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The AguelmamAzegza lake is located in the Middle Atlas mountain range, this region consists of carbonate rocks of Lias. It is the best-watered and richest region in Morocco in terms of wetlands, especially natural lakes, rivers and fresh springs. The lake’s water supply is ensured by the inflows of water in the form of underwater sources fed by precipitation (rain and snow) following tectonics and the genesis of karstic formations by the dissolution of carbonate rocks. The declining trend in lake levels in recent years results from the decrease in precipitation which decreases during these years.

Investigating habitat selection and ecological factors trade-offs is a major avian ecology topic which is closely implicated for conservation purposes. Studies dealing with the impacts of ecological factors on wintering Spoonbills are overall scarce. Here, we used Principal Component Analyses (PCA) and Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) to test the relevance of geographical, environmental and anthropogenic factors in predicting the occupancy and abundance of the Eurasian spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia) during 2008-2011 within 28 Moroccan wetlands. The Eurasian Spoonbill mean annual occurrence was 59.2% (± 1.5% SE; 95%CI: 56.3%-62.1%). Among the occupied wetlands, 15 (83.3%) were regularly occupied. We found that the Eurasian spoonbill occurrence was negatively related to distance to coastline, altitude and human presence, whereas its abundance increased significantly with increasing mudflat areas. These findings highlight the significant effect of human presence in selecting wintering sites, but not in the prediction of abundance. Management strategies should therefore address specific attributes of coastal wetlands and should carefully consider the effects of habitat use especially those related to mudflats. We further suggest guidelines for future studies to understand the dynamic of Eurasian spoonbills wintering in the region.

Tourism merits on natural spaces are not exhausted, namely economic dynamics, development of the local population’s life conditions, species conservation and awareness of environmental protection. However, the damage caused by Coronavirus to natural and rural spaces has impacted such merits negatively, for example, suspension of tourism and recreation activities. Further, the rebirth of ecotourism will be slower and necessitates profound changes in travel design and service delivery. Hence, sustainability, sanitary and regulatory measures will probably help manage ecotourism systems. Nevertheless, these will be affected by the increase in exploring relations between nature and wildlife regarding zoonotic and vector-borne infections and the fragility of biodiversity. Because of his mobility, a tourist appears to be a potential pathogen transmission factor of infections to natural areas, local communities, ecotourism destinations, his country and the crossed ones. New procedures would reduce travel and control traveler’s behavior, and interactions between travelers and wild animals. The slowdown in demand may thus hinder the development of ecotourism. Sensitivity to epidemiological risk and vector-borne diseases will be greater and the need for health-friendly tourism will be further strengthened.

COVID-19 pandemic has had huge impacts on multiple industries and sectors, not just ecotourism and wildlife protection in Morocco. Ecological health and wildlife are a critical resource for the country’s tourism sector recovery. Conservation is considered as one of the industries that are hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the threats facing biodiversity and protected areas have been exacerbated during and following, the outbreak with practices such as poaching, wildlife trafficking, and forest logging activities resumed due to the country lockdown and ecotourism collapse. Conservationists should take emergency actions in the short-term to help rural communities and grassroots organizations and review waysto achieve conservation and sustainability goals in the post-pandemic era.

The population of the African continent is significantly increasing which has given rise to societal, economic and environmental changes. This will generate an increase in demand for food, water and energy. Thus, strategies for sustainable management of natural resources need to be adopted urgently in order to match the future needs and to ensure sustainable development on the continent. The Water Energy Food (WEF) nexus is one the avenues for studying the current and future interactions and interdependencies of the WEF sectors under different scenarios and challenges in the effort towards establishing sustainable use of natural resources. Policies around the nexus approach are few or absent at the continental and countrylevels. This paper is a first review on the adoption of the Nexus in two model African countries, Morocco and South Africa. The review compares the water, energy and food sectors and the related national policies, plans and frameworks. The data related to the WEF Nexus revealed key difficulties of availability in both countries. A comparative analysis of the situation in both countries demonstrated differences in policies relating to the WEF Nexus across the sectors: water, energy, and agriculture. Additionally, the paper explores the relevance of technology-assisted frameworks for the WEF nexus and also analyzed risks to agriculture and food security in the context of the reviewed countries.