Living Planet Morocco is promoting Landscape Scale Conservation as a methodological approach to preserving the biodiversity of the Atlas Cedar Biosphere Reserve (ACBR). During 2022, the NGO carried out a study to highlight the benefits of implementing a Landscape Scale Conservation approach in the ACBR’s three national parks. The study also proposed potential priority areas for implementing this approach, which is also compatible with the strategy of the Agence National des Eaux et Forêts and the objectives for creating the Atlas Cedar Biosphere Reserve.
In February 2023, Living Planet Morocco and the Agence National des Eaux et Forêts signed an agreement to implement landscape-scale conservation in the Kingdom of Morocco’s national parks and biosphere reserves. This agreement is the partnership framework that encompasses the joint work carried out initially in the Atlas Cedar Biosphere Reserve. In addition to field projects, capacity-building activities for local associations in sustainable land and water management practices, and training for forestry cooperatives in labelling, Living Planet Morocco is supporting the Agence National des Eaux et Forêts in its efforts to formalise the management body and scientific committee of the Atlas Cedar Biosphere Reserve.
It should be noted that landscape-level conservation is a methodology that takes a global view of conservation, since it is not limited to a single element, such as a species or an ecosystem, but focuses instead on all the interacting species and ecosystems in a given region. This approach also incorporates the need to involve all stakeholders in the management and conservation of biodiversity, including local populations.
