Morocco’s Oued Noun Site Poised for UNESCO World Heritage Status

A study day was organized by the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco (ARM), the National Institute of Archeology and Heritage Sciences (INSAP) and the Heritage Directorate of the Ministry of Culture.

The theme was: "Project to list the Oued Noun basin as a World Heritage Site". On the sidelines of this Day, the UNESCO official noted that World Heritage and Morocco have a long history.

With more than sites inscribed on the World Heritage List and 3rd in Africa, Morocco ratified the World Heritage Convention in 1975, added the same official, who recalls that "there are many exceptional prehistoric sites in Morocco, in addition to urban ensembles, oasis systems, geological sites, industrial heritage sites, as well as great diversity, in terms of heritage from the colonial period".

However, the UNESCO official deplored the fact that most of the Moroccan sites inscribed on the World Heritage List are urban, at the expense of natural sites.

According to him, the proposal for the inscription of a property on the World Heritage List is an adventure, a commitment on an exciting long journey and an opportunity to rediscover the site from the angle of the World Heritage.

"It is a very important experience that calls on very diverse skills such as historians, geologists, archaeologists, geographers, urban planners, among others," he added.

Returning to the potential of the Oued Noun basin, the teacher at the University Mohammed V in Rabat, Mustapha Naïmi, explained that it is a unique space that enjoys a strategic position that has given it a major economic role as a commercial crossroads for caravans.

Recounting the history of this heritage which, according to him, combines the sedentary spaces of the oases and the nomadic activities, Professor Naïmi stressed the need to enhance and promote this space which has contributed to the enrichment of national architecture.