FYJC Admissions: Management Quota Option Creates Confusion Among Students

Dish hit b...

The use of firewood is a necessity for certain sections of the Moroccan population, but the productive capacity of the forests is not sufficient. Focus on a disturbing dilemma. The month of January begins its second half and the upheavals of Mercury are not lacking in being felt. If the Kingdom has not yet experienced a - long-awaited - "good episode of snowfall", the weather is no less cold and the chimneys are often well stocked. However, the use of wood as fuel for heating or cooking is much more widespread in mountainous areas than in large cities. “In town, heating with wood is considered a luxury since other solutions exist and it is not systematic to have a fireplace at home. In contrast, in rural areas in the mountains, people often have no choice but to use wood for heating and cooking. It is rooted in their way of life,” said Mohamed, a resident of the city of Azrou. “The favorite firewood of the inhabitants of the region is holm oak since a single log can burn for a long time. It is also a species that is available in the region”, continues our interlocutor. Urban versus rural At the national level, Moroccans consume more than 11.3 million tons of firewood each year, of which more than 6 million tons come from forests, 2.1 million from fruit trees and 3 million from biomass agricultural. 88% of the total of these volumes is consumed exclusively in rural areas, mainly in mountainous areas that experience harsh winters. The remaining 12% is used in urban areas, 68% of which is dedicated to various areas (hammams, collective ovens, etc.), and 32% is used by households and individuals. In forest areas, households with usage rights can directly harvest dead wood from the forest. A painful chore that is most often carried out by women. When there is snow or dead wood is no longer available in sufficient quantities, families have no choice but to buy wood by the ton to meet their needs. Illegal harvesting “When they are forced to buy firewood, families most often get their supplies from dealers in the region who have the necessary approvals. There are also people who offer to sell firewood in an informal and therefore illegal way. Prices are cheaper than in the formal circuit and stocks are often hidden”, confides a resident of the Aïn Leuh region. According to figures from the National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF), inhabitants from the Middle Atlas region consume on average nearly 10 tons of firewood per household annually. Although these volumes can sometimes fluctuate depending on the harshness of the winters, the fact remains that the inhabitants of mountainous regions depend on this fuel for their daily use. It is also admitted that the total volume of firewood consumed at the national level exceeds twice the productive capacity of Moroccan forests. Strategic approach Aware of this problem, the Department of Water and Forests has been working for several years to limit the pressure of firewood harvesting on forest ecosystems (see article opposite). In this respect, the new roadmap "Forests of Morocco 2020-2030", launched on February 13, 2020, is considered as an opportunity for the implementation of the wood-energy strategy, by involving forest users by " the adoption of a participatory approach taking into account their needs”. The overall objective is to contribute to the sustainable management of forest resources by increasing the supply of wood-energy, reforestation, as well as by promoting practices that save consumption to adjust the demand for wood-energy. It should be noted that to date, the electrification of the rural world is mainly used by the inhabitants for lighting and rarely for heating due to the high price of electricity. Omar Assif 3 questions to Ilias Barka "For firewood, prices have remained more or less stable in recent years" Ilias Barka is responsible for operations at CHEMINBAT, a company specializing in the construction of chimneys, and an intermediary in the distribution of firewood. fire.- Is the firewood marketed in Morocco exclusively produced locally? - Today, if we refer to the market prices of firewood dedicated to individuals, the average price per kilogram of wood is around 2 dirhams. At this price, and given the weight and volume of the wood, it is not at all interesting to import. It is for this reason that the firewood that is marketed in Morocco is actually most often produced at the national level. - The health crisis and inflation have impacted the prices of construction timber. Is this also the case for firewood? - It is difficult to compare the firewood market with the timber market. Construction wood is often a noble, imported wood, and also involves quite specific characteristics that determine its price. For firewood, prices have remained more or less stable in recent years, despite the health crisis and inflation. That said, the increase in fuel prices has not been without impact since we have noticed that firewood sellers, who for a certain tonnage delivered free of charge, have started to charge for transport. - Is the fireplace in Morocco a real heating solution or rather a luxury product? - The fireplace can at the limit be perceived as a luxury item in certain large cities of the Kingdom, but it becomes a necessity in certain regions known for their cold climates. This in itself is quite normal since large cities like Casablanca, Rabat or Marrakech experience only two months of cold on average per year. The “chimney culture” is therefore not as deeply rooted there as in Moroccan mountain towns or villages, or even in other European countries. That said, the construction of chimneys is beginning to become widespread with individuals or developers who build houses with sufficient space. Collected by O.A. Info...Graphic Market Firewood between the organized market and the informal economy According to the National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF) website, the average annual commercial production of firewood, recorded over the past three years, is around "366,000 cubic meters from cuts of holm oak mainly from the Middle Atlas, and by-products of cuts of cedar, and eucalyptus”. However, this officially marketed wood represents only a small part of the total national energy consumption of firewood. This is explained by the fact that national forest production is subject to two types of economy. “The official one, which arises from the markets and trade dealing with the annual harvest of capital growth. The other informal, for subsistence and self-consumption, which develops inside and on the periphery of the forest massifs often without taking into account the possibilities of the ecosystem”, explains the ANEF. It should be noted that the volumes of wood from the informal economy fluctuate from year to year and remain very difficult to estimate precisely. Strategy Improved ovens to reduce pressure on forests For several years, the Water and Forests Administration has implemented various activities whose objective is to reduce pressure on forest ecosystems due to excessive extraction of firewood. The "wood-energy" strategy adopted in this regard aims to "sustainably manage forest resources by reconciling the increase in wood-energy resources with the reduction of consumption, and by making the use of wood and its replacement by other fuels. Thus, improved ovens have been designed and distributed annually to forest users who live in priority regions. In 2024, the total number of improved cookstoves distributed will amount to nearly 60,000 units. “The objective of this program is to reduce the consumption of firewood by improving the energy efficiency of the ovens used by an average of 50%. It also makes it possible to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the rural population in terms of hygiene and health, in particular for rural women”. This program has a positive impact on improving the state of equilibrium of forest ecosystems since it has made it possible to reduce the energy deficit in firewood (losses in capital of standing timber) by 7,500 T/year during the year 2015, and could achieve a reduction of around 150.000T/year (15%) by 2024, which is the equivalent of the production of the exploitation of 4000 ha of plantation of eucalyptus adult at 10 years or of holm oak adult at 40 years.

After having triumphed over Lille and Lens, Nice offered Olympique de Marseille, at the Stade Vélodrome, on Sunday evening (1-3).

The 13 Hours of Thursday February 16 returns to these families who fled the war to come and settle in France. This is the case of Oksanna and her two little girls aged 10 and 12 who settled in a town in the Rhône where they found a taste for life again.

This Saturday, March 11, 8 a.m.: it's the opening day for trout fishing! A date all the more expected as the season was interrupted last summer due to drought. The rains of the past few days have helped to restore some vigor to our rivers. But before going to tease the fario and the rainbow, the day before D-Day, it was time for preparations.

Vi Alleged...