Residents of Kenitra in Morocco will be seeking shade in their very own Sonian Forest, as a nature reserve located in the city has temporarily been renamed after Brussels' "green lung".
The Sidi Boughaba Park in the northwest of the African country has been symbolically renamed after the Sonian Forest, south of Brussels, to show the solidarity between Morocco and Belgium in jointly fighting against the climate crisis.
In Brussels, the Tour & Taxis Park near the canal changed its name to Sidi Boughaba Park in November 2023. Several other Flemish and Brussels green spaces were then renamed to draw attention to the impact of climate change.
"The climate injustice is making itself felt everywhere here," Brussels State Secretary Ans Persoons, who initiated the name-change together with Belgian NGO 11.11.11 and local actors. She visited the nature reserve during her four-day mission in Morocco.
"The Sidi Boughaba nature reserve is an important refuge for Moroccans in times of heat stress and insufficient rainfall. As in Brussels, trees and parks provide just the necessary cooling," she noted. However, the local authority in the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra region has been seeing the effects of the climate crisis for some time.
Brussels State Secretary Ans Persoons pictured during a visit to the Sidi Boughadapark in Kenitra, Morocco, which is symbolically renamed the Sonian Forest to draw attention to climate change, on Thursday 22 February 2024. Credit: Belga / Stephanie Giebens
"There are major risks such as drought and water shortages," said Saad Uakkas, president of the 'Réseau Africain des Jeunes et Climat', an NGO that works with the manager of the park, Moroccan Ministry of Water and Forest Management. The organisation takes on the educational part.
Bearing the brunt
The park containing freshwater marshes is increasingly threatened by unpredictable temperatures, persistent drought and water scarcity, with human activity and lower water levels putting pressure on the survival of plants and animals. The reserve is now in danger of disappearing, threatening its natural protection against flooding, extreme heat and drought.
Els Hertogen, the director of 11.11.11, stressed that, globally, people are becoming victims of the climate crisis that they largely did not cause. "It is countries like Morocco that are bearing the brunt. These countries also often have less money to make themselves resilient to the changing climate," she said.
This was mirrored by Uakkas. "We need to focus on new technologies so that we can maintain water levels and biodiversity. At the same time, we need to ensure that we conserve natural resources. The future of the park depends on mobilisation, awareness, sensitisation and the work of civil society organisations, together with managers and local government."
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This common struggle connects the countries across national borders. The green lung that connects Brussels with Flanders and Wallonia is also experiencing the effects of climate change as dry and hot summers mean that the trees in the Forêt de Soignes are less resistant to natural enemies and have to be cut down more quickly.
Simultaneously, several civil society organisations in Brussels have been fighting the regional government on plans to cut down trees and remove green spaces (the latest example being plans to build new apartments in the Varda Ernotte public Park, located to the south of Ixelles). Renovations at Boondael train station would reportedly also result to the felling of 107 trees, despite the area being home to foxes, birds and a variety of plants.
