Rabat Activist Urges City to Halt Planting of Non-Native Palm Trees

In Salima Belmokadem’s eyes, the planting of hundreds of Washingtonia palm trees on the sidewalk of the Rabat corniche constitutes an error in terms of landscape, ecology and culture. "These useless columns in terms of shade, biodiversity and landscape aesthetics have no connection with the Atlantic or Mediterranean environment. Moreover, a large number of them suffer throughout the year, which makes them in a state of continuous deterioration," she stated, recommending to "seriously reconsider this excessive planting of palm trees and schedule their replacement with species adapted to the landscape and ecological needs of the corniche users."

For the movement, it is necessary to adopt a sustainable and comprehensive territorial approach aimed at preserving, in a professional manner, the heritage of century-old alignment trees. Important avenues such as Mohammed VI Avenue, a structuring axis with great landscape quality, require, according to the organization, urgent intervention in their afforestation or replacement of their palm trees or other trees. It recommended replacing the Washingtonia palms with large trees to complement the alignment of the magnificent century-old eucalyptus trees.

Regarding the existing and century-old trees, the movement says it considers them as a tree heritage of very high value. According to the organization, the trees require increased expertise and responsibility in terms of maintenance and care, particularly with regard to pruning and trimming. Avenues such as Mohamed Belhassan El Ouazzani Avenue (Souissi district) and the Avenue of the Royal Armed Forces (El Menzeh district) suffer from a significant decrease in the number of alignment trees due to the lack of replacement of the disappeared trees, the movement observes.