A framework agreement was signed on Friday in Rabat between the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication and the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development aimed at protecting geological heritage sites and the samples taken there. .
The convention was initialed by the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, and the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, on the sidelines of the conference and the exhibition “Le lion of the atlas: the echoes of a millennial roar”, having been the occasion to present for the first time the fossils of the lions of the Atlas which were discovered in the Moroccan archaeological sites while highlighting the story of this feline and which is anchored in time.
Speaking on this occasion, Bensaid indicated that this convention is part of the efforts and the growing interest in heritage, which must be accompanied by institutional measures aimed at structuring this area and further preserving this heritage.
This convention therefore makes it possible to counter illicit trafficking and to create heritage interpretation centers in order to bring the general public closer to this inexhaustible science, he noted.
The increase in skills and the wealth of heritage resources relating to humans or to fauna and flora, make Morocco a fertile ground for more discoveries and the desire to understand the eras of yesteryear, because, as the adage “understanding your past is to better understand your future”, he underlined.
On this occasion, the minister commended the efforts of Moroccan researchers from the National Institute of Archeology and Heritage Sciences, hailing the crystallization of the strong international cooperation that has taken place in this area of great importance.
“The bones in front of us, discovered in the cave of Bizmoune, were once lions that strewn the Moroccan forests, from Tetouan to Essaouira, determined to keep their traces and mark their territory of origin in all corners of the Kingdom,” he said.
And to add that these finds are therefore for Morocco, of great scientific and heritage value. They reveal, on the one hand, the great antiquity of the presence of the Atlas Lions on its lands, and on the other hand, an uninterrupted evolution until 1942, date of disappearance of the last Atlas lion in the wild state.
Morocco is the cradle of several archaeological sites of recognized universal value, several of them have highlighted the richness and diversity of a fauna that dates back several thousand years. Among the fossils discovered are those of lions and sui have made it possible to trace the history of this feline for more than 2 million years, we read in the argument of this conference and exhibition organized by the Ministry of Youth and culture at the zoological garden of Rabat.
