On Thursday, June 29, 2017, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa chaired the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection’s Board of Directors Meeting at its headquarters in Rabat.
Before assessing the past year, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa took the opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of the Foundation’s history during its 15 years of existence, which owes much to the constant support of its partners and to the work by its teams.
The Board of Directors approved the financial statements for 2015 and 2016.
2016 was marked by the participation of HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa at the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where She chaired the opening of two Important thematic days: the Ocean Day and the Education for Sustainable Development Day.
Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa delivered the keynote address at the opening of the Oceans Action Day, in the presence of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco; Ms. Segolene Royal, Minister of Environment, Energy and the Sea, in charge of International Climate Relations; Ms. Maria Helena M.Q. Semedo, Deputy Director General for Climate and Natural Resources at FAO; and Mr. Aziz Akhennouch, Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries. Her Royal Highness highlighted the importance of the ocean, consecrated by the “Because the Ocean” Declaration made at COP21 in Paris and launched a new call for greater protection of the oceans and wetlands, a cause for which she has been active for over 15 years.
Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, who chaired also during the COP22, the Education for Sustainable Development Day. She gave a speech in which she highlighted the importance of education and awareness raising in combating climate change in the presence of Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO; Ms. Patricia Spinoza, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC; and Mr. Rachid Benmokhtar, Minister of Education and Vocational Training attended the event. In this high-level meeting, examples of good practices were presented on how education can improve the implementation of the climate program.
On this occasion, Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa received the first Global Monitoring Report in education (GEM-Planet Report 2016). It provides governments and decision-makers with valuable information to monitor and accelerate the progress of Sustainable Development Goal number 4, using indicators and targets.
The year 2016 was also marked by the signing of two important conventions with UNESCO and FAO.
The first, a general convention, links the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment to UNESCO.
This general agreement is part of the framework for the new United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development launched by UNESCO and its Global Action Plan (GAP). The plan identifies five priority areas for action to accelerate progress towards sustainable development. Among these five areas, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection chose capacity building for educators and trainers as a priority area for action in Morocco.
The second agreement signed with FAO covers education, training and awareness raising on sustainable development, especially among youth, as well as the exchange of expertise, the sharing of skills and the organization of joint projects and information and training events. FAO wanted to establish the partnership with the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection as a framework convention to promote cooperation by collaborating for existing training and information programs and with the design and implementation of projects and programs of common interest.
The Foundation’s successful results have enabled it to acquire the status of an institution recognized by international bodies such as UNESCO and ISESCO, UNEP, FAO, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), for which it is a reliable partner in environmental education.
Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa presided over the signing ceremony of the Qualit’air agreement in Skhirat in February 2016 between the Foundation, the CGEM and 21 of its affiliated companies. This Pact was the starting point of a year full of accomplishments for the Foundation’s flagship program.
The Foundation currently oversees nearly 20 programs, which serve as an example in carrying out initiatives around which it has federated public authorities, economic actors and the civil society. These programs are now national in scope and serve as models for awareness-raising and education on environmental protection.