Morocco's natural resources are of high quality and require adequate protection. Between 1942 and 1991, four national parks were created in Morocco: Toubkal (1942), Tazekka (1950), Souss-Massa (1991), and Iriki (1994).

The protected areas plan, developed in 1996, identified 154 Sites of Biological and Ecological Interest (SIBE), representing almost all of the country's natural ecosystems, and proposed the classification of about ten of them as national parks. The implementation was intended to strengthen the national network of protected areas through the creation, in 2004, of four additional national parks: Al Hoceima (Al Hoceima Province), Talassemtane (Chefchaouen Province), Ifrane (Ifrane Province), and the Eastern High Atlas (Errachidia and Khenifra Provinces).

Khnifiss National Park, created in 2006, is the Kingdom's first Saharan national park, covering a total area of ​​606,000 hectares. In April 2008, the High Commission established Khenifra National Park, covering a total area of ​​approximately 750,000 hectares. This brings the number of national parks, supposedly created under the 1934 National Parks Act, to ten (10).

In addition to this network of national parks, Morocco has established three Biosphere Reserves, which promote solutions that reconcile biodiversity conservation and its sustainable use. These are:

• The Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve (RBA), covering an area of ​​2.5 million hectares in the southwest region, declared in December 1998;
• The Southern Morocco Oases Biosphere Reserve (RBOSM), declared in 2000, in the oases of southern Morocco, covering an area of ​​approximately 7,200,000 hectares;
• The Intercontinental Mediterranean Biosphere Reserve (RBIM), covering an area of ​​nearly 1,000,000 hectares, shared roughly equally between the Moroccan and Spanish shores. The relevant part of Morocco is located on the Tingitane Peninsula (Province of Chefchaouen, Tetouan, Fnideq, Fahs-Anjra, and Larache);
• A fourth Biosphere Reserve, called the Cedar Grove Biosphere Reserve in the Middle Atlas, was adopted by UNESCO in February 2016. Once established, it will encompass the three national parks of Ifrane, the Eastern High Atlas, and Khenifra, covering an area of ​​approximately 500,000 hectares, and will allow the "Atlas Cedar Grove" ecosystem to be declared a World Heritage Site.