March 2014: The Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) has awarded a 2013 Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life to Aziza Jebbari for her efforts to increase the incomes and improve the living conditions of poor herders in rural Morocco as part of a project co-financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Moroccan Government, and implemented by UNIDO.

The project titled, ‘Participatory Control of Desertification and Poverty Reduction in the Arid and Semi-Arid High Plateau Ecosystems of Eastern Morocco Project,’ is centered in the oasis town of Figuig in the country’s eastern region, but extends over 3.5 million hectares of pastoral highlands, where 2 million small ruminants form the mainstay of the local economy. Aziza, the only woman trainer on the project and long-time resident of the region, has worked on the project since 2009 to promote sustainable land management practices. The project seeks to empower local communities by promoting capacity building for participatory rangeland management, investment opportunities for local animal production, and technologies for the restoration of degraded soils and storage and use of rainwater. [GEF Press Release]