Rome – Minister of Water and Equipment Nizar Baraka highlighted, on Thursday in Rome, HM King Mohammed VI’s vision for an optimal management of water resources through, notably the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Programme 2020-2027 adopted by Morocco on High Royal Guidelines.
This plan accelerated investments in the water sector and contributed to alleviating the gravity of the water situation in the Kingdom, Baraka said in a speech read on his behalf by Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations agencies in Rome, Youssef Balla, at the opening of the ‘Rome Water Dialogue.’
The implementation of water projects was highlighted in HM King Mohammed VI’s speech on the 25th Throne Day anniversary, in which the Sovereign stressed the need to continually update the levers of national water policy and to define a strategic objective aimed at guaranteeing drinking water to all citizens and covering at least 80% of irrigation needs throughout the country, he added.
The Minister note
d that this strategic orientation aims to ensure water and food security for the population, notably through the construction of dams in the most watered basins, the desalination of seawater, the implementation of major water transfer projects between water basins, and the reinforcement of the reuse of treated wastewater.
Baraka also recalled that Morocco, as many other countries, is facing an increasing pressure on its water resources, due to climate change and growing need for water by several sectors, particularly agriculture, a cornerstone of Morocco’s economy.
‘This is evidenced, in particular, by its weight in GDP (around 12%) and its status as a provider of employment for a significant fringe of the population (nearly 38% of the employed population) without forgetting the central role of the agricultural sector in some regions of the Kingdom,’ he said.
In this respect, Baraka recalled the national water and agricultural strategies and policies put in place to improve water management in agriculture,
in particular the conversion to efficient irrigation (2 million Ha currently irrigated, 800,000 Ha under localized irrigation), the use of renewable energies and raising farmers’ awareness of water-saving techniques.
Morocco has been experiencing a difficult water situation during the last six years, marked by a downward trend in rainfall and below-average cumulative rainfall, causing a chronic water deficit that has never been recorded in comparison with past periods of drought, the Minister noted.
This situation has led to excessive exploitation of aquifers, which far exceeds the volume of annually renewable water, for drinking water purposes but above all for agricultural use, resulting in a significant drop in water levels in these aquifers and a reduction in their water reserves, added Baraka.
The Minister took the opportunity of the ‘Rome Water Dialogue’ to call for enhanced international cooperation to disseminate best practices, transfer technologies and build countries’ capacities in this field, a
dvocating for drafting a Rome Declaration on water scarcity in agriculture and a roadmap including actions to be carried out over the coming years.
Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse