World Water Forum: Morocco Has Adopted Adaptation Programs to Minimize Climate Change Impacts – Ministry

Dakar – Morocco is regarded as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change due to successive periods of drought and floods. To address this issue, the Kingdom has adopted adaptation programs to minimize the impacts of climate change within the framework of an integrated, participatory and responsible approach, the Ministry of Equipment and Water said in a statement.

Morocco, it added, has developed a comprehensive policy aimed at integrating these changes in the development of various policies and sectoral plans.

The Kingdom has an estimated renewable water supply of 22 billion cubic meters, including 18 billion cubic meters of groundwater and 4 billion cubic meters of underground water, according to the statement, issued on the occasion of the participation of the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, at the Arab Water Ministers’ side event held Thursday as part of the 9th World Water Forum.

The availability of water per capita and per year is currently around 606 m3/capita/year and will drop to 560m3/capita/year in 2030, the ministry added, listing Morocco’s main challenges in the area of water resources.

All scenarios relating to the situation of water resources have been taken into account in the development of various draft strategies, plans and programs related to water as well as adaptation actions to meet the basic water needs of people and ensure the supply under all climatic conditions including dry periods, the statement added.

These adaptation measures relate mainly to the management of the demand for water by improving the performance of supply networks and the efficiency of the use of drinking water, the ministry explained.

On the international scene, Morocco continues its efforts to support ongoing multilateral negotiations to strengthen solidarity between countries, and achieve the objectives set by the Framework Convention on Climate Change and this through active participation in all sessions of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) and the hosting and organization of the COP22, which was held in Marrakech in late 2016.