Kenyaleo.co.ke

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE

  • New global benchmark encourages tourists to become responsible wildlife watchers

    New global benchmark encourages tourists to become responsible wildlife watchers

    World Animal Protection and World Cetacean Alliance have today launched a new global programme, working with a coalition of responsible travel businesses and wildlife charities, which they hope will change the way people travel to see wildlife forever.

    Called ‘Wildlife Heritage Areas’ the programme will provide outstanding and responsible wildlife tourism experiences. Wildlife Heritage Areas has been developed to meet an expanding need from tourists to see wildlife in the wild, as the ethics of wild animals in zoos and aquariums increasingly comes under scrutiny. Now, travellers will be able to discover destinations where local communities care for and protect the wildlife in their environment and support them through incredible tourism experiences that are sustainable in the long-term.

    Angela Maldonado, founder of Entropika, a conservation NGO and part of the Wildlife Heritage Network, comments: “The Amazon Night Monkey Heritage Area covers 640 km2 in Vista Alegre on the Colombian-Peruvian border. It offers low-impact nature activities, such as jungle hikes, wildlife watching tourism and experiential tourism, which are all guided by knowledgeable locals. These local stewards of the forest are critically important in helping to alleviate outside pressure that the monkeys face from a range of issues including trafficking for biomedical research and deforestation.”

    Another example is The Apennines Marsican Bear Heritage Area in Italy, which covers 1100 km2 and focuses on the critically endangered Marsican brown bear, which is a central part of local history and culture, inspiring wildlife watchers to focus on the vibrant and dynamic landscape elements.

    Dylan Walker, Wildlife Heritage Areas, said: “We believe Wildlife Heritage Areas will benefit both the local community and wildlife in responsible wildlife watching destinations. By working in partnership with locals, charitable and responsible tourism experts, we can showcase how culture, responsible tourism, and ideas for coexistence can create a better future for places, nature, and people.”

     

    The travel industry currently has no means of identifying destinations meeting high standards of responsible wildlife watching. The Wildlife Heritage Area programme changes this.

    Nick Stewart, Wildlife Campaign Director – World Animal Protection, said: “We’re delighted to have co-founded Wildlife Heritage Areas as a solution to exploitative wildlife tourism. We invite travel companies around the world to drop the elephant rides, ditch the dolphin shows and any of the other demeaning wildlife entertainment experiences out there and instead, get behind truly responsible wildlife tourism that meets the needs of local communities, visitors and of course wild animal welfare.”

    In addition, Wildlife Heritage Areas will create new opportunities for visitors to engage with the unique culture, heritage and biodiversity that underpins each local community’s wildlife offering. This will help to generate pride and income for the responsible protection of wildlife and habitats.

    Harry Eckman, CEO, World Cetacean Alliance, said: “Wildlife Heritage Areas are an exciting and perfect evolution of the WCA’s successful Whale Heritage Area program. Wildlife Heritage Areas will provide the communities with a unique opportunity to showcase and celebrate their heritage and connection to amazing species and environments and will provide tourists with an incredible opportunity to experience wildlife in the most inspiring ways.”

    Current Wildlife Heritage Areas

    • Plettenberg Bay Whale Heritage Area (designated), South Africa
    • Algoa Bay Whale Heritage Area (designated), South Africa
    • Amazon Night Monkey Heritage Area (candidate), Peru/Colombia
    • Amazon Uakari Heritage Area (candidate), Brazil
    • Apennines Marsican Bear Heritage Area (candidate), Italy
    • Whitsundays Whale Heritage Area (Candidate) Australia
    • Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area (new designation), USA
    • Madeira Whale Heritage Area (new designation), Portugal

    Candidate means the applicant has reached level 2 of 3 of the designation process.

    Designated means the applicant has reached level 3 of 3 of the designation process.

    New designation means that the application has newly reached level 3 of the application process.

  • TUNL Raises $1 Million to Accelerate Growth of E-commerce Exports from Africa

    TUNL Raises $1 Million to Accelerate Growth of E-commerce Exports from Africa

    TUNL, a parcel shipping platform saving e-commerce merchants between 50 to 80% on international shipping costs, has secured $1 million in pre-seed funding from Founders Factory Africa, Digital Africa Ventures, E4E Africa, and Jozi Angels.

     

    The funding will be used to accelerate the company’s growth in its beachhead market of South Africa and begin building toward launching in other strategic African and emerging markets.

     

    Since its launch, TUNL has grown 35% month-on-month, with over 550 merchants now part of its “shipping club”, with the number of merchants doubling in Q3 2023. TUNL’s merchants have shipped over 8,000 international parcels in 2023, representing exports from South Africa worth R19.5 million.

     

    TUNL was founded in 2022 by Matthew Davey and Craig Lowman. The team is driven by the core belief that opening up cross-border trade is the most powerful lever to unlock the huge growth potential of thousands of SMEs in emerging markets, creating sustainable livelihoods and bringing in foreign currency.

     

    Merchants who ship their parcels with TUNL can drive significantly higher conversion at checkout in overseas markets where low shipping costs are expected.

     

    “Our pricing is completely transparent and democratised. We want to ensure that every business, large or small, can have an equal chance to convert overseas sales by reducing the cost of shipping as much as possible,” says Lowman.

     

    As part of TUNL’s drive towards pricing transparency, it has recently launched AI-driven product classification, which forms the basis for full landed cost pricing (parcel delivery with duties and taxes prepaid) – a first-of-its-kind service for South African e-commerce.

     

    “We are excited to be working with this fantastic group of investors who share our vision,” says Davey. “Their pan-African experience will continue to be a huge boost to TUNL as we scale,” adds Lowman.

  • CS Zacharia Njeru meets PSs and HODs at Maji House

    CS Zacharia Njeru meets PSs and HODs at Maji House

    Cabinet Secretary Mr. Zacharia Njeru today had a meeting with PSs from the two State Departments of the Ministry, Water and Sanitation and Irrigation, Water Secretary and HoDs for briefs in their dockets.

    The HODs led by PSs Messrs. Julius Korir (Water and Sanitation) and Ephantus briefed the CS on the status of projects and programmes that they are implementing as outlined in the Executive Order No. 1 of 2022.

    CS Njeru pledged open-door policy and assured them of their support and cooperation in delivering their mandate of the Ministry. He added that most of the Ministry’s work will henceforth will be seen in the field where most of the services are required.

    To provide live, dignity and food security to the people of Kenya, CS Njeru urged the staff to embrace teamwork within the State Departments and assist to achieve the mandate of the Ministry. He emphasized the need for harmonious working relations and cohesiveness to deliver the Government Agenda.

    Other notable presentations were made by Water Secretary Eng SAO Alima and Secretary of Administration, State Department of Water and Sanitation Stephen Kihara among others.

  • Climate Change resilience: Stakeholders to Support Vulnerable Sectors and Communities in the National Adaptation Plans

    National Adaptation Plan(NAP) Global Network Policy Advisor Mauricio Luna Rodriguez ,Ministry of Environment ,Climate change and forestry Deputy Director Climate Change Adaptations Lerenten Lelekoitien and Ministry of Environment ,Climate change and forestry Director Climate Change Pacifica Ogola during the peer learning summit (PLS) on Vertical intergration in the National Adaptation Plan process by NAP Global Network and the Government of Kenya with support from Global affairs Canada on climate change adaptation.
    National Adaptation Plan(NAP) Global Network Policy Advisor Mauricio Luna Rodriguez ,Ministry of Environment ,Climate change and forestry Deputy Director Climate Change Adaptations Lerenten Lelekoitien and Ministry of Environment ,Climate change and forestry Director Climate Change Pacifica Ogola during the peer learning summit (PLS) on Vertical intergration in the National Adaptation Plan process by NAP Global Network and the Government of Kenya with support from Global affairs Canada on climate change adaptation.

    By Melisa Mongina.

    Kenya has hosted delegates from ten developing countries across three continents who gathered to exchange insights on strengthening multilevel governance for enhancing climate change resilience through national adaptation plans (NAPs) in their Peer Learning Summit.

    During this three-day summit, which transpired in Nairobi on Wednesday, participants expressed their intent to execute the plan, emphasizing the inclusion of vulnerable sectors and communities.

    In an interview, Dr. Pacifica Ogola, the Director for Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, noted that in terms of vertical integration, they involve all the ministries at the national level and all the counties they consider as essential in implementing adaptation, primarily because their constitution devolved most of the vulnerable sectors.

    “And currently we are developing our third national climate change action plan, which has a separate adaptation technical analysis report, delving into the details of each plan and how these plans will be unpacked and implemented at all levels across the government and also by civil society organizations and the private sector,” said Dr. Ogola.

    She adds that they are ensuring that the plans will be gender mainstreamed to enable youth and vulnerable communities to contribute to the plan.

    Dr. Ogola highlights that they also have programs around climate-smart agriculture, ensuring that the integration happens, and they have a program on financing locally led adaptation funded by multiple partners.

    “Over and above this, we also have programs around climate-smart agriculture, ensuring that this integration happens. We have the program on financing locally led adaptation, funded by multiple partners,” she notes.

    According to her, they have made sure that the plan takes into account the process from the village level to the governor’s office and the relevant sectors of the national government.

    “And we make sure that this plan takes into account the process from the village level all the way to the governor’s office, to the relevant sectors of the national government. So there are different components of programs across different ministries and governments, which are not coordinating this process at the national level, but we make sure that these programs integrate and report back to us, and this information is stored in our monitoring, reporting, and verification system,” adds Dr. Ogola in an interview.

    She emphasizes that vertical integration is essential in Kenya, and they have involved all the relevant ministries, sectors, departments, including the national treasury and the planning department, to ensure that all adaptations are mainstreamed in the overall plan.

    “We also make sure that all our plans are included in the national climate change action plan. So the national climate change action plan is the tool we use to consolidate both the mitigation plans and the adaptation plans. The adaptation plans are informed by our national adaptation plan. And how do we ensure this integration happens? We work very closely with the county governments. We also work closely with the departments, with the sectors,” said Dr. Ogola.

    Mauricio Luna-Rodríguez, NAP Global Network’s policy advisor and climate change adaptation governance expert, stated that there is a need to take action on the climatic impacts by supporting local community adaptation to climate change.

    “And because climate change is exacerbating all of these climatic impacts, we need to take action on these; we need to support the local communities to face climate change,” said Mauricio Luna-Rodríguez.

    Mr. Luna adds that national governments have been putting policies in place to move forward on climate change adaptation and they want to ensure that the policies being implemented are discussed during the three days on how to better coordinate from the national level to the subnational level and how to incorporate different actors in this process of adaptation around the national adaptation plans.

    “But there is a realization that when those policies are being implemented, you need to coordinate with the subnational governments, the local communities, and different actors, both civil society organizations, the private sector, academia, and this is basically what we want to discuss during these three days on how to better coordinate from the national level to the subnational level and how to incorporate different actors in this process of adaptation around the national adaptation plans,” said Mr. Luna.

    The summit focused on “vertical integration” in adaptation, the process of linking sub-national and national adaptation efforts. Vertical integration in multilevel governance is key for effective, representative, and inclusive NAP processes.

    According to Mauricio Luna-Rodríguez, their fundamental step in moving from planning to implementation of the NAP process is vertical integration, and they will concentrate on the crucial aspects of the process in the summit.

    “Vertical integration is a fundamental step in moving from planning to implementation of the NAP process. In this summit, we will discuss crucial aspects of this process, such as the importance of establishing institutional arrangements for vertical integration across all levels of governance, as well as how to facilitate financing to sub-national levels to enable them to articulate and implement their local priorities,” said Mauricio Luna-Rodríguez, NAP Global Network’s policy advisor and climate change adaptation governance expert.

    The Peer Learning Summit has been co-hosted by the Kenyan government and NAP Global Network and it took place from October 11 to 13. The Summit convened adaptation experts, including national and sub-national government officials from Belize, the Dominican Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tuvalu, and Zimbabwe, as well as representatives from Kenya.

  • Climate Change resilience: Stakeholders to Support Vulnerable Sectors and Communities in the National Adaptation Plans

     

    National Adaptation Plan(NAP) Global Network Policy Advisor Mauricio Luna Rodriguez ,Ministry of Environment ,Climate change and forestry Deputy Director Climate Change Adaptations Lerenten Lelekoitien and Ministry of Environment ,Climate change and forestry Director Climate Change Pacifica Ogola during the peer learning summit (PLS) on Vertical intergration in the National Adaptation Plan process by NAP Global Network and the Government of Kenya with support from Global affairs Canada on climate change adaptation.
    NAP- Global Network Policy Advisor Mauricio Luna Rodriguez ,Ministry of Environment ,Climate change and forestry Deputy Dir Climate Change Adaptations Lerenten Lelekoitien and Ministry of Environment, Director Climate Change Pacifica Ogola during the peer learning summit (PLS) on Vertical intergration in the National Adaptation Plan process by NAP and the Govt of Kenya on climate change adaptation.

    By Lenah Bosibori.

    Kenya has hosted delegates from ten developing countries across three continents who gathered to exchange insights on strengthening multilevel governance for enhancing climate change resilience through national adaptation plans (NAPs) in their Peer Learning Summit.

    During this three-day summit, which transpired in Nairobi on Wednesday, participants expressed their intent to execute the plan, emphasizing the inclusion of vulnerable sectors and communities.

    In an interview, Dr. Pacifica Ogola, the Director for Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, noted that in terms of vertical integration, they involve all the ministries at the national level and all the counties they consider as essential in implementing adaptation, primarily because their constitution devolved most of the vulnerable sectors.

    “And currently we are developing our third national climate change action plan, which has a separate adaptation technical analysis report, delving into the details of each plan and how these plans will be unpacked and implemented at all levels across the government and also by civil society organizations and the private sector,” said Dr. Ogola.

    She adds that they are ensuring that the plans will be gender mainstreamed to enable youth and vulnerable communities to contribute to the plan.

    Dr. Ogola highlights that they also have programs around climate-smart agriculture, ensuring that the integration happens, and they have a program on financing locally led adaptation funded by multiple partners.

    “Over and above this, we also have programs around climate-smart agriculture, ensuring that this integration happens. We have the program on financing locally led adaptation, funded by multiple partners,” she notes.

    According to her, they have made sure that the plan takes into account the process from the village level to the governor’s office and the relevant sectors of the national government.

    “And we make sure that this plan takes into account the process from the village level all the way to the governor’s office, to the relevant sectors of the national government. So there are different components of programs across different ministries and governments, which are not coordinating this process at the national level, but we make sure that these programs integrate and report back to us, and this information is stored in our monitoring, reporting, and verification system,” adds Dr. Ogola in an interview.

    She emphasizes that vertical integration is essential in Kenya, and they have involved all the relevant ministries, sectors, departments, including the national treasury and the planning department, to ensure that all adaptations are mainstreamed in the overall plan.

    “We also make sure that all our plans are included in the national climate change action plan. So the national climate change action plan is the tool we use to consolidate both the mitigation plans and the adaptation plans. The adaptation plans are informed by our national adaptation plan. And how do we ensure this integration happens? We work very closely with the county governments. We also work closely with the departments, with the sectors,” said Dr. Ogola.

    Mauricio Luna-Rodríguez, NAP Global Network’s policy advisor and climate change adaptation governance expert, stated that there is a need to take action on the climatic impacts by supporting local community adaptation to climate change.

    “And because climate change is exacerbating all of these climatic impacts, we need to take action on these; we need to support the local communities to face climate change,” said Mauricio Luna-Rodríguez.

    Mr. Luna says that national governments have been putting policies in place to move forward on climate change adaptation and they want to ensure that the policies being implemented are discussed during the three days on how to better coordinate from the national level to the subnational level and how to incorporate different actors in this process of adaptation around the national adaptation plans.

    “But there is a realization that when those policies are being implemented, you need to coordinate with the subnational governments, the local communities, and different actors, both civil society organizations, the private sector, academia, and this is basically what we want to discuss during these three days on how to better coordinate from the national level to the subnational level and how to incorporate different actors in this process of adaptation around the national adaptation plans,” said Mr. Luna.

    The summit focused on “vertical integration” in adaptation, the process of linking sub-national and national adaptation efforts. Vertical integration in multilevel governance is key for effective, representative, and inclusive NAP processes.

    According to Mauricio Luna-Rodríguez, their fundamental step in moving from planning to implementation of the NAP process is vertical integration, and they will concentrate on the crucial aspects of the process in the summit.

    “Vertical integration is a fundamental step in moving from planning to implementation of the NAP process. In this summit, we will discuss crucial aspects of this process, such as the importance of establishing institutional arrangements for vertical integration across all levels of governance, as well as how to facilitate financing to sub-national levels to enable them to articulate and implement their local priorities,” said Mauricio Luna-Rodríguez, NAP Global Network’s policy advisor and climate change adaptation governance expert.

    The Peer Learning Summit has been co-hosted by the Kenyan government and NAP Global Network and it took place from October 11 to 13. The Summit convened adaptation experts, including national and sub-national government officials from Belize, the Dominican Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tuvalu, and Zimbabwe, as well as representatives from Kenya.

  • Chairman’s absence in important KFS announcement raises eyebrows

    Chairman’s absence in important KFS announcement raises eyebrows

    By Vincent Munga.

    Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya was on Thursday morning at the Kenya Forest Service headquarters to effect the immediate dismissal order of 23 managers and rangers accused of abetting and conniving with criminals in illegal logging.

    The order given by President William Ruto during the pass-out parade of 2,664 forest rangers at the National Youth Service barracks in Gilgil, Nakuru County affects the officers whose cases have been determined.

    “We are here today to ensure the Chief Conservator has effected the immediate dismissal of 23 forest officers. There are other active cases that are ongoing and appropriate action will be taken when the right time comes,” CS Tuya said.

    The CS made the statement while flanked by her two PS’s, Eng. Festus Ng’eno who holds the Environment and Climate Change docket and his counterpart Mugambi Gitonga who oversees the state department of forestry docket.

    Also at the conference was the Chief Conservator Alex Lemarkoko, some board members and senior forest officers.

    The Chairman KFS board, Job Chirchir who attended the CS’s closed door meeting failed to appear at the press briefing and was seen driving out immediately after the meeting, leaving other members to join the CS at the podium.

    CS Tuya who failed to introduce the senior officials at the function, also never explained the Chairman’s absence as she went ahead to read her statement.

    In her remarks, the CS said some of the officers have been harassed by the web of illegal loggers and asked citizens to help the government curb the vice by reporting any suspected illegal activity to a toll free number, 0800724570 being manned 24 hours.

    According to Tuya, the Mau forest conservancy is the hotspot of illegal logging activities in the country.

    The CS also warned saw millers that if found conniving with the KFS officers in illegal activities, their companies shall be blacklisted from doing business with the government.

  • Kenya to Push for sustainable tourism practices

    The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Heritage is partnering with county governments to unveil and market hidden gems unique to them.

    Cabinet Secretary for Tourism Wildlife and Heritage while announcing that Embu County would play host to the 2023 World Tourism Day national celebrations said that counties have a big role to play in product development as well as enhancing opportunities for tourism business to thrive. Other World Tourism Day celebrations are hosted by respective countries.

    “This year the world will be hosting World Tourism Day under the global theme of Tourism and Green Investment. Against the backdrop of the just concluded Africa Climate Summit, our goal is to promote sustainable practices and to provide opportunities for investment in the sector. We shall be celebrating the 2023 World Tourism Day in Embu County between the 21st-27th September as part of the global event to be held on the 27th -28th of September in Riyadh Saudi Arabia” Said CS Malonza.

    The CS added “The World Tourism Day is an occasion for us to celebrate our successes and address challenges as we continue to implement our development agenda for a holistic tourism recovery that integrates environmental conservation. We shall be promoting tourism within our counties and working together with the devolved units to showcase sustainable practices as well as the tourism opportunities within them,” Malonza said.

    World Tourism Day (WTD) is an annual event celebrated on the 27th of September around the world. Originally set up by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in 1980, it seeks to raise awareness of the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political, and economic values worldwide.

    This year’s celebrations will be held in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a call to action to the international community, governments, multilateral financial institutions, development partners, and private sector investors to unite around a new tourism investment strategy.

    On his part, Kenya Tourism Board Ag, CEO John Chirchir stated: “We are thrilled about hosting the World Tourism Day Celebrations in Embu, which is known for its vibrant culture and numerous attractions that include the iconic Mount Kenya. We also look forward to using the platform to promote domestic travel and enhance awareness of the unique destinations and experiences available in our countries. This year’s theme encourages us to focus on the power of tourism as a driver for green investment by all stakeholders and we have lined up a series of events that will highlight this.”

    The 2023 World Tourism Day celebration comes after the recent Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi where several heads of states and delegates called for increased investments in sustainable tourism as a key driver towards achieving green growth and development objectives.

    Kenya has been at the forefront of integrating sustainability in tourism operations and practices, with various initiatives being rolled out to integrate local communities in tourism activities through enhanced stakeholder engagement by both private sector players and government agencies.

    Last year, Kenya was among eight countries picked by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for its Covid-19 crisis response program aimed at supporting tourism recovery around World Heritage Sites.

  • NEMA Leads a National Clean Up

    The National Environment Management Authority under the wise leadership of Managing Director Mamo Boru Mamo on Saturday led a global clean up in an auspicious occasion in Nanyuki.

    “Am glad that Kenya is taking the lead in matters of waste management and NEMA is working very closely with various partners to ensure a clean and safe environment for all. NEMA has just started implementing the Sustainable Waste Management Act 2022. This initiative calls for a Green revolution in Kenya while embracing responsible behavior and Extended Producer Responsibility.

    The rallying call here is; Take responsibility, Think Green, and Think Circularity. Your responsibility as a producer goes beyond the product life, you must mitigate pollution think Green by minimizing environmental impacts, and embrace circularity by ensuring that your product does not end up in the environment but remains in the value chain for a long time.

    At the event, Nema Kenya Chairman, Emilio Mugo was represented by Sophia Matura, Vice Chairperson at WorldCleanupDay2023 in Nanyuki, Laikipia County.

  • Ambassador Nancy Karigithu’s Commitment to Greening the Maritime Industry

    Ambassador Nancy Karigithu’s Commitment to Greening the Maritime Industry

    Saudi Ministry of Transport, the Transport General Authority and all the supporting partners for organizing such a rich and invigorating conference.
    Saudi Ministry of Transport, and the Transport General Authority in a conference.

    Although her hopes of becoming a Secretary General did not materialize, she remains committed to bringing about significant reforms in the maritime sector.

    Amb. Nancy Karigithu continues to receive honors and recognition for her dedicated leadership in the maritime industry.

    Ambassador Nancy Karigithu is highly regarded as a dedicated leader in Kenya, serving as Ambassador and Special Envoy for Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy.

    During a recent maritime conference in Jeddah, Ambassador Karigithu engaged with fellow delegates to address critical issues in the maritime industry. The conference’s primary focus was the industry’s transition to cleaner fuels as a means to combat climate change and ensure sustainable global growth.

    Ambassador Nancy expressed her gratitude for the opportunity, stating, “It was an honor to participate in the Sustainable Maritime Conference held last week in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The conference centered around the theme ‘Innovation for a Greener Future.’ Our panel emphasized the essential role of transitioning to cleaner fuels in the maritime industry to tackle climate change and promote sustainability. Additionally, we highlighted the potential benefits of adopting a maritime circular economy model to ensure environmental responsibility and long-term sustainability.”

    She went on to elaborate on the concept, explaining, “This model involves, among other things, optimizing material usage within the industry, prolonging the circulation of materials through practices such as re-use, recycling, and up-cycling, adopting regenerative nature-based solutions, considering the end of ships’ useful service life, and most importantly, fostering sustainable collaboration between ports and port-city stakeholders. This collaboration aims to develop and implement innovative, dynamic, and sustainable systems.”

    Furthermore, the transformation panel recognized the imperative need for collaboration among governments, industry players, and stakeholders. This collaboration would involve investments in research, capacity building, innovation, and the formulation of supportive policies.

    Ambassador Karigithu commended the Saudi Ministry of Transport, the Transport General Authority, and all the supporting partners for their efforts in organizing such informative conferences. She expressed hope for more such conferences in the future to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge and information within the maritime sector, ultimately contributing to its growth and development.

  • Morocco Grapples with Devastating Earthquake: Death Toll Exceeds 2,000, Search and Rescue Efforts Persist

    Morocco Grapples with Devastating Earthquake: Death Toll Exceeds 2,000, Search and Rescue Efforts Persist

    A general view of damage following a powerful earthquake in Amizmiz, Morocco, Sept. 9 2023. Photo REUTERS
    A general view of damage following a powerful earthquake in Amizmiz, Morocco, Sept. 9 2023. Photo REUTERS

    The death toll resulting from the devastating earthquake that struck Morocco last Friday has surpassed 2,000, according to authorities.

    There are concerns that this number may continue to rise as rescue teams encounter difficulties reaching remote areas that have been severely impacted.

    The Interior Ministry of Morocco has officially confirmed that at least 2,012 individuals have lost their lives due to the powerful tremor. The majority of these casualties occurred in Marrakech and five nearby provinces, all close to the earthquake’s epicenter.

    Additionally, the ministry has reported that 2,059 people have been injured, with 1,404 in critical condition. This earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, is the most significant to hit Morocco in the past 120 years. It caused panic and disbelief among the population, with reports of falling dishes and wall hangings, as well as people being knocked off their feet. The quake also led to the collapse of stone and masonry walls, burying entire communities in rubble.

    Each town nestled along the steep and winding switchbacks of the High Atlas mountains experienced a similar scene of devastation. Houses crumbled inward, and amidst this tragedy, parents wept while young boys, wearing helmets, carried the deceased through the streets.

    In the remote villages, like those in the drought-stricken Ouargane Valley, isolation became a harsh reality as they lost access to electricity and cellphone service.

    As the day progressed, residents gathered outside to mourn their neighbors, document the destruction on their mobile phones, and share words of hope, saying, “May God protect us.”

    In the historic city of Marrakech, scenes of anxiety unfolded on state television as people hesitated to re-enter buildings that might still pose a threat due to instability.

    Notably, Marrakech’s renowned Koutoubia Mosque, a 12th-century marvel, sustained damage, though the full extent remained uncertain. Its 69-meter (226-foot) minaret, known as the “roof of Marrakech,” faced potential harm. Moroccans also shared videos online, revealing damage to sections of the iconic red walls surrounding the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.