Implementing the 2030 Agenda in Morocco
Projektkurzbeschreibung
Title: Supporting implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Morocco
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Morocco
Lead executing agency: Department of the Environment of the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment
Overall term: 2020 to 2021
Context
Morocco faces many social and economic challenges. Economic growth is not reaching the general population, unemployment is high and there is great economic disparity between urban and rural areas. Social inequality is increasing and the poorest sections of the population are particularly hard hit by the impacts of climate change. Natural resources are becoming increasingly degraded and their protection is not sufficiently integrated into political decision-making processes. In this context, the country’s political priorities include sustainable development and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In 2017, Morocco passed a National Sustainable Development Strategy to enable the transition to a green and inclusive economy. This strategy contains 137 specific targets in seven thematic areas: governance, green economy, biodiversity, climate change, sensitive areas, social cohesion and culture.
As things stand, though, the national strategy does not make sufficient reference to the 2030 Agenda. Nevertheless, sustainable development in Morocco gained a new impetus in October 2017, as the Moroccan king called for a review of the country’s current development model. This has triggered a debate on achievement of the SDGs. Aligning its national strategy with the 2030 Agenda will enable Morocco to meet its national and international commitments to sustainable development.
Objective
National and regional decision-makers are better able to implement the National Sustainable Development Strategy while at the same time aligning it with the 2030 Agenda.
Approach
The project supports the Moroccan Environment Ministry in three areas:
1. Aligning the Moroccan National Sustainable Development Strategy with the 2030 Agenda
The government is receiving support with continuously evaluating its national strategy and developing a national plan for exemplary governance. This plan envisages the ministries setting a good example in the implementation of the National Sustainable Development Strategy. At the same time, the private sector and civil society should also be involved in Morocco’s sustainable development.
2. Measuring sustainable development digitally
The project is supporting the Department of the Environment in monitoring implementation of the national strategy. To this end, existing national and regional monitoring platforms are being harmonised – in particular the platform for monitoring the SDGs, which the High Commission for Planning is piloting. In addition, an international partnership for knowledge transfer is being established. The focus here is on the use of digital solutions that monitor implementation of the strategy.
3. Activities for sustainability in the pilot region of Beni Mellal - Khenifra
The project is building capacity in the pilot region for planning and implementing 2030 Agenda projects. First of all, this includes implementing and monitoring the national strategy with a focus on exemplary governance. Secondly, the project is developing pilot activities that contribute in particular to SDG 5 of the 2030 Agenda. Here, civil society and private sector actors are planning sustainable development measures in line with the principle ‘leave no one behind’.
Last update: April 2021