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UNECE leads second environmental performance review of Morocco

UNECE leads second environmental performance review of Morocco

View of walls in Morocco

Morocco has requested UNECE to review its environmental performance for a second time. To provide the groundwork for the review, a team of UNECE and international experts will participate in a country hybrid mission from December 2020 to February 2021, first meeting national experts by virtual means and later going on a short mission to the country depending on the COVID-19  situation in early 2021. UNECE cooperates with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in conducting the review.

UNECE Environmental Performance Reviews (EPRs) offer a comprehensive tool to help countries identify key environmental challenges and establish concrete recommendations to improve environmental sustainability across all sectors.

The second review of Morocco will assess progress since 2012 on air quality, water, costal and marine management, biodiversity and protected areas, waste and chemicals management, climate change and greening the economy. It will also examine the country’s environmental data, information and observation systems and the extent to which international environmental agreements and commitments are implemented. Environmental democracy – public access to environmental information, participation in environmental decision-making and access to justice on environmental matters – will be reviewed, as will the integration of education for sustainable development into the education system’s curriculum, institutions and society. The review will also look at the country’s environmental legal, policy and institutional framework and regulatory and compliance assurance mechanisms. Further, the integration of environmental considerations into health, industry, energy and agriculture will be reviewed.

In addition, this second review will assess the country’s progress towards relevant targets and indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The review team will examine how the SDGs are being adapted to the national context and how the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is put into practice, whether the necessary resources have been allocated and responsibilities are clear, what obstacles have been encountered when targeting the Goals and what concrete results have already been achieved.

Building on the analysis of progress made since 2012, including in implementing the 60 recommendations from the First Environmental Performance Review of the country, the second review will result in a set of recommendations on how to further improve Morocco’s environmental performance. The review process will culminate with the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy considering the recommendations, with a view to their adoption, and the country making a commitment to implement them within the next few years. Before the Committee meets, a group of experts from UNECE countries together with a delegation from Morocco will scrutinize the review and finalize the recommendations.

The mission currently underway in a hybrid format is organized by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment in cooperation with other ministries and governmental institutions. During the mission, the international team of experts led by UNECE will meet virtually with governmental officials, national experts, representatives of academia, business and civil society organizations. The second review of Morocco is made possible with financial and in-kind support from Austria, Germany (German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and the German Federal Environment Agency, with funds provided through the Advisory Assistance Programme), Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Switzerland and the European Investment Bank.

The First EPR of the country is available at: http://www.unece.org/index.php?id=35483.

For more information about the UNECE’s Environmental Performance Reviews, please visit  http://www.unece.org/env/epr.

Countries: Morocco