Within the framework of managing the risks of the impacts that wild boar can cause on farming practices, and in accordance with the recommendations of the Master Plan for Hunting initiated by the High Commission for Water and Forests and the Fight against Desertification (HCEFLCD), and in particular those relating to the control of populations of this wild species, the Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries and the High Commission for Water and Forests and the Fight against Desertification organised a scientific meeting on the subject on Tuesday, 5 June 2012, in Tiznit, in which officials from the supervisory ministry, the High Commission for Water and Forests and the Fight against Desertification, the National Agency for the Development of Oasis and Argan Zones, as well as elected officials of the province, representatives of the local administration, external services, the Hunting Federation, hunters' associations, the Federation of Chambers of Agriculture, the Regional Chamber of Agriculture, farmers, civil society, hunting managers, and Moroccan and foreign researchers took part.

Presentations on this issue were given on this occasion:

- National context: institutional framework and regulatory instruments by Hassan Mhenna, head of the hunting and inland fishing division at the HCEFLCD; ecology, dynamics, and behaviour of the wild boar by Professor El Ayachi Sehar of the IAV Hassan II; hunting practices and valorisation by Professor Moulay Youssef Alaoui.

- Regulation of the wild boar population: impacts on agriculture and wild boar population management measures. Impact on agriculture: case of Morocco, testimonies: National Federation of Provincial Associations of Rights Holders, users of the argan tree by Abderrahmane Aït Lhaj; network of associations of the arganeraie biosphere reserve by Abdellah Ahejjam.

- Wild boar population management measures: The French experience by François Klein, National Office for Hunting and Wildlife in France, studies and research department, and Michel de Galbert, general engineer of bridges, water, and forests in France; the American experience by Professor Stephen Ditchkoff of Auburn University, Alabama, USA; the Spanish experience by Dr. Antonio Bea, general director of Ekos estudios ambientales, S.L.U. in Spain.

This scientific meeting allowed Moroccan and foreign experts to exchange data on the current state of the wild boar population in the Souss-Massa region, the impacts on farming practices, and the regulatory and practical provisions in force for the regulation of the numbers of this erratic species which constitutes, in the unanimous opinion of the participants, a real scourge. These various questions were addressed according to a global vision and on scientific bases.

They said

Abdelâadim El Hafi, High Commissioner for Water and Forests and the Fight against Desertification: "The wild boar constitutes a very important problem. It must be known that the administration works in consultation with the populations, and for the populations. I think this problem is our problem to all in the face of the extension of this scourge and not a problem between the administration and the populations. The administration has been working for several years to put all the means, including the legal arsenal, to face this scourge. We have just followed several presentations and we have been able to note that this scourge is regional. It exists in France and in all countries. The damage is considerable. So, we are not the only ones facing this problem. I think this meeting constitutes a new start that will allow us to work hand in hand."

François Klein, of the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife in France, Studies and Research Department: "It is a relationship between an animal and agricultural operators that also exists in France, but at a different level since agricultural operation is organised differently in France and here. But the problem is strictly the same. And I have the impression of reliving today what I experienced at the beginning of my career where the compensation system put in place was just emerging. What we saw today is what we experienced in another era. It is a normal process in my opinion that will evolve towards the clarification of a certain number of points that were mentioned during this meeting, which will undoubtedly evolve thanks to the acquisition of knowledge that we do not have today. It is clear that on the subject of damage, there must be a conflict, a misunderstanding between farmers who, clearly, express their worries with a lot of heart and energy, but it is their life, and an administration that puts in place a system that needs to be fine-tuned, etc. So that is a start. And I think it is the start that is needed to be able to evolve towards a settlement of the conflict and the search for shared solutions."