Heba Press _ Fez office
Last week, the governor of the Taounate Bahr region chaired a communication meeting at the headquarters of the region’s prefecture, in the presence of heads of regional security services, men of authority, as well as heads and representatives of relevant regional and regional foreign affairs departments. including in particular the Sebou River Basin Agency, the Regional Environment Directorate, the heads of territorial councils, the heads of associations, the heads of the press, and the heads of civil society associations active in the field environmental in the region. .
The theme of this meeting was dedicated to raising awareness and raising awareness about preventive measures and precautionary measures that must be taken to avoid the negative effects of turf waste produced by olive oil extraction units on the environmental domain, the water wealth and the natural resources of the region. region.
During this meeting, which included a presentation by the representative of the Lisbon Aquarium Agency, the laws regulating the environmental field were discussed, in particular Law No. 28-00 relating to waste management, Law No. 12-03 relating to the study of effects on the environment and Law No. 36 15 relating to water.
The significant impact of the grass substance secreted by olive presses on water resources and the natural environment of the Taounate region was also highlighted, as well as the procedures and measures taken by the various stakeholders in order to reduce negative effects, including the organization of 140 field visits. by joint regional committees to monitor olive presses during the past season, 400 presses belonging to the Sebou Basin right-of-way, which resulted in the issuance of 28 violations and the issuance of 10 closure decisions , including 6 infraction reports for the Taounate region.
The completed and planned projects aimed at protecting water resources and eliminating pollution resulting from lawns were highlighted, represented by the completion of two lawn treatment plants in each of the Beni Senous communities in the village district of ‘Aba Mohammed and Ras El Oued of the Tissa district by the Independent Water and Electricity Distribution Agency in Fez, and a treatment station in the community of Taounate carried out by the Lisbon Aquarium Agency, for a total cost estimated at 97 million dirhams, with a capacity of 153,830 cubic meters of turf per year. In addition to two stations programmed in each of the districts of Taounate and Ghafsay.
In the introductory opening speech of the governor of the province of Taounate, he explained that this meeting aims to raise awareness and raise awareness of the negative effects of waste from olive presses on the environmental domain of the region, in application of high instructions royal powers of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God grant him victory and his support, aimed at preserving natural resources, particularly water, given the climatic conditions our country is experiencing, leading to a shortage of water. He also spoke of the importance. of the region’s olive sector and the area allocated to these crops, which is approximately 150,000 hectares and represents 83% of the total area of fruit trees, and the number of olive presses that have been installed in order to promote this product , which represents 83 modern and semi-modern presses, which constitute a source of pollution of water resources and the natural environment because of the meadow materials they leave behind, which leads to the emergence of serious environmental problems which worsen with the lack of precipitation.
The regional agent also reviewed a set of projects carried out and planned to protect water resources and the natural domain, represented by the completion of two turf treatment stations in each of the districts of Tissa and the village of Aba Muhammad. currently searching for suitable land to establish two stations in order to avoid permanently emptying the lawns of the olive presses located in the soils of the two districts of Gavsay and Taounate. Work to complete the treatment plant for the meadows produced by the four established presses. in the community of Taounate were also recently initiated by the Sebou Aquarium Agency, and the work is now nearing completion.
At the end of this meeting, and after the exchange, the governor of the region called on contemporary owners to be responsible and to respect applicable environmental laws, stressing that the administration, as in previous years, is determined to remedy any violation in this regard and to take all legal measures against the offenders, emphasizing that this has been done in the sense of Over the last few years, a program of field visits has been prepared within the framework of the Joint Regional Monitoring Committee , including the different factories present in the region.
