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The Kingdom of Morocco decisively increased trade and diplomatic interaction with countries of Western and Sub-Saharan Africa since the mid-2000s, supplementing Morocco's long-standing foreign policy orientation toward the 'West'. Under the guidance of King Mohammed VI, the country gradually sought regional political rapprochement after several decades of relative isolation. The push for regional integration is taking place across multiple policy fields and goes hand in hand with a more assertive demeanour on the stage of international diplomacy. Environmental sustainability – encompassing renewable energy production and environmental protection measures – is a policy sector on which the autocratic Moroccan regime places special emphasis. This paper traces Morocco's 'green turn', the development of environmental sustainability policy under King Mohammed VI in context of Morocco's general foreign policy realignment. It analyses Morocco's environmental engagement at the foreign policy level in terms of soft power activity and gives tentative insight on Morocco's path of becoming an influential regional player in Western and Sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prominence accorded the environment and the importance of public engagement in sustainable development issues during the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development underscores the role of environmental information in achieving local environmental sustainability goals. The paper examines the role of the Nigerian press, one of the most vibrant in sub-Saharan Africa, in reporting environmental issues at the turn of the twenty-first century. Two national newspapers, The Daily Times and The Guardian were content analysed for coverage of environmental issues, including climate change, for the 5-year period 1999-2003. The degree of prominence and nature of environmental reports are assessed. The results show that energy issues dominate reports on the environment in both newspapers while climate change, a critical global environmental issue is accorded very little attention. Both newspapers assessed are yet to actively feature environmental articles tailored to issues of everyday life as majority of environmental publications are news reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]