The meeting held last 9 January in Al Hoceima aimed to coordinate complementary projects operating for the implementation of the Al Hoceima National Park in Morocco.  The projects are coordinated by the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation and SEO/Bird Life together with the Haut Commissariat aux Eaux et Forets et la Lutte contre la Désertification (HCEFLCD).  At the event, the Spanish Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales and Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, donors of the projects of IUCN Med and SEO/BirdLife respectively, were invited to open the workshop with HCEFLCD.  Moreover, all relevant local and national authorities as INRH (Institut National de Recherches halieutiques) research centres and environmental and social NGOs as MDPL and AZIR were present to actively participate at the discussion and at the planning of the works.  The meeting was productive and identified the different roles and results that will be expected for the two year time frame of the projects.

The Al Hoceima National Park is located along the Mediterranean cliffs of Morocco, in the unique ecoregion of the Alboran Sea.  The Park hosts high Mediterranean and Atlantic marine biodiversity, a variety of habitats (vertical cliffs, superficial caves, sandy bottoms) and important and vulnerable species such as osprey (Pandion haliaetus), red corals (Corallium rubrum) and giant limpets (Patella ferruginea). The Al Hoceima National Park is one out of the 4 Marine Protected Areas (MPA) present along the Southern coast of the Mediterranean, which together represent only 4.3% of existing MPAs in this region. Supporting our members in solving the constraints to MPA implementation and management is one of the main goals of IUCN Med and contributes to meet the CBD target of creating a coherent network of Mediterranean MPAs.