La grande secheresse [drought] : strategic considerations

This report assesses the situation, noting the following lessons learned. (1) For the Moroccan government, the major problem posed by the drought is the need to stabilize food supply and employment in rural areas, followed by concerns about economic growth and the high cost of the drought emergency program. (2) Forecasting of drought conditions may not be very helpful unless it details the temporal and spatial distribution of the rainfall. Given the difficulty of forecasting rainfall over periods of a few days or more, the expectation that local seasonal forecasts will soon be available should be tempered with caution. (3) Drought poses different problems for different regions of the country. A return to normal rainfall will resolve water shortages in Tangier, for example, but not in Agadir, which will see its groundwater aquifers depleted within 20 years without another drought. (4) Water subsidies are a major cause of inefficient water use. (5) Institutional responsibility for water resource management in Morocco is fragmented among various ministries. (6) The major lesson is the need to improve the management of agricultural water, which accounts for 90% of all water use in the country. Recommendations address the issues of water supply augmentation, water demand management, and institutional development.