Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, chaired the Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coast Awards Ceremony at the Mohammed VI International Conference Center in Skhirat on Sunday, December 7, 2014.

During the ceremony, Her Royal Highness presented the Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coast Awards to the winners of this first edition. These awards recognize the actions taken to raise awareness and education about sustainable coastal development, and to share socially and environmentally responsible efforts about coastal preservation and protection.

The Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coast Awards are held every two years. They promote everyone’s involvement in sustainable coastal development, encourage citizen initiatives, youth and associative efforts, and other initiatives.

These new awards succeeding to the former Clean Beaches Awards which, after study and reflection, the Foundation provided a new and more global orientation taking into account wider objectives for sustainable coastal development. The new name “Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coast Awards” translates these new guidelines of the Foundation.

The Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coast Awards are open to all: associations, institutions, local communities, economic operators, schoolchildren, high school students, researchers, experts, etc.

The awards feature five categories. The 2014 Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coast winners are:

Clean Beaches award

 Group Afriquia and the Mirelift Rural Commune;

 , Amendis Tangier, Petits Débrouillards, Association and the Tangier Urban Commune;

 Barid Al Maghrib and the Bouznika Urban Commune;

 Credit Agricole, the Larache Urban Commune, and the AIPICA Association Sports for All (Sports Pour Tous) for their sports, cultural, and artistic program;

 The Banque Centrale Populaire Foundation for Education and Culture, and the Sidi Rahal Chatii Urban Commune;

 Holmarcom Group and the Saidia Urban Commune;

 OCP Group and the Laamachat Rural Commune;

 National Railways Office, the Asilah Urban Commune, the Ksar Al Majaz Rural Commune, and the Petits Débrouillards Association;

 Samir, the Mohammedia Urban Commune, and the Bahri Dima Clean Association.

Sharing and lifestyle award

 The National Office for Water and Electricity and the Dakhla Urban Commune;

 The Morocco Surfrider Foundation and the Imessouane rural commune;

 BMCE Bank and the Harhoura Urban Commune.

Protection and enhancement of natural heritage award

 The Petits Débrouillards Association, the National Railways Office, and the Assilah Urban Commune;

 The Saidia Development Company, the Saidia Urban Commune, and the Madagh Alumni Association for culture and development, for their education and awareness;

 Maroc Telecom.

Education and youth award

 Teachers of Life and Earth Sciences Association (AESVT) and DROSOS Foundation;

 Cham’s Association for Education citizenship and environment AHFIR .

 Positive Environmental and Social Impacts Association.

Environmental and social responsibility award

 Lydec and the Urban Communes of Casablanca, Mohammedia and Ain Harrouda;

 Ciments du Maroc and the Safi Urban Commune;

 The National Ports Agency (ANP), the Essaouira Urban Commune, and the Achouala Association for Education and Culture in Essaouira.

Awards details

CLEAN BEACHES CATEGORY

This category mainly rewards awareness efforts for beachgoers, especially young people, or beach development and equipment efforts.

The winners of this category are:

 Afriquia Group and the Mirelift Rural Commune for their involvement in an entertainment and children’s awareness program through playful activities and educational workshops (artistic and scientific recycling, sports tournaments, games, information and exhibits, multimedia and animation) at the Mirelift beach.

 Amendis Tangier, The Petits Débrouillards Association, and the Tangier Urban Commune for the establishment of an ecological village at the Ba Kacem beach to educate children from 7 to 13 years old about the challenges of coastal protection and beach preservation. Protection for the well being of all: beachgoers, fishermen, animals, algae, and flora. Educational programs have been developed on the basis of scientific, technical and artistic activities.

 Barid Al Maghrib and the Bouznika Urban Commune for their integrated development project at the Dahomey beach. This program included:

• An animated village on the beach,

• An environmental education center for young people, led by the Friends of the Environment Association

• Equipping the beach with bathrooms, showers, a health center, and daily cleaning of the beach.

 Credit Agricole, the Larache Urban Commune and the AIPICA Association of Sports for All (Sports Pour Tous) for their environmental awareness and education efforts, and sports, cultural and artistic events at the Ras Rmel beach. These activities have created a pleasant atmosphere for beachgoers, and contributed to the local development of the commune.

 The Banque Centrale Populaire Foundation for Education and Culture and the Sidi Rahal Chatii Urban Commune for organizing waste sorting and recycling workshops at the Sidi Rahal Chatii beach, with the objective of:

— Raise awareness and introduce beachgoers, especially young people, to the practice of waste sorting,

— Give new life to certain types of waste, thereby contributing to environmental protection.

 Holmarcom Group and the Saidia Urban Commune for establishing an environmental education and awareness village at the Saidia beach to provide children with eco-workshops.

 OCP Group and the Laamachat Rural Commune for their action entitled Protect the Fishing Village, situated next to the Souiria K’dima beach, which raised the awareness of about 500 people, especially fishermen, on environmental protection and the cleanliness of the beach and its surroundings, including the fishing village.

 The National Railways Office, the Asilah Urban Commune, the Ksar AL Majaz Rural Commune, and the Petits Débrouillards Association for their initiative entitled New Information technologies for Environmental Education. This slogan was implemented on the Asilah and Al Ksar Majaz beaches via a set of educational activities:

 Introduction of new information technologies, including the use of tablets and the design of digital animation on education about coastal preservation;

 Scientific and technical experiments about the coast;

 Interactive exhibit on good reasons to protect the coastline

 Artistic creation workshops;

 Thematic tours (fishing from the shore, cleaning, photos, etc.)

 Outdoor games and board games on the theme of the environment.

For the success of these actions, several teaching tools were created as activity books, exhibits, and digital media to enable Petits Débrouillards facilitators to conduct fun activities in good conditions. This project has helped over 4,000 children to understand the interest of beach preservation.

 Samir, the Mohammedia Urban Commune and Bahri Dima Clean Association for their establishment of an environmental village on the Mohammedia and Manesman beaches to raise awareness and educate beachgoers about protecting the beach environment and the coast in general. The village offered environmental awareness and education workshops: waste recycling, sorting, lifecycle, etc.

CATEGORY

SHARING AND LIFESTYLE AWARD

In this category, the winning projects conducted efforts to develop, install or rehabilitate beach facilities.

 National Office for Water and Electricity and the Dakhla Urban Commune, for the installation of multiservice facilities at the Lekhera beach, creating a real living space for the inhabitants of the Assalam neighborhoods, wahda wahda 1 and 2:

• installation of locker rooms for beach showers;

• restoration of disabled access bathrooms;

• installation of disabled access ramps;

• restoration of drinking water fountains and showers;

 Morocco Surfrider Foundation and the Imssouane Rural Commune for their efforts towards aquatic waste mitigation at the Imessouane village with the:

• Installation of fixed bins and signage made from recycled materials;

• Reorganization of waste collection;

• Elimination of uncontrolled dumping;

• Development of educational tools geared for the population;

• Organization of citizen action days.

This program enabled awareness-raising among the population and local stakeholders on the importance of waste management and cleanliness of the village, which are essential elements for the quality of life of residents and visitors in Imessouane.

 BMCE Bank and the Harhoura Urban Commune for developing beach access for the disabled at beaches within the Harhoura Commune, with the construction of access ramps. The disabled, representing 5.12% of all visitors, were thus able to enjoy this space.

CATEGORY

PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF NATURAL HERITAGE AWARD

In this category, the winning projects had implemented public awareness activities on the coast, its natural heritage, biodiversity, ecosystems and its interactions with living things.

 The Petits Débrouillards Association, the National Railways Office, and the Assilah Urban Commune, for their project entitled 12 Reasons to Preserve the Moroccan Coast. An interactive exhibit was offered to beachgoers in Asilah and Al Ksar Majaz. It allowed them to discover different facets of the coast: biodiversity, economic, social, etc. The 12 panels of the exhibit, one for each reason, raised awareness on coastal preservation, and its diversity and richness.

 The Saidia Development Company, the Saidia Urban Commune and the Madagh Alumni Association for Culture and Development, for their education and advocacy work with children on the role of Sites of Biological and Ecological Interest (SIBE) in Moulouya, to the west of the Saidia beach. Educational games have enabled them to understand ecosystem services, including natural balances, the food chain and the forest ecosystem. Outings were organized on site to witness this balance and fragility.

 Maroc Telecom for putting the comics contest winner, developed in 2012, into a 3D advertizing spot for wider dissemination, particularly via conventional channels. This 3D spot was done to help raise awareness about the preservation and protection of beaches and the coast, the dangers of marine debris, and its impact on wildlife.

CATEGORY

EDUCATION AND YOUTH AWARD

The projects selected for this category have implemented awareness campaigns specifically dedicated to school children and their parents.

 Life and Earth Sciences Teachers Association (AESVT) and DROSOS Foundation for their outreach work with young schoolchildren on coastal protection by organizing a massive campaign to collect plastic marine debris. Launched in April 2014, this national campaign involved more than 6,000 students from 200 schools, environmental clubs and 15 AESVT Morocco chapters at 30 beaches and coastal towns. This cleaning and awareness campaign will be followed by an exhibit on plastic marine waste, and a range of fun activities over a period of three months in Casablanca, two months in Tetouan, and two months in Agadir.

 Cham’s Association for Education citizenship and environment AHFIR , for its project to protect the Moulouya embouchure and the preservation of its biodiversity. This action was conducted throughout the school year and helped to educate students in eastern Morocco on the preservation of Sites of Biological and Ecological Interest (SIBE) in the Moulouya. Field trips were organized on site, a documentary film was produced, and a census of migratory birds was conducted in partnership with the Research Group for the Protection of Birds of Morocco (GREPOM).

 Positive Environmental and Social Impacts Association for its Eco-Schools project, which proposes to provide a quarter of the population of Saidia with environmental knowledge, skills and perceptions. The project hopes to develop the skills that will support the sustainable development of eastern Morocco.

This approach aims to break with the school programs, by enabling students and their parents to learn directly from their environment. Two were chosen: the Moulouya embouchure, and elementary and middle schools in the city. Small actions, like putting stickers on biodiversity onto school tables, learning the names of the species by including them in student notebooks, sending text messages to parents, a website, signage, and field trips, have enabled the program to transmit information and ensure learning.

 Marsa Morocco, the National Office for Water and Electricity, and Biati Hayati Association for awareness efforts with over 1,000 students enrolled in the Eco-Schools program for coastal protection, with diverse extracurricular activities such as drama, documentaries, educational games, song and dance, and waste collection at the beach.

CATEGORY

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AWARD

This category recognizes the actions of economic operators that have a positive environmental, economic or social impact on the Moroccan coast.

 Lydec and the Urban Communes of Casablanca, Mohammedia and Ain Harrouda for the project to remediate the coastline east of the Greater Casablanca region. This program included the construction of facilities to protect the coast to the east of Casablanca from the discharge of raw sewage, including industrial effluents, beautify the coastline, and to conduct beach-cleaning efforts. The project has improved the living conditions of the inhabitants and restored the tourism potential of the area.

 Ciments du Maroc and the Safi Urban Commune for their sustainable development awareness program on the Safi beach, which included:

• Educational, fun, and diverse entertainment for children

• Awareness-raising among children and parents about the importance of preserving the environment;

This action falls within the framework of Ciments du Maroc’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, which reinforces its image as an environmentally-friendly corporate citizen.

 National Ports Agency (ANP), the Essaouira Urban Commune, and the Achouala Association for Education and Culture – Essaouira chapter, for their social inclusion of youth and women at the center of environmental actions led on the Essaouira beach.

The project, part of the Clean Beaches program, created:

– 6 permanent jobs for the maintenance of three bathroom facilities, of which 3 of jobs are for women,

– 47 seasonal jobs for maintenance of the showers, beach signage, changing rooms, beach cleaning, and the management of a center for the disabled, the information and environmental education center, the green library, and the beach press club.

– A workshop for manufacturing bags made from raffia and fabric, which helped to improve the income of twenty housewives.

Allocution of Chief Deleguate

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