Highlights:

With its rich blue assets in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Morocco has a high potential for developing its Blue Economy.

The growth of Morocco’s Blue Economy has historically been hindered by limited intersectoral cooperation, fragmented policies, and lack of integrated budget-planning across blue sectors.

In 2021, the Government of Morocco also set a target to create 450,000 jobs in the maritime fishery and agri-food industries within five years as part of an overall effort to expand livelihoods and help the national economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

With its multistakeholder focus, marine spatial planning (MSP) could support Morocco’s New Development Model, the Halieutis Strategy, and post-pandemic job-creation targets by boosting Morocco’s Blue Economy in an inclusive manner while helping to reverse the trend toward ecosystem degradation.

In May 2022, the World Bank approved a US$350 million loan to support the Government of Morocco in launching its Blue Economy Program, which aims to improve job creation and economic growth, as well as food security and the sustainability and resilience of natural resources.

Between April 2021 and December 2022, the World Bank provided technical assistance (TA) to Morocco’s Département de la Pêche Maritime (DPM), or Department of Maritime Fisheries, to incubate MSP as a tool to conserve fishery resources while supporting artisanal fisheries.

Using a robust MSP approach to pursue and the creation of MPAs (marine protected areas) is a strategic choice for Morocco. Marine spatial planning is a powerful tool for developing MPAs because it involves stakeholders in a transparent way throughout the planning process.