فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
The main hall of the Boulemane Provincial Governorate hosted, yesterday Thursday, January 15, 2026, starting at 11:00 a.m., an expanded preliminary meeting devoted to examining the opportunities and potential for establishing the Eastern Middle Atlas Geopark in Boulemane Province. This strategic project, with scientific, cultural, and territorial dimensions, aims primarily to enhance and promote the region’s rich geological heritage.
Click here to view all photos.
The meeting was held under the effective chairmanship of the Governor of Boulemane Province, Mr. Allal El Baz, as part of an approach seeking to integrate the latest scientific data into a vision for sustainable territorial development. This comes particularly in light of recent scientific discoveries made by Moroccan and foreign researchers at several geological sites belonging to local communities in the province, including Anjil and El Mers.
Among the most notable discoveries are rare scientific findings of fossilized teeth belonging to giant dinosaurs of the “Turiasaur” family, in addition to remains of the armored dinosaur Spicomellus afer and other remains of ornithischian dinosaurs. These discoveries further strengthen Boulemane Province’s scientific standing on the map of geological and paleontological research.
The meeting was attended by the Secretary-General of the Provincial Governorate, the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, representatives of the Fes–Meknes Regional Council, local authority officials, presidents of the concerned local councils, and representatives of related decentralized administrative sectors, including energy transition and sustainable development, culture, tourism, and water and forests. The meeting also saw the participation of researchers and university professors specializing in geology, paleontology, and sustainable development policies, as well as civil society actors active in geotourism and ecotourism.
The proceedings included in-person presentations and others delivered via videoconferencing, all of which emphasized the importance of establishing the geopark in achieving sustainable territorial development for local populations living near geological heritage sites, given its educational and recreational role and its contribution to stimulating the solidarity economy and developing mountain tourism. The presentations also highlighted Boulemane Province’s significant scientific potential and called for improving the nomination file with a view to submitting it to UNESCO, while strictly adhering to internationally recognized standards.
In this context, the experience of the M’Goun Geopark in Azilal Province was highlighted as a pioneering model that can serve as a reference in shaping the Eastern Middle Atlas Geopark project.
The meeting concluded with a guidance speech by the Governor of Boulemane Province, in which he stressed the need for all stakeholders to pool their efforts to ensure the success of this initiative. He affirmed that the project would give the province a distinctive identity as an important reservoir of geological wealth. At the same time, he called for the immediate launch of practical action programs to bring the project into existence as soon as possible, proposing the establishment of an association to lead the project, with the priority of turning the geopark into a genuine lever for integrated and sustainable development in the province.
Source: Fes News Media
