Background There is a significant area of wetlands in Morocco (about 200,000 ha or 0.3 percent of its total territory), approximately 3,500 kilometres of coastal zones, and a network of rivers stretching for 10,000 kilometres. These humid zones are crucial for conserving biodiversity. The majority of them are, for example, used by migratory birds. However, these zones are suffering losses in their ecological, economic, and socio-cultural value. Despite conservation efforts, their situation is becoming increasingly worrying due to a lack of awareness among users and decision-makers. In order to strengthen national policy in the area of sustainable development of natural resources and to improve the development of wetlands, Morocco is member of the Comité Méditerranéen des Zones Humides (MedWetCom) under the Ramsar Convention. The High Commission of Water and Forests and the Fight Against Desertification is responsible for the management of the wetlands. Objectives The main objectives of the project were: to help Morocco in meeting its international responsibility to maintain biodiversity; to contribute to the sustainability of water resources; and to contribute to maintaining the productivity of wetlands. The project's specific objectives were: - the establishment of a Moroccan center for wetlands and the development of close cooperation between the Department of Water & Forests and Bird Life International through its partner in Spain, la Sociedad Espanola de Ornitologia; - to reinforce the management and coordination capacity of the Moroccan administration, focal point of the Convention on Humid Zones; - to foster the rational use of natural resources in wetlands and to promote the participation of local communities in the process; and - to increase the value of wetlands through eco-tourism, environmental education, and public awareness. Results The project has reached its initial objective with the establishment of the Moroccan Centre for Wetlands (CMZH), which is now strenghtening the management and coordination capacity of the Moroccan administration. The centre is structurally integrated into the administration and is located within the Zoological Parc at Témara, in the surroundings of Rabat. Some of the other main steps and achievements of the project include: In December 2003, a national workshop was organised in order to define a mid-term action plan for the Centre, beyond the period of LIFE financing. During this workshop, two sites were selected for the implementation of pilot projects: one concerned the development of an environmental education and public awareness programme (the Lake Afennourir area); the other related to the implementation of a participative approach to negociate a sustainable use of natural resources (the Merja Zerga laguna). The Merja Zerga biological reserve is a complex area, with very populous and economically active communities, and a large bioversity. Thus the project team first focussed on building a good knowledge of the area, and then developed a participative approach to define the project actions. This was an important and significant step.As a result of this participative process, proposed activities took into account the problems highlighted by the local communities, and economic alternatives for sustainable development were identified and implemented also in concertation with the “sustainable development for the Merja Zerga Ramsar site” project, cofinanced by the Spanish Agency for International cooperation. The Lake Afennourir is a mountainous lake of great ecological value, and as such was designated a Ramsar site in 1980. Focusing on environmental education and awareness raising, the project developed pedagogical kits for schools, with guidelines for the teachers. These kits were distributed to the schools in the area.