Morocco

Stability and development of the Mediterranean move by net-working: through the networks that now make dialogue possible between coastal communities, and through the fishing nets of the fishermen’s boats, working tools that share the same sea and renewable resources.

Nador, with its lagoon, its inclusion in Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sound use of wetlands and their resources since 2005, is an integral part of NEMO project and of the Mediterranean network set up by Italy through WEBPORT.

Since the beginning, Morocco has participated in the institutional dialogue that started in 2014. It has shared the new course of the Italian Cooperation and of CIHEAM Bari with the other partner countries. Today, Morocco is a pivotal hub for the “coastal community network” oriented to growth and stability. The fishing, agricultural and tourism activities performed with the competent Moroccan authorities have marked the socio-economic frame of Nador community, from local traditions to the current production and distribution chain.

The exchange of views and dialogue with professional associations has led to define the areas of intervention and a pilot project which is currently under investigation. This is an ongoing process, with stages to be still built and shared. Social welfare, cultural exchanges and protection of territorial identities are the guiding values of the development network “interwoven” by the Italian Cooperation and local spheres of governance to reduce poverty and favour social inclusion of the communities that, in turn, are an outpost of peace and solidarity. Italy and Morocco cooperate for improving the quality of life, by enhancing the unrivalled beauty of the Mediterranean, the cradle of civilization that has become a world heritage site for its various and peculiar features: deserts, beaches, coastal lagoons and protected areas, cliffs and sea beds where biodiversity is among the richest in the world.