Morocco faces a particularly acute water crisis, ranking among the fifteen countries having recorded record levels of fall in the annual extent of surface water in 2024. According to the Global Water Monitor Consortium report for 2024, This situation places the Kingdom in a situation of extreme water stress, alongside nations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Bolivia, and several other countries facing similar challenges, ranging from South America to Central Asia.
Morocco is one of the countries hardest hit by declining water resources, with historically low surface water bodies. The Global Water Monitor Consortium report says countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa and Burundi in East Africa also face similar conditions.
The causes of this crisis are multiple, but they include prolonged periods of drought, reduced precipitation and a general increase in temperatures, which have had dramatic consequences on water availability. The situation in Morocco, particularly in its agricultural and rural regions, reflects widespread water stress found in other parts of the world. In South America, countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, and Nicaragua have also experienced record levels of low surface water bodies.
The report highlights that reduced water resources not only affect agriculture but also water supply systems for local populations. This trend is also visible in Northern Europe, where countries such as Ireland, Iceland, Russia and Ukraine have recorded particularly low surface water levels, as well as in Central Asia in countries such as Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. These phenomena highlight the scale of a global water crisis which is not limited to a single region, but significantly affects several continents.
An impact amplified by climate change
Low water resources are exacerbated by climate change, which intensifies extreme weather events. Prolonged droughts, extreme heatwaves and flash floods are occurring with increasing frequency, putting water resources under pressure. Morocco, like many other countries, must face this new reality, where hydrological systems are increasingly unstable. These climate disruptions have a direct impact on ecosystems and local economies, particularly in agricultural regions, which largely depend on water for food production, underlines the report.
-The consequences of this crisis are being felt on several levels. Water infrastructure, already aging and insufficient in many regions, is struggling to keep pace with growing water needs. In addition, rural populations, who are often the most vulnerable to these changes, face major challenges in accessing drinking water and maintaining their agricultural activity, essential to their livelihood.
Towards sustainable solutions: a call to action
Faced with this global crisis, the World Water Observatory is launching an urgent appeal to governments to put in place concrete measures aimed at mitigating the impacts of the water crisis. For Morocco, this involves more efficient water management, improvement of infrastructure and the development of innovative solutions, such as rainwater collection, optimization of irrigation and the use of technologies to recycle and treat water.
Solutions must also include robust public policies aimed at strengthening the resilience of agricultural systems and infrastructure to climate hazards.
