Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

APA caravan organized 10 workshops be- tween 2017 and 2018, with more than 250 benefi- ciaries and 10 out of 12 regions of Morocco covered [ ] 161 Sharing the benefits of genetic resources APA Caravan (Access and sharing the benefits of genetic resources) compris- es a series of training and awareness workshops, each with about thirty participants representing civil society and the research sector involved in the management of the country’s genetic resources. Local elected representatives also attend the work- shops, to communicate expectations to local people about the importance of valuing and protecting the genetic resources of the regions concerned. APA caravan responds to the need to raise awareness among decision-mak- ers and local people about the need for regulation to ensure access, use and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of their heritage biodiversity. The workshops also address aspects of the establishment of legal mechanisms for the protection of genetic resources in support of the deployment of a na- tional legal framework. Communica- tion is an integral part of the Caravan’s programme to promote the develop- ment of partnerships and synergies for the protection and enhancement of biological diversity. Given the complexity of the sub- ject, the project team and experts responsible for facilitating the work- shops ensure that technical content is simplified to allow successful assimi- lation, including the legal elements of the Nagoya Protocol. This approach will also eventually allow more wide- spread dissemination to local popula- tions whose effectiveness depends on the commitment of participants and their ability to pursue the momentum initiated during training. The content, presentation language and examples used have been adapted to local knowledge, resources and pe- culiarities. Thus, palms were the focus in the region of Guelmim while, in Sous-Massa, debates focused on the use and potential of the argan tree. This approach has been effective, particularly during simulations of contract negotiations where partic- ipants developed a greater ability to appropriate the APA mechanism and to perceive the importance of setting up a framework to protect the resources and rights of local people. Among the beneficiaries of the APA Caravan workshops are local elected officials who are representatives of the government authorities responsible for the verification and monitoring of access to genetic resources; local experts and academics representing the scientific and research sector, and are often in collaboration with foreign bio-prospectors; and repre- sentatives of the associative sector as the main providers/processors of genetic resources and often holders of knowledge associated with them. Future activities of APA Caravan will be exclusively reserved for wom- en, representing about fifty Argan tree cooperatives comprising more than 2000 women. Oasis in Akka Ighane Morocco T he Kingdom of Morocco has a wide range of ecosystems, species and biological resources that provide an important basis for the livelihoods of the people and for the socio-economic development of the Country. However, these resources remain vulnerable and poorly developed, as many ecosystems are overexploited and/ or degraded and the use of their potential services increasingly compromised. Anes el Bardoudi on Unsplash