The Minister of Equipment and Water, Mr. Nizar Baraka, participated today in the High Level Panel on the official launch of the initiative on national water roadmaps towards the 2030 Agenda.
These roadmaps which concern water management, and which are adapted to each country, will provide regional and national perspectives to guide the planning and integrated management of water resources according to the principles commonly agreed upon. international scale. Indeed, these roadmaps constitute essential tools that chart the path to innovative and relevant solutions to meet the increasingly complex challenges of developing water resources, particularly in the context of climate change.
During his intervention in this High Level Panel, Mr. Nizar Baraka stressed that it is imperative for humanity to review its use and consumption of water and adopt a sustainable and equitable approach, with emphasis on innovations in water saving in all sectors. He also specified that countries, through the adoption of their national road maps relating to water, can strengthen intersectoral coordination for integrated management of water resources. In this sense, the Minister recalled that Morocco has been committed since the 1960s to the path of controlling and mobilizing its water resources thanks to the far-sighted vision of the late HIS MAJESTY KING HASSAN II and which is being pursued by HIS MAJESTY KING MOHAMMED VI may God help him.
Read also: Nizar Baraka: “The African continent is emerging, and we consider that all actions undertaken contribute to this momentum”
The Minister affirmed that to anticipate sustainable solutions and face a continually growing demand for water, the water sector in Morocco has embarked since the 1980s on dynamic and anticipatory planning of water resources. of all hydraulic basins as well as their protection and preservation.
With this in mind, Mr. Baraka gave an overview of the major national achievements in the field of water and explained that they were accompanied by a water governance model based on integrated, decentralized and participatory management of water resources at the different hydraulic basins. He also explained that Morocco has developed the road map of its national water policy for the different horizons and has developed the axes on which it is based, namely:
- The development of conventional water resources through the acceleration of the construction of large dams, the collection of rainwater, large water transfers between basins, the mobilization and sustainable management of groundwater resources and the desilting of dams;
- the development of unconventional water resources through the desalination of seawater for the supply of drinking water to coastal cities, the reuse of wastewater for watering green spaces and the artificial recharge of aquifers;
- management of water demand by improving the efficiency of drinking water networks, canals and multi-service pipes, and by groundwater contracts for the preservation of groundwater resources;
- raising public awareness of water scarcity and water saving as a cross-cutting axis supporting structuring projects.
To conclude, Mr. Nizar Baraka highlighted Morocco’s water roadmap is currently being implemented through the National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation for the period 2020-2027, developed to compensate for the effects of the succession of years of drought since 2017, and reduce the vulnerability of water supply systems to water scarcity.
#Maroc
