Water, the most basic and essential resource on Earth, has become a privilege in many parts of the world. It is, without a doubt, one of, if not the most vital, resources for life. However, communities across the globe are increasingly facing drought and scarcity, and we have noticed a significant disparity in access to clean, drinkable water.
As of 2022, nearly 500 million people across 19 African nations lack access to clean drinking water. The progress in resolving this issue has been slow due to the overexploitation of these resources, the impacts of climate change, and the historical sequels of colonialism that continue to affect the continent. In the African context, the scattered population plays an important role in this disparity, particularly in rural areas.
In Morocco, for example, the number of citizens with access to water has declined over the years. According to the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH), approximately 7 million people, which roughly translates to 20% of the Moroccan population, don’t have access to safe and clean water. Fatimaezzahra Oubni and her family are among those being impacted. They come from a remote, arid village in Draa-Tafilalet, located in southeastern Morocco. “My mom and I would go to the mountains nearby to fetch water and food for our livestock,” she explains. This isn’t a one-off scenario: this is the daily struggle of many Moroccans living in rural areas with very limited access to water.
The Water Crisis in Morocco
Morocco has been experiencing a particularly severe period of water scarcity and drought. Drought is no longer just a cyclical phenomenon; it has become a permanent fixture in the country. Morocco has entered its seventh consecutive year of drought. The average available water has dropped drastically: while the average in 1960 was 2,000 cubic meters per capita, it’s now around 600 cubic meters, which is roughly a quarter of what it was just 40 years ago.
Water scarcity in Morocco is not only a biological and ecological issue but also a socio-political one. It influences who gets access to the remaining resources, with metropolitan cities like Rabat and Casablanca, as well as those further north, such as Tangier, still receiving potable water without restrictions. This, however, is not the case for many remote villages or towns near larger cities. “In the summertime, people in my village get water in their houses for only 3 days a week, for just 3 hours a day. That water is usually used for essentials only, like cooking and cleaning,” says Fatimaezzahra.
In these regions, water is a privilege. People must ration it, which often leads these people to make difficult choices about how to use the little water left. Farmers are among those most affected. Bouchaib, a small farmer from the Zaer region near Rabat, shares his experience: “There used to be a lot of water around this land, even if it hadn’t rained for a while. We could still fetch water from the wells. Now, they’re all dried up! It makes it harder for me to manage water.(I have to decide whether to save the remaining water for my family or to water the trees and plants.If I pick the latter, I may not have enough to meet my family’s fundamental necessities.”
Bouchaib is not alone in this challenging situation. Morocco’s economic reliance on agriculture exacerbates the strain on its water resources. Agriculture in Morocco accounts for 87% of the country’s water use, which generally leads to the overexploitation of groundwater and exacerbates issues with food security. This, in turn, causes food to become scarcer and more expensive for the average citizen who can’t afford it. As Mohamed Taher Srairi, an agronomist with over 30 years of experience, points out, “Morocco is structurally an arid to semi-arid country, as more than 85% of its total land area receives only about 400 mm of annual rainfall on average.”
How Morocco is Responding to the Water Crisis?
Due to various factors, including population growth, climate change, and traditional water usage patterns, Morocco has been exploring new and innovative ways to address the issue. With rapid urbanization and an increase in rural migration to larger cities, farmers are being compelled to adapt their traditional agricultural practices.
In recent years, Morocco has invested in desalination stations as a means of providing drinkable water to as many people as possible. While costly, these stations have shown positive results in larger cities. The implementation of a “water highway” has been established to transport water from the Sebou Basin to the Bouregreg Basin, serving around 2 million people spread across Rabat and Casablanca. According to the National Communication for the UNFCCC in 2021, “80% of drinking and irrigation water could be met through desalination processes if managed in an integrated manner alongside other water resources.”
Dams, which have always been integral to water management in the country, were prioritized after Morocco’s independence in 1967 as part of an expansion plan for irrigated areas. However, many reports show that declining rainfall and poor management of dams, which cause mud accumulation and rising temperatures, leading to faster evaporation, are diminishing their effectiveness. As a result, dams cannot be the sole solution. The construction of 20 new dams, with a total capacity of 5.386 billion cubic meters, is another step the country is taking to tackle the issue. Instead, Morocco needs specific, measurable and achievable, and long-term solutions that address the root issues behind water scarcity.
Recent data also reveals a significant disparity in terms of water availability and distribution across Moroccan regions, with northern areas benefiting more due to their proximity to the coast. In contrast, the southern, desertic areas suffer from a scarcity of water resources.
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Water Management
Recently, Morocco has developed many strategies aimed at preserving the biodiversity of its varied water ecosystems, all while establishing new policies that promote water solidarity and sustainability. Water management in Morocco is evolving through a multidisciplinary approach, taking into account the social, economic, cultural, environmental, technical, and political factors. A multi-level decision-making process, ranging from the local to the national level, will ultimately help involve both the private and public sectors, as well as the broader population, in finding accessible and convenient solutions.
For instance, Morocco has taken steps to combat water pollution by using treated wastewater for irrigation, especially in urban green spaces. The Ministry of Equipment and Water has even banned the irrigation of watermelon in drought-prone areas like Tata, as these high-water-demand crops would exhaust the already scarce groundwater in the region. While some farmers argue that these crops yield higher profits, the long-term environmental impact is unsustainable. Indeed, more traditional and resilient agricultural practices are — and should be— being promoted, such as conservation agriculture, which preserves soil moisture by avoiding soil tillage.
“There are now numerous initiatives aiming to reinforce the resilience of local communities, particularly in water-scarce areas, by promoting their traditional knowledge and better linking it to scientific analysis. This is particularly noted in the oases, which can be considered as pioneer fronts whenever it comes to the analysis of the possibilities to adapt to the effects of climate change.”, Mohamed explains. He proceeds: “There are, of course, all the initiatives aiming to encourage the circularity of water and even nutrients (soil minerals, for instance, through manure spreading) that were the pillar of traditional farming systems, and that will have to be encouraged to increase resilience in front of climate change’s impacts. “
These initiatives, once pillars of traditional Moroccan farming systems, are now being revisited as adaptive strategies in response to climate change.
The Social Dimension of Water Scarcity
Water scarcity is not simply an environmental issue; it’s also a social one.
“I’ve taken on loans just to help my family survive, buying water (gasoline to pump water out), supporting the farm, and covering daily needs.”, Fatimaezzahra shares. “There’s no time to relax or disconnect.” As the sole breadwinner, now living in the city, she supports her family back home by sending money to cover their basic needs, such as water and agricultural supplies. “Water scarcity doesn’t just mean less water; it means less time, less energy, fewer opportunities, and constant anxiety. Sometimes I am just like, wow, how would I survive this … but hamdoullah 3alkoulihal (thank God no matter what).”
Bouchaib, too, describes the mental stress of managing a small farm in a region where water is scarce. “There have been months where we’ve had to forgo many things just to make sure we had enough money for food and water. It’s hard and very daunting to know it could all end with no warning. Sometimes, I think I made the wrong decision by staying here while everyone else left. But, God willing, we’ll get some rain soon, and we won’t have to worry about this for a while.”
Morocco’s water crisis involves climate change, sociopolitical factors, and historical issues. This setting produces a fairly intricate network of difficulty for millions of Moroccans. From small farmers like Bouchaib, forced to take extreme measures and decisions about how to allocate the scarce water available, to families like Fatimaezzahra’s, who must adapt to a harsh daily life riddled with uncertainty, it is clear that water scarcity has and will continue to transform from an environmental concern to a deeply ingrained social crisis.
Bottom Line
There is no doubt that Morocco is facing an unprecedentedly increasing drought, shifting rainfall patterns, and growing demands for water resources; the country has no choice but to innovate. There must be a thorough and holistic approach to water management that addresses both the core cause of the problem and the symptoms that contribute to this disparity and uncertainty.
