Recent logging operations in the Maâmora forest have sparked intense emotions among environmental advocates and local residents. Several dozen trees have reportedly been cut down in various plots of this emblematic massif, considered the largest cork oak forest in Morocco and one of the main green lungs of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region.
According to local sources cited by Assabah, these interventions are part of efforts to improve forestry roads and manage wooded areas. However, the lack of official communication detailing the exact extent of the logging and its specific objectives has quickly raised questions. How many trees have been felled? What are the affected areas? Under what technical framework and with what compensatory measures? These remain unresolved inquiries.
Environmental organizations and several civil society representatives argue that the ecological sensitivity of the site demands complete transparency. The Maâmora is not an ordinary forest. Covering nearly 130,000 hectares, it hosts precious biodiversity and plays a crucial role in soil stabilization, regulating the local microclimate, and combating sand encroachment. It also serves as a vital area for relaxation and recreation for thousands of citizens.
Forestry professionals note that logging can be part of a normal management cycle aimed at promoting natural regeneration of the population, limiting disease spread, or reducing fire risks. However, ecologists emphasize that any such intervention must include a clear reforestation plan and a precise rehabilitation timeline, or else it risks exacerbating the fragility of an ecosystem already under multiple pressures from urban expansion, overgrazing, and climate change effects.
Beyond the current episode, this issue rekindles the debate on the governance of natural spaces in Morocco. In a context where environmental concerns are increasingly prominent in public discourse, the management of the Maâmora appears as a credibility test for the country’s policies on preserving its national forest heritage.