The Intersection of Slums and Environmental Justice in Morocco

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper is to address environmental justice in Morocco as it relates to slum life and slum relocation efforts. As such, the paper deals with the kingdom’s waste management activities in both rural and urban areas, and political policies that shape slum life and slum relocation. The research was gathered through close readings of Moroccan and non-Moroccan academic books and online publications, official reports, newspaper clippings, and websites regarding the topics at hand. After analysis of the data, it was concluded that throughout the past few decades the Moroccan government has been instituting topdown policies that marginalize slum communities and deny them environmental justice. However, evidence collected through this research also shows the government has been taking an increasing interest in environmental protection and waste management since 2006, and hopefully this trend offsets some of the negative impacts of its authoritarian policies on Moroccans’ access to environmental justice.