While palms are aesthetically pleasing, they do not provide the same environmental benefits, walkable streets, or lower ambient temperatures as hardwood shade trees
Maroc Environnement 2050 denounces practice of palm tree planting across Morocco
The environmental movement demands those responsible urgently put an end to this practice due to the environmental emergency that Morocco is experiencing.
Monday 22/07/2024
While palms are aesthetically pleasing, they do not provide the same environmental benefits, walkable streets, or lower ambient temperatures as hardwood shade trees
CASABLANCA - The “Maroc Environnement 2050” movement denounced local municipalities’ campaign of planting palm trees across Morocco, calling it a “serious environmental error.”
In 2021, the movement launched a campaign to end the planting of foreign date palms in various Moroccan cities, some of which saw the destruction of carbon dioxide absorbing trees to be replaced by palm trees.
The movement questioned the reasons which have led to the generalization of foreign palm trees in all Moroccan cities, describing this practice as an ecological crime against the Moroccans of today and tomorrow.
It also stressed that large palm trees represent a high cost for the budget of local municipalities and do not provide enough shade in the scorching summer season. Besides their inability to absorb carbon dioxide and purify air in major polluted cities, such as Casablanca.
The movement insisted that planting palm trees outside their natural environment disrupted the balance of biodiversity, which would affect the entire biological system.
It demanded those responsible urgently put an end to this practice due to the environmental emergency that Morocco is experiencing and will continue to experience for decades as the North African kingdom is going through several years of severe drought.