Actors of civil society and researchers from the city of the Strait have recently expressed their concern regarding the state of the natural sites of the Cap Spartel zone, west of the city, notably the Perdicaris urban park (Rmilat forest) and the Hercules caves.

These actors and experts in the field of environment and heritage have sounded the alarm regarding the degradation of the forest space and the absence of a strategic vision for the valorisation of the historical site of the caves, managed in an anarchic manner and left to the mercy of merchants who have invested the premises without real control.

In this sense, the Observatory for the Protection of the Environment and Historical Heritage of Tangier, an associative body created last summer, organised a field visit to inquire about the environmental situation at the level of this zone, which experiences a high influx of visitors, notably at the weekend and during public holidays.

The Observatory, which brings together experts, associative actors, and researchers, highlighted the importance of the Perdicaris site, classified as a Site of Biological and Ecological Interest (SIBE) and which constitutes the only forest considered as an urban natural park in Morocco.

The park, which extends over an area of nearly 70 ha in the heart of a wetland at the meeting point of the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean, contains a great natural diversity and a wealth of fauna and flora unique in Morocco, but has been undergoing the impact of man for years, such as the dumping of rubbish and hiking on uncontrolled paths, which little by little reduces the regeneration potential of plant species and encroaches on the living environment of animals, particularly migratory birds.

The Observatory, which welcomed the efforts of the High Commission for Water and Forests and the Fight against Desertification for the protection of this green lung of the city of Tangier, called for the creation of a multi-party body for the promotion of this site at the environmental, social, and development levels.

Concerning the Hercules caves, the observatory noted that this site, which constitutes the emblem of the city of the Strait, is in a state of disorder due to the profusion, inside and outside the caves, of shops, catering places, and car parks in a manner that is not studied and unworthy of a site of great natural and historical importance.

Civil society actors are demanding the implementation of an integrated upgrading plan for this space in order to make it a tourist and leisure site of international level, through, among other things, the reorganisation of commercial activities and the protection of the caves against the risks of degradation and erosion.

Note that the League for the Defence of Consumer Rights, among other associations and observers, has recently stepped up to the plate to sound the alarm regarding the situation of the natural sites and heritage of the city of Tangier.