By Louise Sarant
IWMI presented recent scientific advances and innovative solutions developed with local partners to improve water productivity, availability, and overall resilience of Morocco’s three main river basins: Souss-Massa, Bouregreg, and Oum Er-Rbia.
In the central-western part of Morocco, the Souss-Massa basin grapples with dwindling freshwater resources resulting from prolonged drought, extreme heat, and increasing water demand for irrigation. To better track water availability and usage, IWMI, along with the Watershed Agency of Souss-Massa and the Regional Office of Agricultural Development, has developed a Dynamic Water Accounting Dashboard under F2R-CWANA, CGIAR’s leading initiative on resilient food systems. The dashboard uses crucial data from local partners related to water, climate, and agriculture, helping decision-makers manage the limited freshwater resources in the basin fairly and effectively.
Reduced rainfall and land degradation are negatively impacting the Bouregreg basin, which provides drinking water for 6 million people in Rabat, parts of Casablanca, and surrounding areas. To assess Bouregreg’s water and agricultural systems’ susceptibility to climate-related hazards, IWMI, under F2R-CWANA, developed a Fragility Analysis Framework in partnership with the Watershed Agency of Bouregreg and Chaouia. This framework assesses the severity of droughts, erosion and floods under current and future scenarios.
Among Morocco’s 12 major river basins, the Oum Er-Rbia basin is experiencing the most significant water deficit. This basin is located in central-western Morocco, an area known for its olives, milk, pomegranates and sweet paprika.
IWMI scientists presented their Multiscale Polycentric Governance model for Oum Er-Rbia, developed under ClimBER – CGIAR’s main initiative focused on climate resilience. This governance approach, in the early stages of development in Morocco, seeks to enhance stakeholder collaboration and institutional cohesion to boost water productivity and youth employment in Morocco’s olive and milk value chains.
This work involves collaboration with several organizations, including the Ministry of Agriculture’s Directorate of Strategy and Statistics, the Regional Office of Agricultural Development of Tadla, and the Watershed Agency of Oum Er-Rbia.
Morocco’s growing interest in reusing treated wastewater for agriculture
IWMI signed an MoU with the Directorate of Irrigation and Agricultural Land Development (DIAEA) of the Ministry of Agriculture to boost wastewater reuse in agriculture and enhance productivity using digital solutions. IWMI signed a second MoU with the National Association of Land Improvements, Irrigation, Drainage, and Environment (ANAFIDE), to promote science-policy dialogue and capacity-building for wastewater treatment and reuse in Morocco.
As the only freshwater source that grows with GDP, Morocco is increasingly interested in reusing treated wastewater for agricultural purposes. While the kingdom has been successful in irrigating golf courses and green spaces with treated wastewater, pilots experimenting with agriculture applications have faced challenges.
To address this, IWMI, in collaboration with ANAFIDE, the Directorate of Irrigation and Agricultural Land Development and the Directorate of Water Research and Planning is developing a cost-benefit analysis framework for agricultural reuse of treated wastewater. This work is supported by the CGIAR Initiative on Fragility to Resilience in Central and West Asia and North Africa. Its goal is to assess the economic and social benefits of wastewater reuse, with the Imzouren wastewater treatment plant in Al Hoceima serving as the pilot site for this analysis.
The way forward for IWMI in Morocco
Moving forward, IWMI aims to enhance collaboration with its Moroccan partners and leverage the collective knowledge and expertise of all stakeholders to ensure Morocco’s water and food security in an increasingly volatile climate.
As Youssef Brouziyne, IWMI Representative in the MENA region, stated, “In our collaborative efforts, we see not only challenges but also immense opportunities for innovation and partnership that can propel Morocco toward an increasingly resilient and sustainable future.”
The Morocco Resilience Days forum was held from June 25-28, 2024, in Rabat, bringing together 280 delegates from 44 institutions. The forum was a collaboration between IWMI and Morocco’s Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forest with the support of the Ministry of Equipment and Water.
