The drying up of one of Morocco's longest rivers, which flowed into the Mediterranean, threatens agricultural land and biodiversity.
“Its flow has weakened because of the overexploitation of its waters.
The phenomenon is dramatic, ”says ecologist Mohamed Benata, photographing the mouth of the river located a few kilometers from the seaside town of Saïdia (northeast), near the Algerian border.
Worse still, the sea water rises "for 15 km" in the bed of the Moulouya, which travels more than 500 km from the Middle Atlas mountains, pushing the residents to abandon the exploitation of their land because of excess salinity. Direct impact of the phenomenon, accentuated by the drought: on the right bank, in the rural commune of Karbacha, the melons are pale yellow and misshapen, their dry stems cover several hectares of Ahmed Hedaoui's plantation. “Even wild boars don't want it,” he laughs. "Everything is dead because of the scarcity of the rains and especially the salinity of the river", notes the farmer.
Aridity is expected to gradually increase in Morocco until 2050 due to the expected drop in rainfall (-11%) and the increase in temperature (+1.3 ° C), according to a report from the ministry. of Agriculture.
It will lead to a "decrease in the availability of irrigation water by more than 25%", he predicts.
"What saddens me the most is seeing my children forced to work elsewhere, on other farms, when we have our own land," laments the farmer Abderrahim Zekhnini.
On the left bank of the Moulouya, it is not better: "We cultivate these lands from father to son but the situation is deteriorating, things are going from bad to worse", confides bitter Samir Chodna.