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Environment and development
in coastal regions and in small islands |
 |
CSI info 5
6. WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS
November the 25th was dedicated to
work and the presentation of projects to the different Working
Groups. The sessions were distributed according to the following
themes:
Working Group 1 : Management of water resources in the coastal zone
Working Group 2 : Impact
and consequences of coastal erosion
Working Group 3 : Socio-architectural revitalization of the historic urban
fabric
Working Groups 4 and 5: Socio-economic activities and tourism and: An integrated
approach to development
A group of recommendations and concrete
proposals on the future of the town of Essaouira and on the
identification of inter-town partnerships was drafted at the end
of each Working Group session.
A number of recommendations and specific
supplementary actions were drawn up at the second session of the
Project Steering Committee, held at UNESCO, Paris, 30-31 March
1998. This meeting allowed those responsible for the project, the
members of the Steering Committee, the experts who took part in
the seminar in Essaouira, and representatives of Alghero and
Saint-Malo, the two towns in partnership with Essaouira, to
assess the development of the project and to determine a
frame-work and working methods for the various activities
underway.
6.1 Working group 1 : Management of Water Resources in the Coastal
Zone
| Chairman: |
Mr. Abdelaziz El Hebil, Director of
the Hydraulic Zone of Tensift |
| Rapporteurs: |
Professor Giovanni Barrocu, University
of Cagliari, Representative of the Italian Committee of
the IHP |
| |
Dr. Kees R. Menardi, Netherlands
National Institute of Public Health and Environment |
| UNESCO Follow-up: |
Alice Aureli, International
Hydrological Programme |
General Recommendations
In the framework of the recommendations of the
conferences of Rio 92 and Istanbul 96, Working Group 1
recommends, above all:
- The application of an integrated
management of water resources as a working
methodology in the Essaouira region. The participants
recommended considering the city in the context of its
natural environment so as to integrate management of the
historical urban environment into that of the natural
resources on which the social and economic development of
Essaouira depends. Accent was particularly placed on the
integrated management of surface water resources,
subterranean water resources, treatment of waste water
and the impact of liquid discharges into the sea.
- The participation of the local
community and the civil society in decision-making. Given
the sustained methodological effort through the UNESCO
project, the participants in Working Group 1 stressed the
importance of the participation of the local population
and civil society in decision-making. The experience of
Saint-Malo in this regard was considered as being of
great interest, and it was suggested that it could be
shared with Essaouira and other cities in a spirit of
partnership within the network of small coastal cities
created during this seminar.
Following the general recommendations stated
above, the Working Group then decided that certain urgent
priority actions were necessary:
- The cleaning and rehabilitation of the
sewerage system and the wastewater and rainwater drainage
system;
- The treatment of wastes prior to their
discharge into the sea (the lack of management and upkeep
of the wastewater drainage network has a serious negative
impact on the marine environment, especially with respect
to the fishery, on buildings and monuments, on the living
conditions of the inhabitants of the old town);
- The creation of a partner service of the
municipality with an autonomous technical and financial
capacity, charged with wastewater treatment;
- The support of UNESCO for all the
initiatives to train municipal and provincial
technicians, through training programmes at universities
or service agencies;
- Encouragement of the exchange of
experience through the network of partnership cities and
the provision of on-the-spot expertise and consultations,
especially with urban planners and urban hydrologists;
- Identification of a pilot area to develop
a programme of public awareness and local participation
in the management of urban water resources.
For the technician training programme, the
following themes were considered:
- management and monitoring of the city
sewers
- wastewater treatment
- impact of the infiltration of water into
the buildings
To make such projects operational, it is
necessary to analyse specifically the real possibilities for
financing. In this regard, UNESCO could help Essaouira's partner
cities to present proposals for the various projects to the
European Community, bilateral co-operation agencies, and various
other agencies and development banks.
The seminar judged it necessary to define the
work tools and methods that would ensure the integration of the
management of the city with that of the natural resources
available. The development of an integrated approach methodology
for the historical coastal cities of Europe and the Mediterranean
was considered to be the main component of the project now
underway. The participants in the Working Group 1 called on
UNESCO to support the execution of the following studies, which
were also considered to be of equal priority:
- effects of seawater intrusion
- identification of indicators for the
integrated management of the urban and environmental
resources.
Considering the amount of data available in
Essaouira, Working Group 1 recommended, as suggested by the
Monographs on the water resources, prepared by the Ministry of
Public Works, the collection of all existing and supplementary
data, with a view to elaboration of a rigorous operational
programme for the adequate management of the water resources.
The rehabilitation of the drinking-water
supply network and the wastewater drainage system in the old town
is therefore considered to be a leading priority or of equal
importance with the building and historical monument
rehabilitation measures and the implementation of new
money-making activities.
Several proposals and offers were made by the
towns present at the Working Group 1. These proposals will
be the subject of discussions between the Essaouira authorities,
the project technicians and the representatives of the coastal
towns. These proposals were submitted to UNESCO for transmission
to the competent authorities for the preparation of possible
bilateral agreements.
Following the second session of the Steering
Committee, the following proposals were made:
- The town of Alghero, represented by Mr.
Dettori, offered to organize a first training course for
two technicians from Essaouira, in the integrated
management of urban water, with the company responsible
for water in Rome or in Alghero. Alghero can thus make
available to Essaouira a computer programme on water
management adaptable to the town of Essaouira. Essaouira
should select two candidates and propose dates for the
training. The same proposition was made by Professor
Aureli for the town of Sciacca, and by Mr. Pottier for
the town of Saint-Malo.
- The water companies for the
above-mentioned towns should send to the municipality of
Essaouira a summary of their field of action to allow it
to propose candidates for training.
- Mr. Ben Messaoud, Urban Environment
Director for the city of Tunis, proposed to send to the
municipality of Essaouira a copy of the Tunisian law
governing the pre-treatment of industrial waste water
(especially those from the tanneries) prior to their
discharge into the drainage system; this law was
envisaged having in view the sensitization of the
industrialists to the problems of wastewater treatment.
- It would then be desirable for Essaouira
to receive a specialist in the effects of infiltration of
waste water and drinking water on buildings, to make a
diagnosis and propose solutions. The town of Saint-Malo
could identify such a specialist in the technical
services of the town, to undertake a one-week mission to
the old town of Essaouira.
6.2 Working group 2: Impact
and Consequences of Coastal Erosion
| Chairman: |
Mr. Abdelslam Messoudi, Director of
Operations of the Port of Mohammedia |
| Rapporteurs: |
Professor Wolfgang Rosenthal,
Oceanographer, Member of the UNESCO project Steering
Committee |
| |
Professor Arno Schmid, President of
IFLA (International Federation of Landscape Architects) |
| UNESCO Follow-up: |
Dirk Troost, Chief CSI |
General Recommendations
In the framework of the UNESCO project Urban Development
and Freshwater Resources: Small Coastal Cities, and in the light of the recommendations of the
conferences of Rio 92 and Istanbul 96, Working Group 2 proposed the
design of a project on the restoration of the historical north
ramparts of the town of Essaouira and the specific analysis of
the local environment to explain the causes and consequences of
the main damage to these ramparts. The Chairman, rapporteurs
and discussion leaders examined in detail the present state of
degradation of these ramparts and drew up a number of proposals
and priority actions to be undertaken.
| (i) |
State of the ramparts |
| |
- ramparts and adjacent houses are
in an advanced state of decay
- the foundations of the ramparts
are crumbling in places
- rampart pavements are in a state
of decay
- the departure of people from
houses built against the ramparts entails the
need for extra housing
- part of a coral reef, that formed
a natural protective barrier for the ramparts,
has been lost
- sediment around the ramparts is
depleted
- run-off, waste water and rain
water have infiltrated the ramparts
|
| (ii) |
Technical and financial situation |
| |
- urgent action to plug the leaks
has been taken
- there is no maintenance
- municipal budget increase to cover
the cost of resettlement
- lack of capital to safeguard the
ramparts
- lack of technical co-ordination
amongst those involved
|
| (iii) |
Causes of damage to the ramparts |
| |
- action of the sea (swell)
- chemical action of wastewater
discharge on the ramparts and the rocks
- local wind action
|
Proposals and priority actions to be taken were
thus decided. An order of priority was considered.
| (i) |
Proposals and actions of top
priority |
| |
- rational exploitation of the
mission reports and the studies made by Messrs.
Rosenthal, Ropert and Perrot, and by the LPEE
(Public Test and Design Laboratory)
- necessity of technical
co-ordination and concerted action among those
involved in the project to protect the ramparts
- start as quickly as possible the
restoration of the ramparts, including the
protective barrier (breakwater)
- exploit Saint-Malo's experience
- fill the cavities observed at the
base of the ramparts
- study the suitability of restoring
the beach at the foot of the ramparts by the
addition of sand
- increase knowledge of the
sea-level data (statistics and in situ
measurements)
- provide routine pH measurements of
the sea water at the foot of the ramparts.
|
| (ii) |
Short-term action |
| |
- consider ways of protecting the
ramparts (construction of a breakwater)
- mobilize the funding needed for
the implementation of the proposals and
recommendations.
|
| (iii) |
Medium-term action |
| |
- avoid the discharge of waste water
into the sea close to the ramparts
- inform the people inhabiting the
houses along the ramparts
|
| (iv) |
Long-term action |
| |
- restoration of the old town under
the integrated development project
- protection of the benthic algae,
which are overexploited but which help to
maintain a certain stability of the sea bed along
the ramparts.
|
At the second session of the Steering
Committee, new proposals were put forward. Various
scientific exposés on the problem of coastal erosion off the
ramparts of Essaouira and the basic solutions available were
evaluated by Professor Roland Paskoff, a specialist in coastal
erosion and a new member of the Steering Committee, and Professor
Wolfang Rosenthal.
The following points were dealt with:
| Breakwater: |
- efficient but landscaping costs
high
- confined shore water
- aggravated pollution
- very high cost
|
| Infilling: |
- the reconstitution of a beach goes
against nature; it would be necessary to maintain
the sand in a zone subject to wave attack, which
is impossible
|
| Geotextile: |
- these are not stable enough;
problems and cost of installation
|
| Rocky dyke at
the foot of the ramparts: |
| |
- least inconvenient
- disfigures the ramparts.
|
Proposals were made to prepare a joint mission
by Professors Paskoff and Rosenthal to determine the feasibility
of placing large blocks of rock on the limestone rock platforms
that are in the bay in front of the ramparts.
This solution would be the most harmonious
vis-à-vis the present environment; it would however be necessary
to carry out simulations of major storms with a suitable computer
programme to evaluate the effect of this new rock structure on
the reduction of the wave impact on the ramparts.
It would also be necessary to verify whether
these rocks would become projectiles during major winter storms.
A mission to follow up the work on the seaward side of the
ramparts was carried out in April by Mr. Perrot with the Association for the Development of Exchanges between
France and Morocco (ADEFRAM).
6.3 Working group 3: Socio-Architectural Revitilization of the Historic
Urban Fabric
| Chairmen: |
Mrs. Fouzia Imanssar, Director of the
Rabat/Salé Urban Agency |
| |
Mr. Louis Pottier, Deputy Mayor of
Saint-Malo |
| Rapporteur: |
Mr. Serge Santelli, Urban Planner,
teacher at the Paris School, Belleville |
| UNESCO Follow-up: |
Mrs. Brigitte Colin, SHS/SRP/HH |
6.3.1 General Recommendations
In the context of the objectives of the UNESCO seminar
Urban Development and Water Resources: Small Coastal Cities, and especially objective No. 2 (identification of
preferential areas for operational and co-operational
partnerships between Essaouira and the municipalities present at
the seminar) and No. 3 (reinforce and support ongoing actions
undertaken by the local and national authorities to stimulate
bilateral and multilateral co-operation in the safeguard of the
environmental and socio-cultural identity of Essaouira, while
ensuring its integrated development), Working Group 3 took into
account the work of the Summer University of Essaouira of
September 1997 and the presentation of projects identified by the
various local public services and associations. It proposed to
study the situation with Essaouira's potential partners attending
the seminar, namely:
- the municipality of Saint-Malo (the
urban-planning, cultural and patrimonial affairs
services, and the town's museums)
- PACT ARIM International
- PACT ARIM Regional Ile-et-Vilaine
(Brittany, France)
- ADEFRAM, Association for the Development of Exchanges
between France and Morocco
- School of Avignon, an international
school for training in traditional building crafts
- ASM, Association for the Safeguard of
the Old Town of Tunis.
Realistic prospects for co-operation amongst
these various organisms and the local regional and national
authorities charged with integrated development of the town of
Essaouira (urban area and old town) were foreseen.
In particular, the following specific actions,
taken in order of priority, should be supported; some of them
have already been started:
| (i) |
Actions initiated
locally by the Agenda 21 Group in collaboration with the
French |
| |
- Restoration and upkeep of the
north ramparts (seaward side) following the
recommendations in the report by Mr. Alain
Charles Perrot, Chief Architect, Historic
Monuments and Buildings, Paris. This project
requires urgent action. Work was begun in the
winter of 1997/8: two Compagnons du Devoir, two
maâlems and ten apprentices have been assigned
to repair the seaward side of the ramparts.
- Launch of the revitalization of
the Kuwait Street block by the Moroccan National
Shelter Upgrading Agency (ANHI) and PACT ARIM
International. These agencies were involved
because of their experience in the Maghreb
(Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria) and especially
their understanding of the juridical and
ownership constraints in old towns.
- Establishment, with ADEFRAM, of a
training work-site to teach young people
traditional building crafts. During the training
they will rehabilitate the former French
Consulate and restore, following the craft rules,
a building that will serve later as a family-help
centre.
|
| (ii) |
Actions already
started by the Moroccan authorities |
| |
- A development plan for the old
town has already been launched by the General
Directorate for Urban Planning, Architecture and
Land-Use Development, of the Ministry of the
Interior, to complement the Master Plan for
Development and Urban Planning, it should take
into account all the studies already made of the
old town in close co-operation with the public,
designers and historical monuments services. This
document will be used as a Preservation Plan to
be included in a dossier that will be submitted
to the World Heritage Centre for the inclusion of
Essaouira in the World Heritage list.
|
| (iii) |
Actions for which a
partner is sought |
| |
- Conduct of a photogrammetric
survey of the bridge and the Naval Gate, with a
view to carrying out a study including costs of
restoration, in concert with the Ministry of
Culture and the corresponding services of the
municipality of Saint-Malo. A summary dossier of
the work required for the rehabilitation of the
bridge and the Naval Gate will be sent to UNESCO
to obtain funds to carry out the urgent
consolidation work.
- Acquisition from French,
Portuguese or Spanish architects of a detailed
and specific order book for carrying out the
restoration of the ramparts built by Theodore
Cornut.
- To inform and seek the participation
of the public in the work on the ground, with
existing associations. A space has been assigned
to Environment and Development in the Third
World (ENDA) Maghreb in
the Palais de Justice. The actions taken by ENDA
Maghreb are directed by Mr.Kamel El N'Dari,
especially as regards the urban environment (eg,
the fountains of the old town, the vegetable
gardens of the green belt, improvement of the
scalas, etc.). This NGO also has the task of
informing and preparing the population.
- A preliminary study to define the project
"Binan El Madina" and establish how the
local population might accomplish it.
|
To ensure the success of an integrated approach
to the development of Essaouira, which is already benefiting from
offers of support from national and international partners, it
seems desirable :
- to strengthen the juridical and
administrative structure of the Planning and Urban-Action
Centre's "Cellule Medina" in the framework of
the Urban Pact No. 2 at the municipal level
- to create a regional structure with the
power to carry out and to enforce the various decisions
in the field of urban planning and development of the
town, in co-operation with elected municipal and
provincial officers. This structure should co-ordinate
the contributions of the national and international
partners in the various projects underway in Essaouira.
- that the various projects for Essaouira be
supported at the governmental level to allow the
implementation of agreements with the potential partners,
be they the municipalities, participants in the UNESCO
project Urban Development and Freshwater Resources: Small
Coastal Cities, or the
bilateral or multilateral co-operation agencies, NGOs,
United Nations Specialized Agencies, etc.
At the completion of the second session of the
Steering Committee, the reinforcement of certain actions was
considered necessary:
- To give the greatest attention to problems
of rehousing of families to facilitate the
rehabilitation of the houses in the old town, as well as
the work on the inventory of the state of all the
buildings in the old town (20 students from the School
Paris-Belleville under the direction of Mr. Santelli
undertook the survey of 23 buildings in the old town,
from 15 to 28 March 1998). A map on a 1:500 scale will be
drawn to show each building and its function, so that
little by little a detailed survey of all the buildings
could be achieved to:
- establish, prior to the
presentation of the preservation plan now being
drafted by the architects of the Ministry of the
Interior, a general diagnosis of the immediate
rehabilitation possibilities, in the short and
long term, for potential investors
- evaluate the number of families to
be rehoused as a function of the possible ways in
which the buildings might be rehabilitated
- study, with the ANHI, the housing
requirements
- make the inhabitants aware of the
need to maintain their houses.
- Take greater care in the training of
members of the "Cellule Medina" in techniques
of architectural surveying, the knowledge and application
of traditional materials and the preparation of projects
on the re-use of ancient buildings. The training will be
carried out in conjunction with the services of Alghero,
Saint-Malo, Tunis and ICCROM in Rome, the School of
Avignon, and the architectural technical universities of
Spain.
In accordance with the agreement being
negotiated between Spain and UNESCO on co-operation between
technical architects and the UNESCO project participants, the
following actions will be taken this year:
- three Spanish students will be sent to
Essaouira in July/August 1998 to continue the surveys;
- two architects from Essaouira will attend
a training course in a Spanish university to gain
experience in computer-assisted design.
6.4 Working groups 4 and 5: Socio-Economic Activities and Tourism and: an
Integrated Approach to Development
Within the specific objectives of Working
Groups 4 and 5, the Chairmen, Rapporteurs and Discussion Leaders
examined the following projects:
- United
Nationa Development Programme
(UNDP) support programme on the environment in Essaouira
- creation of a Green Belt for Essaouira
- mobilization and participation of the
local inhabitants
- development of alternative tourism.
Discussion of these projects by national and
international experts, representatives of the partner
municipalities and of local associations raised numerous
indications of the need for action, and several recommendations,
were put forward.
6.4.1 General Recommendations
- The participants in the seminar insisted
on the need to adopt, in an effective manner, an
integrated approach to the development of Essaouira,
through a strategy of development of various sectors
(tourism, fishery, agriculture, crafts) so as to
diversify the possibilities of socio-economic
development.
- They recommended the rapid creation of a
project co-ordination group, with the aim of essentially
guaranteeing an intersectorial and interdisciplinary
analysis of all the project components.
- In the same perspective, the participants
stressed the importance of the development of a precise
strategic framework for the project as a whole, to which
all activities should be referred (distribution of the
resources in time and space).
- To ensure that the projects envisaged
(under study or ongoing) truly contribute to the
sustainable development of Essaouira, the participants
strongly recommend that everything be done to
ensure an effective participation of the local population
and activist groups, by studying and elaborating all
useful modes for their integration into decision-making,
from project conception to completion, via their
evaluation.
These modalities should be translated into:
- improved communication with the public
about the project and actions underway; working documents
and communications should be translated into Arabic
- special attention to be given to women, to
encourage them to participate in the project, specially
in the local associations
- re-examination of the role of
associations, as links between the population and
international organizations
- greater attention to the environmental
education aspects, from intentions to practice.
In this effort to involve the local population,
a central role will be played by Agenda 21 and Environment
and Development in the Third World ENDA-Maghreb.
6.4.2 Specific Recommendations
Specific recommendations emerged from the
discussion and analysis of the projects underway (green belt,
mobilization of the population, development of alternative
tourism, UNDP programme).
| (i) |
The Green Belt |
| While recognizing the
undeniable qualities of the project under consideration,
and stressing the courage required to limit the expansion
of the town, the participants nevertheless recommended
that: |
| |
- the name "green belt" be
replaced by the term "natural belt"
- the impact, of the stabilization
of the dunes and the construction of a dam on the
Oued Ksorb, on sediment transport along the coast
and on beach equilibrium be studied in detail
- a detailed hydrological study be
undertaken to among other things locate and list
the potential uses of lagoons (collection of
run-off water, freshwater ecosystem, epuration of
waste water, irrigation reservoirs), and to
assess the risk of soil salination
- the public (e.g., the population
of the Skala district) should be closely involved
in all phases of evaluation, elaboration and
execution of the project
- that all solutions that would
allow waste water recycling for irrigation of the
natural belt should be studied and developed, and
that, in this context, the use of renewable
energy, especially wind energy, should be
encouraged.
|
| (ii) |
Mobilization and participation of
the population |
| Considering that the
primary resource of Essaouira is its inhabitants and that
they will be the primary beneficiaries of the development
effort made, as well as being privileged participants,
the participants in the seminar agreed that the
participation of the population of Essaouira in the
ongoing process should be encouraged in accordance with
the modalities of the local community itself. The
participants therefore asked that the population be
associated as closely as possible with the
decision-making and with the execution of the projects
under consideration. To do this, their creativity should
be stimulated, and efforts aimed at development of their
skills should be reinforced. |
| (iii) |
Tourism |
| The participants in the
seminar all recognized that the cultural, architecture,
historical, and environmental characteristics of
Essaouira will encourage tourism, which is vital to the
town's economy. For this potential to be an effective
source of development for all, it was recommended: |
| |
- that special attention be given to
a concerted definition of a development strategy
for this sector, leading to the adoption of a
Charter for Sustainable Tourism for Essaouira drafted
in the framework of the programme
"Localizing Agenda 21", to serve as an
essential element of dialogue with the tourist
operators
- that the choice of
"monocultural tourism", which is risky,
be avoided as far as possible in favour of
integrated development of new forms of tourism
that could drive the development of related and
interdependent sectors such as handicrafts,
fishing and inland agricultural production
- that the authorities responsible
for the tourist industry assess and promulgate
alternative forms of tourism (watersports,
ecotourism, cultural tourism).
|
| The importance was also
stressed of considering such tourism, even in its
alternative forms, as an industry requiring major public
and private investment, so that the conditions for
harmonious development could be achieved. To this end,
the participants in the seminar recommended that a
detailed analysis be made of the constraints relating to
the water cycle (supply, distribution, collection,
epuration), especially as concerns the old town, the
major tourist attraction in Essaouira. |
| (iv) |
Handicrafts |
| As for tourism,
diversification of the local handicrafts industry was
recognized by all as being a necessity. It was
recommended, however: |
| |
- that, to the development of forms
of "decorative" handicrafts, the
conservation and/or development of
"functional" forms of handicraft
(boat-building, carpentry, agro-foods) should be
added to support of the traditional economic
activities of Essaouira
- that a "craftsmen's
village" be created in the heart of the
town, to provide craftsmen with not only the most
suitable infrastructure for their activities but
also the support required for training, promotion
and exchanges (re-use of the Spanish Consulate
after rehabilitation).
|
In addition to the general and specific
recommendations emanating from this workshop, a number of new
issues were raised during the second meeting of the Steering
Committee.
- Regarding handicrafts, the
University of Cagliari, which is already working with the
University of Marrakesh, may undertake a regional study
on tourism in the province of Essaouira. The
University proposes to receive 2 or 3 trainees from
Essaouira to evaluate the various alternatives developed
in Italy, especially to produce quality objects of
cultural value under the "Essaouira" label, as
is already the case for objects in silver and thuya wood.
- In the fishery sector, it is
necessary to support all the various activities, from the
small boat-building yard to the canneries, including all
the artisanal activities connected with this field. Some
elements were discussed for the preparation of a project
between Italy France and Morocco "Training of Youth
for Fishing" to be presented to the EU (involving
the towns of Alghero, Essaouira and Saint-Malo).
The town of Saint-Malo offered to train technicians
(mechanics and master fishermen) in one of the town's
schools: documentation on this school will be sent to
Essaouira to aid the selection of candidates to follow
this training. Also, it was proposed that specialists
from Saint-Malo come to see the existing installations in
the port of Essaouira and to submit their recommendations
to the municipality.
- Regarding the green belt project,
which was supported by all the experts, a dossier has
been submitted to the EU by the municipality of Essaouira
and the UNCHS. The project
will include the establishment of family vegetable
gardens in conjunction with the non- governmental
organization (NGO) Environment and Development in the Third World
(ENDA) Maghreb.
Such a project, comprising water-retention basins, would
provide a solution to the problems of flooding and water
retention for the whole of Essaouira's urban area, as
well as the enrichment of the buffer zone between the
town and the surrounding wooded dunes. Essaouira has
requested the support of the towns in the network to give
their support to the dossier submitted to the EU.
- The project Steering Committee, in the
light of the composition of the Cellule Medina (3
architects, Mr. Hbibi, of the Ministry of Cultural
Affairs, and his team, Miss Messous, architect of the
Ministry of Housing, and Mr. Massiri, in charge of the
Cellule Medina) recommended its reinforcement by
specialists in socio-economics to be able to deal with
all the problems of the old town.
- The Committee strongly recommended the
creation of a Web site for Essaouira. This site would put
the town in direct communication with other towns,
partners and institutions (universities and NGOs). In
this way, the partner towns, Alghero and Saint-Malo,
could put on their own Web sites information on the
tourist potential of Essaouira and photographs of the
town.
A request for the establishment of a Web site
for Essaouira and the publication of a brochure on ecotourism
will be submitted to UNESCO by the local authorities. The
dissemination of this brochure in Europe will be ensured by the
towns participating in the project.
