the present work includes adding a waste water system, it appears that the tannery will remain where it has been for the last 1000 years or so.

One of the alternative architectural visions for the tannery

The need for control of waste water is obvious as the process begins with the raw skins being soaked in a mixture of cow urine, pigeon faeces, quicklime, salt, and water. This loosens the hair from the hides and makes them softer. After a few days of steeping in this concoction, the skins are hauled out and hung from rails on the balconies to dry. Then comes the dyeing. Tannery workers plunge the skins into the coloured wells, leaving them there for a few more days to absorb each hue. The dyes all come from natural substances, such as indigo, henna, saffron, poppies, and pomegranates.

The tannery vats prior to the makeover

When the tannery will be operational again is not clear, but The View From Fez will report on progress.

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Fez - Way ahead in Waste Collection

The daily collection of household waste is something many cities can only dream of, but in Fez it is a reality, with between 700 and 1,000 tons collected each day. And waste collection is going to improve even further

Visitors to Fez often remark on the cleanliness of the Fez Medina  and compare it to many Western cities where garbage collection only occurs once a week. Ozone, the waste collection service in Fez, employs 1,160 people and has an annual budget of 138 million dirhams.

Mayor Driss Azami Idrissi and the CEO of Ozone, Aziz El Badraoui,  have announced the implementation of an action plan including the improvement of the quality of cleaning and garbage collection in the six districts of the city.

The plan includes the eradication of galvanised bins as well as the introduction of paper trays in schools. The company is expected to address waste and uncleanliness in targeted strategic sectors, giving priority to disadvantaged and overcrowded neighbourhoods, the main shopping streets and the most frequented tourists sites.

In addition there is to be a clamp down on littering and in cases where the cleanliness rules are not followed, Mr. Azami, called for implementation of "polluter pays" to penalise producers of waste or rubble.

The mayor has signalled that he wants Fez to have proper street numbering, better parking lots and proper organisation of street vendors.

The Director General of Ozone, Aziz El Badraoui, vowed to spare no effort to improve their services, including night collections in the main districts of the city. He pointed out that the city of Fez already has a controlled landfill site, which was not only a first at national level but at the African level. The modern solid waste management process, he said, enabled the preservation of the environment of the region. The landfill, located in the town of Ain Beida processes some 900 tons of solid waste per day of which nearly 700 tons is household waste.


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