UN Declares May 10 as International Argan Tree Day, Honoring Moroccan Heritage

Intangible cultural heritage of humanity and ancestral source of sustainable development, the argan tree, the tree of Morocco, will now be honored on May 10 of each year at the national and international level. A date chosen according to the maturation cycle of the fruit of this tree and which stems from a Moroccan initiative, launched in February 2020 during an event organized by the Kingdom in partnership with the National Agency for the Development of Oasis Zones and the Argan Tree (ANDZOA), the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), FAO, UNESCO and WHO.

The event had ended with the launch of the negotiation process for the resolution on the International Argan Tree Day, but unfortunately, the process was suspended due to the impacts of the health crisis on the working methods and conditions at the UN. Nevertheless, the Moroccan permanent mission to the United Nations resumed the negotiations in early 2021, resulting in the process and the text of the resolution validated by the vast majority of the UN community.

Moreover, this UN resolution does not ignore the colossal participation of the argan sector in the establishment of 17 objectives in the 2030 agenda and the achievement of sustainable development in the economic, social and environmental dimensions. It also made it possible to highlight the uses of argan oil in traditional and complementary medicine and in the culinary and cosmetic industries, not to forget the financial empowerment and emancipation of rural women. Next May 10 will then be the very first day of national and international celebration of the argan tree.