On the 11th and 12th of October 2017 took place in Rabat the 2º Congress of Regional Science Association of Morocco with the general theme “The Ambition of Sustainability from the Perspective of Territorial Complexity and Society of Risks”. With 85 participants, 89 presentations and 4 key speakers the Congress was a remarkable signal of the vitality of the Moroccan Regional Science Association and of the importance of regional science in Morocco and in Africa. Participants come from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameron, Benin, France, Portugal and Brazil, female and male, young and mature, rooted in the disciplines that compose regional science (economics, transport, agriculture, environment, planning and policy) and focusing the reality with sound methods, clear expositions and interesting results for the global literature on resilience and risk management; indicators of sustainable development; adaptation to climate change; territorial governance and regional development; ecosystem services; water and energy issues; and agriculture and food security.
The key speakers talked on stimulating topics: Reconversion of Mining Towns by Abdelaziz Adidi, Director de the Institute for Land Use Planning and Urbanism; Research Questions for Africa by Tomaz Ponce Dentinho from the University of Azores; Adaptive tools to address coastal risks by Maria Snoussi from the University Mohamed V in Rabat; and Trade in Water : constraints and perspectives by Eduardo Haddad from the University of São Paulo.
Next year, the third Congress of the Regional Science Association of Morocco will be in the North of the country, in Tangier or Tétuan. There an increasing number of participants are expected not only from Morocco and Africa but also from nearby European countries like Spain, Portugal and France. There are also sound plans to organize a regional science meeting in Tunes and within two years one more Regional Science Conference in South Africa. Soon the African Network of Regional Science Associations will be created to promote the diffusion of regional science in Africa.
