Dr. Lahbib is the Founder & CEO of ‘Green WATECH’ social enterprise, research scientist and an inventor. He was worked as a Researcher at the National Center for Studies and Researches on Water and Energy (Morocco), having graduated from the University of Cadi Ayyad with a PhD in Environment and Water. He was trained on Water and Wastewater Management at the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Shimane University (Japan). From 2013 to 2016, Dr. Lahbib has worked as an expert consultant at the International Institute for Water and Sanitation, where he was a member of international initiatives and cooperation projects with international organisms like USAID, GIZ and JICA.
Dr. Lahbib invent a new wastewater treatment technology called Multi-Soil-Layering system (Patent 2017), which offers a new practical solution for wastewater management in unsewered communities in African and developing countries. Dr. Lahbib also contributed to the organization of more than 20 international conferences and workshops, and he published several scientific articles in the field of water and sanitation. His research interests include Climate change; Environment; Environmental stresses, Hydraulics; Microbiology; Pollution control; Reuse; Waste treatment and management; and
Water quality. Lahbib has published extensively and notably in the field of environment, and he was involved in several international projects.
In reconnaissance of his excellent entrepreneurship achievement, Dr. Lahbib received numerous awards around the world in Africa, Asia and in Europe. Recently, Dr. Lahbib won the ‘Cleantech Innovation Program 2018’, the ‘Mediterranean Water Heroes contest 2018’, and the ‘Green Africa Innovation Booster 2018’. In 2018, Dr. Lahbib nominated as the Ambassador of the ‘Next Einstein Forum’ in Morocco, an African initiative connecting science to humanity.
In the Moroccan kingdom, science has significantly developed in recent years. The Moroccan government has been implementing reforms to encourage scientific research in the Kingdom. While research has yet to acquire the status of a national priority in Morocco, the country does have major assets that could transform its R&D sector into a key vehicle for development. The national system of research in Morocco is guided by different elements, such as the pronouncements of the king, reports of special commissions, five-year plans, and the creation of a special program for the support
of research. The Moroccan government’s Five-Year Plan for 2017-2022 articulated the priority lines for research.
The declared objectives of this plan were to align S&T research with socio-economic development priorities. Sectors declared as priority areas were: agriculture, health fisheries, potable water, sanitation, geology, mining, energy, environment, climate change, information and telecommunications technologies, and transport.
This is the reason why, Africa Science Week – Morocco 2018 aims to promote science in Morocco, through igniting the scientific spirit in young Moroccan students particularly young Moroccan girls and give tribute to innovators particularly working in rural areas.
