Final evaluation of the project “Conservation of biodiversity and mitigation of land degradation through adaptive management of agricultural heritage systems"

The biodiversity enjoyed by Morocco, including its oasis systems, is threatened. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) alongside the government has embarked on a project to improve the conservation and sustainable management of five oasis systems. To achieve this, it focused on the improvement of regulatory framework to strengthen the institutional capacities of the oases, increasing agricultural production and on integrating biodiversity, principally through organic labelling, in the income-generating mechanisms. The contribution of the project to the current political discourse on oases and the pioneering role in the use of Globally important agricultural heritage system (GIAHS) certification are important achievements. However, several activities remain incomplete, compromising the effectiveness of the project and the progress of the sites remains uneven.