The Challenges Faced by Morocco

The next few blog posts will be situated in Morocco: a country which is highly relevant when it comes to the issues of water and food scarcity. 

The challenge that Morocco faces 

Morocco is a water scarce country that has a largely agricultural based economy (Jobbins et al, 2015). The Souss-Massa region in particular is important for the socioeconomic development of the kingdom due to the expansion of the agricultural sector there (Hirich et al, 2015). In recent years already, the country has been experiencing frequent and intense droughts. Modelling shows that even in the most optimistic emission scenarios, there will be a 40% reduction in precipitation in the Chtouka Aït Baha province alone and pessimistic models show a reduction of more than 80% (Seif-Ennasr et al, 2016). These figures are hugely problematic as a reduction in precipitation will lead to widespread water shortage that is so vital for Morocco’s large agricultural-based economy. The Chtouka Aït Baha province is considered as the most productive region in terms of horticulture (Seif-Ennasr et al, 2016). 

Population growth has also led to the acceleration of groundwater pumping from Chtouka Aït Baha. This further depletes the groundwater and increases the salinity of the water which reduces the availability of potable water, thus reducing agricultural production (Bouchaou et al, 2011). The significant decline of the groundwater table of the Turonian aquifer since 1990 led to the introduction of strict water controls. However, to circumvent these rules, there was an increase in the number of private wells which further depleted the groundwater table.

The issue of how Morocco has responded to these challenges

This is a common problem for various aquifers around Morocco. The necessity of water but its unavailability calls for desperate measures. Farmers digging private tube wells in the Souss aquifer have seen groundwater depletion of 2m per year (Jobbins et al, 2015). 

Figure 1a: Wells and boreholes in the Souss-Massa aquifer (Bouchaou et al, 2011) 

Figure 1b: Decrease in water table during the last decades obtained from monitoring of a representative well located in the middle of the Souss-aquifer (Bouchaou et al, 2011)  

In Btit and Ain Chegag, the number of wells rose from less than a dozen to over 9,000 in the last 40 years whilst the annual precipitation has fallen by 33% which has led to a water deficit of 108 m3/year (Jobbins et al, 2015). 

The situation in Morocco is clearly complex. On the one hand, there must be urgent action to manage water strategically and on the other, the agricultural sector is an engine of the economy and a social safety net so it is difficult to enforce procedures permits (Jobbins et al, 2015). Nevertheless, pumping groundwater is an unsustainable strategy and there must be an acceleration of adaptation strategies.