Rabat – World Water Council President Loic Fauchon acknowledged Morocco’s achievements in the field of water resource mobilization and conservation during a meeting on Thursday in Rabat with Moroccan Minister of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water Abdelkader Amara.
The meeting was part of the preparations for the World Water Forum, which will take place in Dakar, Senegal in March 2022.
The “pilot meeting” will demonstrate to other countries the way we at the World Water Forum are working with Morocco in a cooperative manner to prepare for this occasion, Fauchon said in a statement quoted by Maroc Diplomatique.
The World Water Council president also emphasized Morocco’s water distribution policies, as well as the country’s efforts to innovate and implement alternative resources, such as wastewater reuse and desalination.
However, Morocco could experience water shortages in the coming years if it does not properly mobilize its water resources according to the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) report from September 2020 that forecasts a shortage of water in Morocco in the upcoming years based on current trends.
Less regular rainfall and increasing temperatures would make the threat of water scarcity a reality in Morocco if the government failed to take action.
However, Morocco seeks to tackle the challenge of water scarcity through several projects, such as constructing the world’s largest seawater desalination plant in Casablanca by the end of 2027.
Read also: Casablanca’s Seawater Desalination Plant to Operate by 2027
“Morocco will never experience thirst. It’s impossible since we have 3,500 kilometers of coastline,” Amara told Moroccan outlet L’Economiste earlier this week. “Contrary to what some think, desalination has been practiced in Morocco since the 1970s in the Saharan provinces. Today, we are considering it for the cities of the north. It is a novelty.”
The seawater desalination station in Casablanca will not be the first in Morocco. Other plants are under construction, including one in Laayoune (expected to be operational by the end of June 2021), as well as plants in Dakhla, Agadir, and Safi.
Morocco’s National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program, which is running from 2020 to 2027, has a strong vision to overcome the water shortages.With a budget of MAD 115.4 billion ($12.7 billion), King Mohammed VI launched the program in January 2020.
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