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Morocco: an unprecedented drought raises fears of a serious water shortage

2022-03-23T11:52:30.344Z


Morocco is hit hard by its worst drought in nearly 40 years, a disaster that raises fears of severe water shortages


"The country has not recorded such a situation since the beginning of the 1980s", observes Abderrahim Hendouf, specialist in water policies.

If in the past, the recurrent drought in Morocco mainly affected rural regions and the agricultural sector, it currently weighs on "the supply of drinking water in urban areas", recently acknowledged the Minister of Equipment and 'Water, Nizar Baraka, in front of the deputies.

Since September, the country has suffered a severe rainfall deficit after a heat wave with an alarming drop in dam reserves of nearly 89% compared to the annual average, according to official statistics.

This deficit is "a worrying indicator even if it has been reabsorbed by preventive measures, in order to avoid water shortages", acknowledged Abdelaziz Zerouali, Director of Water Research and Planning, in a television interview.

Two large cities, Marrakech (south), tourist capital, and Oujda (east) have avoided the worst by resorting since the end of December to groundwater to ensure their supply.

Faced with this emergency situation, the government released in mid-February an aid program for the agricultural sector (first contributor to GDP (14%)) ahead of tourism and industry but also the main source of jobs in rural environment.

Moreover, with the war in Ukraine, the country also fears a shortage of wheat.

water desalination plants

Except that the authorities are aware that this issue must be tackled in the long term.

“It is necessary to change our vision on the question of water.

Climate change is real and we must prepare to face it”, warned Abdelaziz Zerouali during a conference on “the right to water” in Rabat.

With only 600 cubic meters of water per inhabitant per year, Morocco is well below the water shortage threshold.

By way of comparison, water availability was four times greater than 2,600 m3 in the 1960s. Beyond environmental factors, “high demand for water” and “overexploitation of groundwater” contribute to putting pressure on water resources," said Minister Nizar Baraka.

In an article for the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis (MIPA), researcher Amal Ennabih estimates that water scarcity is "deeply linked to the way this resource is used for irrigation, consuming around 80% water from Morocco each year".

A situation that is all the more alarming since only 10% of agricultural land is irrigated, notes expert Abderrahim Hendouf, who pleads for a reduction in the excessive weight of the agricultural sector in the Moroccan economy.

For its part, the Cherifian kingdom relies mainly on the desalination of seawater to remedy the water deficit, a polluting process because of the brine produced.

But the start of the program is facing "delays".

The Casablanca desalination station is still under construction and the economic megalopolis is threatened with a water deficit from 2025.

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2022-03-23

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