Regional Programme for North Africa

North Africa - which spans Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya - is rich in biological and cultural diversity. With mountains, oases and plains nestled between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert, the region has a wealth of animal and plant species, habitats and cultural landscapes. A majority of the population is Arabic, and there is a large community of Amazigh indigenous people who live in rural and urban areas from the Siwa Oasis in Egypt to the Atlantic Coast of Morocco. 

Against a backdrop of recent economic growth, the region faces problem of both environmental degradation and human deprivation. The pressing ecological and social problems in North Africa – water access, land and resource tenure, poverty, governance and community rights – have contributed to high rates of marginalisation, migration and urbanisation.  

Progress on creating protected areas has been slow. With 56 sites covering only 1.2% of the land area, North Africa has the least amount of land, smallest number of sites and lowest diversity of habitat types under protection as compared to other African sub-regions.

Morocco, a country of particular focus for GDF, is a centre of species richness and endemism within the Mediterranean ecoregion, which is renowned for its biological diversity.   Biologists have documented some 3800 plant species, of which 829 are endemic, and hundreds of animal species in Morocco.

Morocco has a rich mix of Mediterranean, Arab, sub-Saharan, Jewish and Berber cultural histories and identities. Prior to the ninth century spread of Arab communities in North Africa, the geographic area that covered modern-day Morocco was largely Amazigh (Berber) speaking. There are three main Berber languages: Tarifit is spoken in the northeast; Tamazight in the central Atlas, northern high Atlas and southeast; and Tachelhit in the southern high Atlas and southwest of the country.

Although the Arab population and language dominate most of the linguistic and cultural landscape, Berber culture and language is very present and continues to contribute greatly to Moroccan culture and identity.  With increasing globalization, this rich pattern of biocultural diversity, ecological knowledge systems and resource management practices are increasingly at risk.

The GDF North Africa programme works in close collaboration with local partners to support biodiversity conservation, education and sustainable livelihoods. Our focus is on developing programs to sustain biodiversity – especially of plants and animals in trade – as well as local ecological knowledge and practice. We are dedicated to supporting long-term community-based initiatives where ecological sustainability can be addressed while maintaining dynamic cultural traditions.

In Morocco, GDF’s applied research activities focus on documenting diverse local knowledge systems and identifying the species sold in the southern Moroccan marketplaces.  Our community conservation projects aim to maintain agricultural and horticultural traditions in the Marrakech Medina; support Amazigh residents of the High Atlas mountains to develop their ecological knowledge while accessing formal education, and to improve nutrition and income by promoting agroforestry systems. GDF is also dedicated to building local capacity in Morocco through university courses, community workshops, and collaborative sustainable conservation programs with representatives of diverse institutions.