TOURISM
opportunities to visitors (horse rides, birdwatching etc.). It remains to be seen whether the opportunities will compensate for the threats to the area. M’diq M’diq is a well-known destination for local tourists (the royal family has one of its mansions in this area). Over the past few years, it has experienced very rapid development of the tourism infrastructure to cater for international and local guests (hotels, apartments, marinas etc.). Approximately 95% of the coastline in the province of M’diq has been occupied with hotels or tourist complexes causing the almost complete disappearance of the existing sand dunes and wetlands. The boom in the construction of second homes and hotel complexes in M diq mirrors very closely what happened on the Mediterranean coast of Europe in countries like Spain and Italy. Speculation gets out of control, house prices grow exponentially and national or international investors rush in to have their share. Clearly, the original aesthetic value of the area (sand dunes and wetlands) and its cultural attractions (traditional fishing villages) are now lost. In addition, recent studies have estimated an average erosion rate of 1m per year, meaning that some beaches could be completely lost in only a decade.
Nador lagoon from the fishing port, Morocco Credit NM
Everyone, including the local provincial government, was concerned by the consequences of these very rapid changes and required assistance to develop an
ICZM Plan for the province. The need for an ICZM plan emerged too late in the day to control the process of environmental degradation but it revealed useful nevertheless in that it helped the Province and other institutional actors to identify the short-term and long-term socio-economic consequences of this development. Issues like the exodus from rural areas to find better paying jobs along the coasts, the risk of urban degradation due to population growth, exacerbation of social conflicts, and the need for appropriate infrastructure (waste disposal, water resources etc.) were discussed for the first time and management actions proposed. As was the case in Nador and Mououlya, the ICZM process initiated in M’diq could only be adapted to the local situation to make the best of what resources and opportunities were available. Essaouira Essaouira is a very famous international tourism destination which has managed to preserve its charm as a fishing village intact over many decades. This was possible because the whole of the city is surrounded by highly mobile sand dunes which have made expansion of the city beyond its ancient high walls very difficult. The city is also at the northern limit of the natural distribution range of the Argan tree (Argania spinosa) which is found only in Morocco and is protected by UNESCO. Thanks to all these assets, the province of Essaouira is the target of a number of tourism development plans including one site identified under the Plan Azur. Very recently, in February 2009, an Emirates investment group signed an agreement with the Government of Morocco for the development of a tourism complex over an area of 270 hectares close to Essaouira. Even before this latest tourism investment was announced the decision-makers in the provincial authorities of Essaouira had expressed concerns about the prospect of tourism development in the area and ask for support in the development of an ICZM plan. The local department of tourism planned to develop a sustainable form of rural tourism in the region. Nevertheless, this was in apparent contrast with the vision of mayors of the local municipalities consulted. They complained that, due to the land tenure system linked to the Argan forests, they were unable to fully utilize their territory, seeming to imply that they would welcome some form of development.
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