Founded in l760 and located on a marvellous setting between the Atlantic Ocean and a dune forest, Essaouira has always been one of the most welcoming cities in Morocco, with diverse ethnic, religious and social groups coexisting peacefully. Growing from its original core-the harbour and the old Médina quarter-Essaouira presently has a moderately growing population of 70,000 and is still relatively isolated from the rest of the country. As the previous economic base of fisheries is in crisis, urban employment is concentrated in sectors like tourism and handicraft production.

Essaouira City Wall. Photo/Horst Rutsch

The economic decline has caused serious degradation of Essaouira's rich cultural heritage. Particularly affected is the old Jewish part of the town, the Mellah, which has become a squatter area for rural migrants. Continued expansion of the city inland is threatening the fragile nearby ecosystem of lagoons and dune forest, which induces in turn negative impact on drainage and leaves the city unprotected from winds carrying sand. As Essaouira continues to grow beyond its historical origin, the valorization of the rich cultural and natural heritage is of primary concern.

In the face of these environmental challenges, the municipal council lacks skilled personnel and investment resources, and is overshadowed by the provincial government even in local planning and management matters. The tradition of top-down planning by the central government system has limited consultation to academic discussions between professionals and bureaucrats, with little concern for the expectations of the population and their potential role in implementing the plans.

With the very survival of the city at stake, in early 1996, a few months before the Habitat II conference in Istanbul, the Localizing Agenda 21 Programme (LA21) of UNCHS (Habitat) took up the challenge to support the city to turn its development course. A broad-based city consultation workshop mapped out a vision for Essaouira as a spatially compact city, with vibrant cultural heritage, strong environmental values and a sustainable economy based on cultural and ecotourism.

In the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter. Photo/Horst Rutsch

The implementation of this vision is being progressively achieved through action planning, conflict resolution and resource mobilization, seeking commitments from all sections of the society. Key policy decisions are formalized through "Urban Pacts", which are dynamic, results-oriented, negotiated agreements between all responsible parties.

Five years later, spanning the period between Habitat II and the upcoming Istanbul+5 conference, an assessment of the results of this initiative reveal remarkable achievements, as well as many remaining challenges.

The newly created urban action planning centre has become the focal point for information, exchange and urban development projects. The centre empowers the municipal council to hold broad-based consultations around key planning initiatives and is now preparing the ground for a full-fledged "Agence Urbaine" to be established in Essaouira.

Before, non-governmental organizations mainly focused on cultural issues, leaving the entire responsibility for environmental management to the public and commercial sectors. LA21 has stimulated the development of a network of neighbourhood groups, which help take care of the environment, security and urban services. Collaboration between the city and architectural schools resulted in a rich database of the old town, which helps both the private and public sectors in mounting rehabilitation projects. A local task force was set up to implement an emergency repair programme for the sea retaining wall that is severely degraded and causing major damage to the foundations of adjacent houses. Affected families have been resettled while a long-term solution is being developed.

An urban buffer zone is being developed, limiting further housing sprawl into the dune forest. This area consists of a chain of public green spaces, vegetable gardens, leisure facilities and a natural park. Several components are now being implemented, with the help of government agencies and neighbourhood groups.

Recently, these achievements have been underpinned by a favourable local economy, as evidenced by the fact that this once dormant city now receives on average two applications a week for investments in the tourism sector.

This trend gives LA21 a new task in accompanying the city to convert some of the new private sector wealth into equitable investments for a sustainable urban future. To achieve these results, LA21 had to overcome serious communication barriers between government departments, as well as fight resistance against partnerships between the public, private and community sectors. Some partnerships are still fragile and require considerable coordination efforts to make local governance truly inclusive.

Essaouira is not yet in a position to champion the process further on its own. The national Government has a critical role to play to create a climate in which Local Agenda 21 can flourish. This can be done through awareness programmes and post-election training for elected officials, and by removing legal and administrative barriers, which hinder effective implementation of local sustainable development initiatives.

The Essaouira case illustrates how external initiatives can be catalytic to put Local Agenda 21 processes in place. The Belgian Government provides core funding for LA21, while UNCHS (Habitat) ensures the overall coordination of the programme, with methodological support of a consortium of Belgian organizations. An increasing number of local, national and international actors, including the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the UN Development Programme, are integrating their activities into the vision developed through the LA21 process.

Essaouira's story shows that patience is needed to see results come through. Several times, the initiative has been faced with reactionary forces, which threaten achievements and slow down the pace of implementation. Considerable flexibility is needed to allow for local actors to fully back politically or socially sensitive components of action plans.

Local elections and the appointment of new governors unavoidably cause delays in implementing certain activities. To accommodate this, a process of five years, with decreasing intensity of external inputs, seems to be an appropriate intervention period. However, in Essaouira, as much as anywhere else, the struggle for sustainable development has to continue, spearheaded by newly enfranchised groups of urban citizens.