To cover this broad spectrum of actors and policy areas, the Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coast Awards will reward projects within the award categories:

Categories of the Lalla Hasnaa sustainable coast awards:

The five awards:

These awards are open to all those who contribute directly or indirectly to protecting and enhancing the national coastal area:

Public agencies, private organizations, associations, local authorities, students, teachers, researchers, experts, private citizens, etc.,can be awarded from the following categories:

• Clean beaches awards;

• Sharing and living environment awards;

• Protection and enhancement of natural heritage awards;

• Education and youth awards;

• Social and environmental responsibility of organizations’ awards.

Awards category 1: Clean Beaches Program

This honorary award recognizes any initiative that began, developed or implemented one or more actions to manage, develop, preserve, educate or provide information relating to environmental preservation and sustainable development of the Kingdom’s beaches.

This category is open to public and private partner organizations of the Foundation’s “Clean Beach” programs, and to public institutions, local authorities, associations, and as part of an established partnership with a private or public partner of the program.

Awards Category 2: Sharing and living environment

This honorary award recognizes initiatives, such as programs, actions and services to improve public natural areas, urban or suburban, which are part of the Moroccan coast, making it more enjoyable, useful and accessible to all.

These initiatives must take into account the environmental and social dimensions in the interests of equity within and between generations, ethics, and social solidarity. The ultimate goal is to ensure access for everyone to various services rendered by these areas in a framework of sharing and social inclusion.

Thus these initiatives should contribute to improving the living environment of the population and enable citizens to fully benefit from all the advantages offered by the area in question, whether educational, touristic, or leisure.

This category is open to public and private entities, associations, students, academics, centers for education and research, and individuals. Partnerships established between these different types of candidates are also encouraged to compete for this award.

Awards Category 3: Protection and enhancement of natural heritage:

This category recognizes the best actions, programs, studies and research to improve knowledge of the natural environment (flora, fauna and protected areas) and of biodiversity conservation and fragile ecosystems.

Protecting natural heritage and ecosystems aims to ensure the interactions between living organisms and their ecosystems and is at the heart of sustainable local development.

This award also recognizes the proactive initiatives for managing the risks associated with extreme events impacting the coastline (e.g. erosion, rising sea level, etc.).

This category is open to academic institutions, research centers, students, teachers and researchers.

Award Category 4: Education and Youth:

This category recognizes the best actions, projects, studies, research or environmental education programs on the awareness of citizens and populations, especially the youth, and on current and future issues related to coastal preservation and protection.

Education and awareness encompass a variety of complementary actions from raising the awareness of all public, to initial or continuing training, through various means of dissemination and communication (brochures, television, etc.). Also actions and research projects on improving outreach methods, upgrading of curricula in terms of environmental education, the teaching methods of environmental education, and any similar project can be considered.

This category is open to public and private entities, associations, students, academics, centers for education and research, and individuals. Partnerships established between these different types of candidates are also encouraged to compete for this award.

Award Category 5: Social and environmental responsibility of organizations

This honorary award is dedicated to the initiatives of organizations (private companies, associations, NGOs, public institutions) that chose to voluntarily integrate an environmental, social and economic approach that positively impact the Moroccan coast.

Applications to participate in the Lalla Hasnaa Sustainable Coast Awards are submitted online before the deadline on August 15, 2016.

All entry instructions can be found on the website: www.tropheeslittoral.ma

About the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection:

Since its creation in June 2001 by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who has entrusted the Chairpersonship to Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection has placed education and awareness issues at the heart of its assigned mission. It is thus aligned with the goals set by the Rio summits (1992 and 2012) and Johannesburg (2002) in terms of education for sustainable development and to which Morocco has subscribed. Several pilot programs and projects within this framework were successfully conducted by the Foundation. These programs cover areas as diverse as environmental education, protection of the coastline, improving air quality, voluntary carbon offsetting, responsible tourism and the preservation and development of historic gardens, palm groves and oases. In 2002, with its membership to the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), a non-profit NGO bringing together 74 countries around the world and where Morocco is the only Arab-Muslim member country, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection decided to implement four FEE programs in Morocco:

• Blue Flag for the beaches

• Eco-Schools for elementary schools

• Young Reporters for the Environment in high schools

• Green Key for tourist establishments

For more information about the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection’s programs and activities, please visit: www.fm6e.org