Highlights

Blue Economy: World Bank supervision mission

26/10/2022
Blue Economy: World Bank supervision mission

The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the World Bank conducted, October 17-26, 2022 a joint supervision mission of the Blue Economy Program. This mission was marked by various meetings with partners as well as field visits mainly in the Agadir region.

On June 9, 2022, a $350 million loan agreement was signed between the Kingdom of Morocco and the World Bank for the Blue Economy Results Program (BE PL).

This program aims to unleash the economic potential of this new engine of growth through the sustainable development of marine and coastal resources and better vertical and horizontal institutional coordination within and between the sectors concerned. It is based on three pillars: national food security; economic development and job creation; and the protection and use of natural resources.

Led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) through its Program Management Unit (PMU) located within the Budget Directorate, this project coordinates eight implementing entities: The Department of Maritime Fisheries (DPM), the Moroccan Society for Tourism Engineering (MSTE), the Department of Sustainable Development (DSD), the Moroccan National Tourism Office (MNTO), the National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF), the Directorate of Ports and the Maritime Public Domain (DPMPD), the National Agency for the Development of Aquaculture (NADA) and the National Institute of Fisheries Research (NIFR). The PMU will ensure the vertical coordination and implementation of activities at the regional level in close collaboration with the Directorate General of Territorial Communities (DGTC).

The objective of this supervision mission is to proceed, with the MEF PMU and the stakeholders of the program, to a detailed review of the performance of the BE PL and the progress made; from the financial, institutional and environmental & social points of view; since the signature of the loan contract dated June 09, 2022.

During this mission, the DMP presented the progress of its activities and stressed that this program will provide key solutions to protect marine resources and endangered species through the creation of three marine protected areas at the level of Agadir, Larache and Cape of the three ranges as well as for the development of income generating activities for the benefit of Moroccan fishermen. The Department of Maritime Fisheries is also conducting three technical assistance projects within the framework of the partnership established with the World Bank.

In addition, the NADA has shared the aquaculture projects included in the Blue Economy program. This mission was an opportunity to review the various preparatory phases of the program and discuss the modalities and main mechanisms that will be implemented to achieve the operational deployment of the program.

The delegation went to Imiouadar in the region of Souss Massa to appreciate the aquaculture potential of this area and discuss the typology of aquaculture projects that will be implemented under this program and also their articulation for a competitive value chain that enhances the value of local production, creating regional wealth while contributing to the creation of new blue jobs.

The activities carried out by the NIFR within the framework of the blue economy program will contribute not only to meet the major objectives of the sectoral strategy but also to the strengthening of multisectoral interactions within the framework of the blue economy ecosystem and to promote the effective implementation of coastal economic clusters around the valuation and exploitation of marine ecological services.

As for the Moroccan coastline, the DPMPD presented the progress of its project of multi-year acquisition of very high-resolution satellite images and the mapping of a reference state. The DPMPD will ensure the study and evaluation of satellite images in close collaboration with NCSTR.

The DSD shared its actions carried out under its program of environmental monitoring of the coastline as well as its communication and training around a resilient blue economy, able to support the Kingdom's Nationally Determined Contribution as defined by the Paris Agreement.

Concerning the forestry sector, the intervention area of the program covers an area of approximately 325,000 ha spread over 11 sites. This component, led by the National Agency for Water and Forests, includes several activities relating, mainly, to the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity and restoration of forest ecosystems in coastal areas. These activities contribute to the creation of employment and the improvement of the living conditions and environment of the populations.

Regarding tourism, the project of tourism development of the new area "Aghroud", carried by the MSTE and the Region of Souss Massa, will make available to future private investors lots of land equipped with incentives to develop accommodation units and tourist entertainment. A multitude of socio-economic benefits for the region will be perceived in terms of job creation (6,000 direct jobs by 2035), boosting the local business fabric and improving the living conditions of the local population (upgrading and development of existing villages) and improving the attractiveness of the region for tourists.

Furthermore, the World Bank will support the support program for SMEs, carried out by the MSTE in partnership with the Regions, allowing the transformation of existing tourism SMEs and the creation of new SMEs mainly focused on animation.

The MNTO took this opportunity to present the strategic axes relating to its activities, which will serve as a basis for the return of deliverables in accordance with the provisions of the audit protocol.

Moreover, the representatives of the MNTO have also stressed that the campaign to promote Morocco's destination in the international tourist markets has been deployed from the 2nd quarter of 2022 and that the 1st wave has just been completed; the evaluation of the performance of this one having to be done downstream, the MNTO will not be able to present a systematic and reliable state of progress at this stage, whereas the media device relating to the 2nd wave is in the course of finalization; what is also the case for the campaign of communication initiated for the internal tourism & the Moroccans of the world ".

At the conclusion of the mission, the World Bank team in charge of this supervision mission congratulated the various partners as well as the PMU for all the work accomplished since the beginning of this program and made recommendations on the next activities to come.


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