GCA announces its participation in the Moroccan program to support the inclusive and sustainable development of forest areas

A.Otterdam, Netherlands, June 19, 2024 – The Global Center for Adaptation (GCA) today announced its active involvement in the Program to Support the Inclusive and Sustainable Development of Forest Areas (PADIDZOF) in Morocco. This important project, led by the African Development Bank (AfDB), aims to strengthen the climate resilience of Morocco’s forest areas while promoting sustainable development and creating employment opportunities for youth and women.

The forestry sector in Morocco is essential to the country’s economy, representing 2% of its GDP and contributing 4% of the global cork supply. Morocco’s forests are, however, increasingly exposed to risks induced by climate change, such as droughts, water erosion, more frequent and more severe forest fires, exacerbated by increased drought due to droughts, emergence of new pests that decimate forest biodiversity and increasing desertification. For example, in 2023 alone, Morocco lost around 7,600 hectares of forests to wildfires.

The PADIDZOF project, with a total investment of 171 million euros from different partners, aims to:

• Restore 133,000 hectares of plant cover by 2030
• Create 27,500 jobs, with a focus on young people and women
• Bring the annual economic value generated by the forestry and ecotourism sectors to between 2 and 5 billion dirhams

Through targeted interventions under the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), the world’s largest adaptation program initiated by GCA and the AfDB, GCA will help achieve these goals by strengthening the resilience of Moroccan forestry sector to the impacts of climate change such as droughts, forest fires, and desertification by carrying out specific activities.

GCA’s involvement in PADIDZOF
GCA will contribute to several key components of the PADIDZOF project, focusing on climate risk, youth employment and capacity building:

1. Climate risk assessment:

• Conduct in-depth assessments of climate risks and vulnerabilities in the Moroccan forest sector in selected project sites.
• Develop action plans to implement adaptation solutions, including nature-based solutions and digital technologies to improve forest management and resilience.

2. Youth jobs and entrepreneurship:

• Conduct a comprehensive labor market assessment to identify adaptive employment opportunities in the forestry and agroforestry sectors.
• Propose strategies to create adaptation jobs, with particular emphasis on the involvement of young people and women in sustainable forest management practices.

3. Training and capacity development:

• Design and implement a training strategy to build the capacity of key stakeholders, including government officials, local authorities and start-ups.
• Develop manuals and programs to support the adoption of climate-smart practices and improve the adaptive capacity of local communities.

Through these targeted interventions, GCA will play a central role in achieving the project’s objectives, notably by strengthening the resilience of the Moroccan forest sector to the impacts of climate change such as droughts, wildfires and desertification.

Professor Patrick V. Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation, expressed his commitment to GCA’s role in this transformative initiative, saying: “Our collaboration with ADB on the PADIDZOF project underscores GCA’s commitment to fostering climate resilience in vulnerable regions. By leveraging our expertise in climate risk assessment and capacity building, we aim to help Morocco safeguard its forest ecosystems and improve the livelihoods of local communities.

Notes to editors

About the Global Center on Adaptation
The Global Center for Adaptation (GCA) is an international organization that promotes adaptation to the impacts of climate change. It works for climate-resilient development by pushing for policy reforms and influencing investments made by international financial institutions and the private sector. The aim is to bring climate adaptation to the forefront of the global fight against climate change and ensure that it remains at the forefront. Founded in 2018, GCA embodies innovation in its approach to climate adaptation as well as its physical presence. It operates from the world’s largest floating office, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. GCA has a global network of regional offices in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Beijing, China. The Center will open a new office in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2025.