Context and challenges

A small, picturesque mountain city in an exceptional setting, Chefchaouen earns its living primarily from tourism. The main challenges it presently faces are:

• Improving the quality of life of citizens and tourists by enhancing the built environment, encouraging the use of alternative, nonpolluting means of transport and providing better public lighting
• Developing economic activities to reduce unemployment, especially of young people and women, and anticipate the upward trend in energy prices
• Preserving its environment and making better use of its natural resources: closing the open landfill site, combating deforestation and the pollution of water courses
• Meeting the vital needs of people living in the new informal settlements springing up around the city
• Anticipating the very heavy impact of climate change in the region

Objectives and solutions

• Know, control and reduce the energy consumption of the municipality, citizens and professionals through awarenessraising, advice and putting tools in place to monitor and analyse consumption in buildings, transport and public lighting
• Enhance local technical skills in sustainable energy management through training public officials, councillors and professionals in the building, tourism and trade sectors and networking stakeholders at local, national and international level (partnership with the PACA region of France)
• Develop a participatory approach to environmental policy formulation by setting up a Participatory Energy, Climate and Environment Council to include together representatives of all population groups (economic sectors, associations, etc.)
• Share this approach with other areas: capitalization of good practice and skills transfer via the Moroccan EcoCity Association (AMEV); sharing with other Moroccan local authorities

Partners

Financial partners

• European Union
• Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region
• AFD, French Development Agency
• Nexans Foundation

Technical partners

• AMEV, Moroccan EcoCity Association
• IDEE, Development, Environment and Energy Institute
• CUC, Chefchaouen Urban Municipality