Rabat, June 30 - Moroccan beaches have met 90.33% of the requirements of the international quality norms, that is an improvement of 18.85% in the last nine years, revealed, here on Friday, Transport and Equipment Minister, Karim Ghellab.
The minister told a press briefing on the conclusions of the national report on water quality in the beaches for the 2005/2006 season that the beaches that are not in conformity with the norms comprise only 9.66% of the total beaches, against 24% nine years ago.
Ghellab said the amelioration is due to the Plages propres "clean beaches" program sponsored by the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, but also to the awareness-raising campaigns about the need to keep beaches clean.
The clean beaches program includes 300 "check points" (only 36 in 1993), and 3,149 sampling operations, said the minister.
For his part, Minister of Territory Development, Water and Environment, Mohamed El Yazghi announced the launching, in 2007, of the USD 5Bn-national sanitation and wastewater treatment program.
The program aims at reducing the pollution of water resources at a rate of 80% by 2015. It will be carried out in concert with the Interior ministry.
