The municipality of Tetouan officially commits to the Mediterranean project NATURIncMed, supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), marking a new step in integrating nature-based solutions into local urban policies.
The inaugural meeting, held online in January 2026, brought together project officials as well as political and technical representatives from the municipality. Among the participants were the second deputy mayor, Nassar Fakih Lanjiri, and the technical focal point for the project, Kasmi Hicham, head of the division for major projects and delegated management monitoring. AECID was represented by Vicente Ortega Cámara, director of the Spanish cooperation office in Morocco, accompanied by his team.
Beyond its formal nature, this meeting served as a genuine strategic dialogue space. The discussions allowed for an examination of the convergences between the objectives of the NATURIncMed project and the urban development priorities of Tetouan, as well as the possible synergies with ongoing cooperation programs. The challenge is to integrate nature-based solutions into a comprehensive vision of spatial planning.
The NATURIncMed project aims to support Mediterranean cities in enhancing their resilience to climate and environmental pressures. It emphasizes improving public spaces and urban quality of life from a social inclusion perspective, integrating green infrastructure into planning processes, and strengthening the technical and institutional capacities of local authorities.
Tetouan’s involvement comes in the second phase of the program, already underway in the cities of El Mina, Madaba, and Gabès. The Moroccan municipality thus becomes the fourth pilot city in the initiative. This extension aligns with the Masar Al’An program, under which NATURIncMed is implemented with AECID funding, addressing identified needs for climate adaptation and sustainable urban transformation.
Next steps will focus on training local teams in participatory diagnosis, its implementation on the ground, and strengthening knowledge exchange among partner cities. The goal is to consolidate a Mediterranean network of municipalities committed to placing nature at the center of their resilience and sustainability strategies.
Through this partnership, Tetouan is part of a regional dynamic aimed at rethinking urban planning in light of climate challenges, making green infrastructure and ecological solutions a structuring lever for territorial development.