Latest news with #ImarhanTimbuktu
The Star
02-05-2025
- The Star
A Sahara clean-up mission
Volunteers, including tourists, picking up waste during a desert cleaning campaign, part of the Nomads Festival in Mhamid El-Ghizlane. — AFP It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara desert, but that doesn't mean it's free of that modern scourge of the environment – the rubbish humanity discards. In southern Morocco, volunteers are hunting for waste embedded in the sand, and they don't have to look far. Bottles, plastic bags ... 'there are all kinds', noted one helper who has come forward to join the initiative cleaning up the edge of a village bordering the Sahara. The initiative marks the 20th International Nomads Festival, which is held in mid-April every year in M'Hamid El Ghizlane in Zagora province in southeast Morocco. Some 50 people, gloved and equipped with rubbish bags, toiled away for five hours – and collected between 400kg and 600kg of waste, the organisers estimated. 'Clean-up initiatives usually focus on beaches and forests,' said festival founder Nouredine Bougrab, who lives in the village of some 6,600 people. 'But then the desert also suffers from pollution.' The campaign brings together artists, activists and foreign tourists, and is a call for the 'world's deserts to be protected', said the Bougrab, 46. Bougrab said the clean-up began at the northern entrance of the village 'which was badly affected by pollution' and extended through to the other end of town and the beginning of the 'Great Desert'. The rubbish is 'mainly linked to the massive production of plastic products, low recycling rates and atmospheric pollutants carried by the wind', said anthropologist Mustapha Naimi. Morocco has a population of almost 37 million and they generate about 8.2 million tons of household waste each year, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. 'This is equivalent to 811 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower – enough to fill 2,780 Olympic swimming pools with compacted waste,' said Hassan Chouaouta, an international expert in sustainable strategic development. Of this amount, 'between six and seven percent' is recycled, he said. Their morning alarm went off 'early', according to one volunteer, New York-based French photographer Ronald Le Floch who said the initiative's aim was 'to show that it's important to take care of this type of environment'. Another helper was Ousmane Ag Oumar, a 35-year-old Malian member of Imarhan Timbuktu, a Tuareg blues group. He called the waste a direct danger to livestock, which are essential to the subsistence of nomadic communities. Anthropologist Naimi agreed: 'Plastic waste harms the Saharan environment as it contaminates the land, pasture, rivers and nomadic areas,' he said. Pastoral nomadism is a millennia-old way of life based on seasonal mobility and available pasture for livestock. But it is on the wane in Morocco, weakened by climate change and with nomadic communities now tending to stay in one place. The most recent official census of nomads in Morocco dates to 2014, and returned a nomadic population of 25,274 – 63% lower than a decade earlier in 2004. Mohammed Mahdi, a professor of rural sociology, said the country's nomads have 'not benefited from much state support, compared to subsidies granted to agriculture, especially for products intended for export'. 'We give very little to nomadic herders, and a good number have gone bankrupt and given up,' he said. Mohamed Oujaa, 50, is leader of The Sand Pigeons group who specialise in the 'gnawa' music practised in the Maghreb by the descendants of black slaves. For him, a clean environment is vital for future generations, and he hopes the initiative will be 'just the first in a series of campaigns to clean up the desert'. – AFP
Morocco World
30-04-2025
- Morocco World
20th International Nomad Festival Pauses Music to Unite Against Plastic Pollution in the Sahara
Rabat – At the gateway to Morocco's vast Sahara Desert, a growing number of volunteers are stepping up to tackle the spread of plastic waste deep into desert landscapes. Bottles, plastic bags, and other debris are being cleared from the sands by residents and environmental activists determined to protect the fragile ecosystem. As part of the 20th International Nomads Festival, held in mid-April every year in M'Hamid El Ghizlane, attendees and musicians took a break from the music event to pay respect to the environment around them. The clean-up initiative began at the northern entrance of the village – which holds a population of around 6,600 people in the Zagora province of southeast Morocco. M'Hamid is known locally as the last town of civilization before entering into the open desert, and is a frequented stop for not only tourist caravans, but also historically traders and desert travelers alike. Volunteers got to work picking up debris from the most polluted part of the town, and the initiative received attention from international media, including AFP, the Belgian Radio-Television for the French Community (RTBF) and Arab Weekly. 'In Morocco, clean-up efforts are often concentrated along coastlines and in forested areas, but the desert is suffering just as much,' said Nouredine Bougrab, founder of the International Nomads Festival and a resident of M'Hamid. 'Plastic waste here doesn't just disappear. It stays in the sand, carried by the wind, and endangers both people and animals.' According to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, as reported by AFP, Morocco generates around 8.2 million tons of household waste every year, and only 6- 7% of this is recycled. To put it in perspective, sustainability expert Hassan Chouaouta explained to RTBF outlet that this amount is equal to 811 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower, or enough to fill 2,780 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Anthropologist Mustapha Naimi points to mass plastic production, poor waste management infrastructure, and wind-borne pollutants as key contributors to the pollution crisis in the desert. 'The waste is contaminating grazing lands, riverbeds, and nomadic routes. It's a direct threat to the Saharan environment,' he said. Beyond environmentalism, the 20th edition of the International Nomads Festival celebrated the rich cultural heritage of nomadic communities, featuring, dance, crafts, gastronomy, traditions and a diverse musical journey that included beloved local and international artists including Nass El Ghiwane, Les Pigeons du Sable, Kader Tarhanin and Imarhan Timbuktu. Among those joining the campaign is Ousmane Ag Oumar, a 35-year-old Malian and member of the Tuareg blues band Imarhan Timbuktu. 'This clean-up is essential not just for nature, but for the survival of nomadic communities that rely on livestock,' he said. Pastoral nomadism — a traditional way of life based on seasonal migration and livestock herding — is in sharp decline in Morocco. The most recent census of nomadic populations in 2014 recorded just 25,274 individuals, a 63% drop from 2004, as climate change, shrinking grazing areas, and the disappearance of transhumance routes are driving many nomads toward sedentarization. Rural sociologist Mohammed Mahdi notes that nomadic herders receive minimal state support compared to subsidies granted to agriculture, particularly export-oriented farming. 'Many herders have simply gone bankrupt and left the profession,' he said. Mohamed Oujâa, 50 years-old, a musician from the Gnawa group Les Pigeons du Sable, stressed the cultural and environmental importance of the initiative. 'A clean environment is essential for our future generations,' he said. 'This is just the beginning, we hope to see more campaigns like this throughout the desert.'
Arab News
25-04-2025
- Arab News
Morocco volunteers on Sahara clean-up mission
M'HAMID EL GHIZLANE:It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara desert, but that does not mean it's free of that modern scourge of the environment — the rubbish humanity discards. In southern Morocco, volunteers are hunting for waste embedded in the sand, and they do not have to look far. Bottles, plastic bags — 'there are all kinds,' noted one helper who has joined the initiative cleaning up the edge of a village bordering the Sahara. The initiative marks the 20th International Nomads Festival, which is held in mid-April every year in M'Hamid El Ghizlane in Zagora province in southeast Morocco. Around 50 people, gloved and equipped with rubbish bags, toiled away for five hours — and collected 400 to 600 kilos of waste, the organizers estimated. 'Clean-up initiatives usually focus on beaches and forests,' festival founder Noureddine Bougrab, who lives in the village of around 6,600 people, told AFP. 'But the desert also suffers from pollution.' The campaign brings together artists, activists and foreign tourists, and is a call for the 'world's deserts to be protected,' said Bougrab, 46. He said the clean-up began at the northern entrance of the village, 'which was badly affected by pollution,' and extended through to the other end of town and the beginning of the 'Great Desert.' The rubbish is 'mainly linked to the massive production of plastic products, low recycling rates and atmospheric pollutants carried by the wind,' said anthropologist Mustapha Naimi. Morocco has a population of almost 37 million and they generate about 8.2 million tons of household waste each year, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. 'This is equivalent to 811 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower — enough to fill 2,780 Olympic swimming pools with compacted waste,' said Hassan Chouaouta, an international expert in sustainable strategic development. Of this amount, 'between six and seven percent' is recycled, he said. Their morning alarm went off 'early,' according to one volunteer, New York-based French photographer Ronan Le Floch, who said the initiative's aim was 'to show that it's important to take care of this type of environment.' Another helper was Ousmane Ag Oumar, a 35-year-old Malian member of Imarhan Timbuktu, a Tuareg blues group. He called the waste a direct danger to livestock, which are essential to the subsistence of nomadic communities. Naimi, the anthropologist, agreed. 'Plastic waste harms the Saharan environment as it contaminates the land, pasture, rivers and nomadic areas,' he said. Pastoral nomadism is a millennia-old way of life based on seasonal mobility and available pasture for livestock. But it is on the wane in Morocco, weakened by climate change and with nomadic communities now tending to stay in one place. The most recent official census of nomads in Morocco dates to 2014, and returned a population of 25,274 — 63 percent lower than a decade earlier in 2004. Mohammed Mahdi, a professor of rural sociology, said the country's nomads had 'not benefited from much state support, compared to subsidies granted to agriculture, especially for products intended for export.' 'We give very little to nomadic herders, and a good number have gone bankrupt and given up,' he said. Mohamed Oujaa, 50, is leader of The Sand Pigeons, a group that specializes in the 'gnawa' music practiced in the Maghreb by the descendants of black slaves. For him, a clean environment is vital for future generations, and he hopes the initiative will be 'just the first in a series of campaigns to clean up the desert.'
The Sun
24-04-2025
- The Sun
Morocco volunteers on Sahara clean-up mission
M'HAMID EL GHIZLANE: It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara desert, but that does not mean it's free of that modern scourge of the environment -- the rubbish humanity discards. In southern Morocco, volunteers are hunting for waste embedded in the sand, and they do not have to look far. Bottles, plastic bags -- 'there are all kinds', noted one helper who has joined the initiative cleaning up the edge of a village bordering the Sahara. The initiative marks the 20th International Nomads Festival, which is held in mid-April every year in M'Hamid El Ghizlane in Zagora province in southeast Morocco. Around 50 people, gloved and equipped with rubbish bags, toiled away for five hours -- and collected 400 to 600 kilos of waste, the organisers estimated. 'Clean-up initiatives usually focus on beaches and forests,' festival founder Nouredine Bougrab, who lives in the village of around 6,600 people, told AFP. 'But the desert also suffers from pollution.' The campaign brings together artists, activists and foreign tourists, and is a call for the 'world's deserts to be protected', said Bougrab, 46. He said the clean-up began at the northern entrance of the village, 'which was badly affected by pollution', and extended through to the other end of town and the beginning of the 'Great Desert'. The rubbish is 'mainly linked to the massive production of plastic products, low recycling rates and atmospheric pollutants carried by the wind', said anthropologist Mustapha Naimi. Morocco has a population of almost 37 million and they generate about 8.2 million tons of household waste each year, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. 'This is equivalent to 811 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower -- enough to fill 2,780 Olympic swimming pools with compacted waste,' said Hassan Chouaouta, an international expert in sustainable strategic development. Of this amount, 'between six and seven percent' is recycled, he said. Ancient way of life Their morning alarm went off 'early', according to one volunteer, New York-based French photographer Ronald Le Floch, who said the initiative's aim was 'to show that it's important to take care of this type of environment'. Another helper was Ousmane Ag Oumar, a 35-year-old Malian member of Imarhan Timbuktu, a Tuareg blues group. He called the waste a direct danger to livestock, which are essential to the subsistence of nomadic communities. Naimi, the anthropologist, agreed. 'Plastic waste harms the Saharan environment as it contaminates the land, pasture, rivers and nomadic areas,' he said. Pastoral nomadism is a millennia-old way of life based on seasonal mobility and available pasture for livestock. But it is on the wane in Morocco, weakened by climate change and with nomadic communities now tending to stay in one place. The most recent official census of nomads in Morocco dates to 2014, and returned a population of 25,274 -- 63 percent lower than a decade earlier in 2004. Mohammed Mahdi, a professor of rural sociology, said the country's nomads had 'not benefited from much state support, compared to subsidies granted to agriculture, especially for products intended for export'. 'We give very little to nomadic herders, and a good number have gone bankrupt and given up,' he said. Mohamed Oujaa, 50, is leader of The Sand Pigeons, a group that specialises in the 'gnawa' music practised in the Maghreb by the descendants of black slaves. For him, a clean environment is vital for future generations, and he hopes the initiative will be 'just the first in a series of campaigns to clean up the desert'.
Observer
22-04-2025
- Observer
Morocco volunteers on Sahara clean-up mission
It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara desert, but that doesn't mean it's free of that modern scourge of the environment -- the rubbish humanity discards. In southern Morocco, volunteers are hunting for waste embedded in the sand, and they don't have to look far. Bottles, plastic bags -- "there are all kinds", noted one helper who has come forward to join the initiative cleaning up the edge of a village bordering the Sahara. The initiative marks the 20th International Nomads Festival, which is held in mid-April every year in M'Hamid El Ghizlane in Zagora province in southeast Morocco. Some 50 people, gloved and equipped with rubbish bags, toiled away for five hours -- and collected between 400 and 600 kilos of waste, the organisers estimated. "Clean-up initiatives usually focus on beaches and forests," festival founder Nouredine Bougrab, who lives in the village of some 6,600 people, told AFP. "But the desert also suffers from pollution." The campaign brings together artists, activists and foreign tourists, and is a call for the "world's deserts to be protected", said the 46-year-old. Volunteers, including tourists, cheer in front of bags of waste that they collected, after taking part in a desert cleaning campaign during the Nomads Festival in Mhamid El-Ghizlane in Morocco's southern Sahara desert on April 12, 2025. It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara desert, but that doesn't mean it's free of that modern scourge of the environment: the rubbish humanity discards. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP) Bougrab said the clean-up began at the northern entrance of the village "which was badly affected by pollution" and extended through to the other end of town and the beginning of the "Great Desert". The rubbish is "mainly linked to the massive production of plastic products, low recycling rates and atmospheric pollutants carried by the wind", said anthropologist Mustapha Naimi. Morocco has a population of almost 37 million and they generate about 8.2 million tons of household waste each year, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. "This is equivalent to 811 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower -- enough to fill 2,780 Olympic swimming pools with compacted waste," said Hassan Chouaouta, an international expert in sustainable strategic development. Of this amount, "between six and seven percent" is recycled, he said. - Ancient way of life - Their morning alarm went off "early", according to one volunteer, New York-based French photographer Ronald Le Floch who said the initiative's aim was "to show that it's important to take care of this type of environment". Another helper was Ousmane Ag Oumar, a 35-year-old Malian member of Imarhan Timbuktu, a Tuareg blues group. He called the waste a direct danger to livestock, which are essential to the subsistence of nomadic communities. Anthropologist Naimi agreed: "Plastic waste harms the Saharan environment as it contaminates the land, pasture, rivers and nomadic areas," he said. Pastoral nomadism is a millennia-old way of life based on seasonal mobility and available pasture for livestock. But it is on the wane in Morocco, weakened by climate change and with nomadic communities now tending to stay in one place. The most recent official census of nomads in Morocco dates to 2014, and returned a nomadic population of 25,274 -- 63 percent lower than a decade earlier in 2004. Mohammed Mahdi, a professor of rural sociology, said the country's nomads have "not benefited from much state support, compared to subsidies granted to agriculture, especially for products intended for export". "We give very little to nomadic herders, and a good number have gone bankrupt and given up," he said. Mohamed Oujaa,50, is leader of The Sand Pigeons group who specialise in the "gnawa" music practised in the Maghreb by the descendants of black slaves. For him, a clean environment is vital for future generations, and he hopes the initiative will be "just the first in a series of campaigns to clean up the desert". —AFP
