Professor Noureddine Chaachouay is a Moroccan ethnopharmacologist and botanist and is presently a member of the faculty of the École Supérieure de l’Éducation et formation de Berrechid Universite Hassan First, Settat, Morocco. He is an academic whose path was characterized by a doctorate in the field of Plant Science in 2020 at the Faculty of Sciences of Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra. Chaachouay obtained a Master's degree in Climate Change, Adaptation, and Sustainable Development and a Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences in 2016 and 2013, respectively, in addition to several pedagogical and technical diplomas in 2013. These credentials form the basis of his interdisciplinary research in plant science and environmental studies. His dissertation doctoral research, entitled Floristic and Ethnomedicinal Study of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants in the Rif Region (Northern Morocco), is an extensive study on the biodiversity and traditional applications of the local flora. The work presents the experience of his skills in botany and Phytotherapy. His life career has been focused on taxonomy of medicinal plants, ethnobotany and phytotherapy having published several scholarly articles, book chapters and editorial book “The Comprehensive Guide to Hallucinogenic Plants”. These findings are manifested in his research work, which was rather devoted to both basic sciences and applied sciences. Chaachouay is an innovative and community-based researcher who has sought the development of plant-based therapeutic knowledge in both theoretical and practical setups. He is also engaged in peer review and editorial activity thus supporting the scientific rigor and encouraging scholarly communication. His achievements have been awarded some of the greatest awards. In 2023, Hassan First University honored him as the Young Researcher of the Year on the basis of an outstanding piece of scientific research. A year later, he was awarded the Young Scientist Award (Environment) through his work in the plant study and biotechnology, given at a worldwide conference organized by Aligarh Muslim University, India. These awards highlight his critical contribution in the botanical sciences. In addition to his research interest, Chaachouay is greatly engaged in Placing Students in mentoring and enhancing sustainable development. He employs teaching the botany science, ethnopharmacology, and climatic change to prepare the upcoming generation of individuals dedicated to environmental protection.Professor Ouafae Benkhnigue is a distinguished Moroccan botanist and ethnobotanist affiliated with the Department of Botany and Plant Ecology at the Scientific Institute, Mohammed V University of Rabat (Morocco). She is a member of the Flora of Morocco research team, where she actively contributes to the revision of the vascular flora of Morocco, the systematic and taxonomic updating of taxa in the National Herbarium (RAB), the restoration of herbarium specimens, and the enrichment of the collection through the integration of rare and endemic species. She also serves on the Editorial Committee of the Scientific Institute’s publications (Life Sciences section) and regularly participates in peer review and scientific writing activities. Her research spans a wide range of disciplines, including taxonomy, systematics, plant ecology, floristics, ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, remote sensing, biotechnology, and environmental sciences. She actively participates in the scientific valorization of Moroccan aromatic and medicinal flora, where she conducts studies on its diversity, traditional use, and active constituents. Professor Ouafae Benkhnigue is a member of the Organization of the Phyto-Taxonomic Investigation of the Mediterranean Area (OPTIMA) in other nations. Her paradigm of study is based on the interdependence of science, cultural heritage, and sustainable development, and, therefore, promotes new approaches to protect the biodiversity and manage the environment, often with a collaborative effort with the locals. She has written and lectured a significant amount of literature on the topic of plant diversity and ecology, conservation intervention, ecological management, and the prestige of aromatic and medicinal plants, both nationally and internationally. Ouafae Benkhnigue is engaged in active research and development of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in Morocco and in the Mediterranean in general through her scientific and collaborative work.Zidane Lahcen is a botanist and ecologist, a Professor of higher education in the Faculty of Biology at Ibn Tofail University in Kénitra, Morocco, where he has been teaching and conducting research since 1991. His scientific studies focus mainly on floristics, flora ecology, ethnobotany, and ethnopharmacology, with a special focus on how botanical knowledge can be used in agriculture, biotechnology, and valorisation of the medicinal and aromatic plant Moroccan flora. Professor Lahcen is also recognized as an authority in environmental sciences, particularly in the implications of climate change on the environment and the biogeographical influence of plant taxa, thereby contributing to the understanding of ecological dynamics and informing approaches to conserving biodiversity. Being a true believer of scientific training, he has overseen more than twenty doctoral students all of whom have been good at defending dissertations in various fields such as ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, floristics and plant ecology and ecotourism just to name a few and this shows just how important he has been in molding new generations of scholars and in the spread of botanical and ecological knowledge. He, also, leads a national program aimed to the inventories and conservation of plant species in Morocco, and other efforts include georeferencing botanical biodiversity, discovering endangered taxa and advocating their conservation. Due to his contribution in science and pedagogy, professor Lahcen holds a central role on issues of sustainable development, biodiversity conservation and advancement of environmental sciences in Morocco.
