Morocco and the United Nations (UN) celebrate, on May 10, the International Day of Argania under the theme “Socio-Economic Development and Sustainability of the Argan Ecosystem.”
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests reported in a statement that since its proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in March 2021, the International Day of Argania is celebrated annually to highlight Morocco’s efforts in promoting the argan tree as an endemic tree of the Kingdom, an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, and an ancestral source of sustainable development and resilience.
The celebration also aims to highlight the imperative of the argan tree in building community resilience, its contribution to food security (SDG 2), its adaptation to climate change (SDG 13) and water stress (SDG 6), and its importance in empowering rural women (SDG 5), through the support and promotion of cooperatives and agricultural organizations (SDG 8).
Morocco, conscious of the environmental issues and challenges facing the argan ecosystem, is committed to developing and maintaining community practices of sustainable management in the context of water stress and climate change.
Through this international day, Morocco shares its knowledge to strengthen the resilience of this emblematic ecosystem, where the argan tree is a symbol of biodiversity that carries valuable know-how and experiences to achieve a balance between human beings and nature.
This year’s celebration is taking place at the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in New York, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, and Morocco’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Omar Hilale.
This celebration will also be marked by the organization, over two weeks, of an artistic and photographic exhibition on the Argan tree at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters, as well as a reception in honor of the United Nations (UN) system’s Ambassadors and officials, to try argan products and explore the Moroccan cooperatives’ offer.
Several Ambassadors of Member States and senior officials of the United Nations (UN), including the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Amina J. Mohammed, President of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA), Csaba Kőrösi, and Directors and representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations (UN) Women Organization, and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
To conclude these celebrations, the second edition of the International Argan Tree Exhibition is scheduled to be held in Agadir between May 17 and 21. This exhibition will be an opportunity to highlight the dynamics of the Argan tree sector and the progress that several institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture achieved in the preservation and sustainable development of the ecosystem of the Argan tree.