Introducing Sister Park: Toubkal National Park in Morocco

This article was originally published in The Midden – Great Basin National Park: Vol. 16, No. 1, Summer 2016.

Toubkal National Park is located in central-western Morocco.

By Ben Roberts, Chief of Natural Resource Management

Great Basin National Park was contacted this January by the Department of Interior International Technical Assistance Program (ITAP), to partner with Toubkal National Park in Morocco as a Sister Park.

Mouflon, a subspecies of wild sheep

ITAP is funding the travel for this sister park arrangement, which includes technical assistance and international travel for both NPS and Toubkal staff. Beyond the agreement and funding for travel this year, there is no long-term commitment of funding or staff time. Ongoing communications beyond the exchanges, however, are encouraged. Toubkal staff need support for management of tourist use, management for and with the local community, infrastructure and facilities management, management of specific programs of conservation and restoration of habitats and key species of the park, and communication and partnership with the various stakeholders involved in the peripheral area of the Park.

Village in Toubkal National Park.

Toubkal NP is located in the High Atlas mountains in central-western Morocco. Established in 1942, it was the first national park in Morocco. It covers an area of about 93,900 acres and visitation is estimated to be about 40,000 per year. Most visitors come for the hiking, including summiting Jbel Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa, at 13,671 feet. The park contains rare Barbary sheep, leopards, macaques, and an alpine lake. Morocco has had people since the Paleolithic era and the park has over 5,000 years of documented human history. Something different about Moroccan parks is that there are many villages and agricultural uses allowed in them, due to their long history of use before the parks were created. Water from snowmelt feeds numerous streams used for farming and livestock in the area.