Minister Baraka updates the national water strategy
Since this year’s rainfall, the cameras, constantly focused on the Minister of Equipment and Water, have shifted their focus. Even parliamentarians’ oral questions are less concerned with water stress. Not so for Nizar Baraka, who continues to focus on the issue. In fact, the issue came up in his response to a written question from Brahim Aba of the House of Representatives.
Defining approaches and scientific evaluation methods
The Ministry is currently working on updating the national water strategy. The idea is to update the assessment of water resources, taking into account all periods of impact of climate change on these resources. Within this framework, a study day was organized by the department, with the participation of experts from Morocco and those from Asia, America and the World Meteorological Organization. The aim was to define scientific approaches and methods for assessing water resources, without losing sight of the goal of ensuring a 100% supply of drinking water and 80% of irrigation water, in line with royal guidelines.
To meet these challenges, Morocco has adopted a policy of building dams to store water during rainy periods and use it during dry seasons. This policy has led to the construction of 154 large dams, 148 small dams, 17 water transfer structures, boreholes and wells to supply groundwater, and 16 seawater desalination plants, helping to meet the country’s water needs, said Nizar Baraka.
In addition, to accelerate investment in the water sector and diversify supply sources, a framework agreement was signed for the implementation of the 2020-2027 National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program. With an estimated budget of 143 billion Dirhams (USD 14 billion), the agreement aims to accelerate the pace of implementation and modernize the content of the program.
In addition, a number of urgent projects have been incorporated into the national program to address the drought situation, particularly in water basins and rural areas. Firstly, the signing of a series of agreements between the various stakeholders for the implementation of an emergency program aimed at guaranteeing drinking water supplies and overcoming the critical situation in three basins, in addition to the Drâa-Tafilalet region, at a total estimated cost of 2.335 billion Dirhams (USD 235 million). Secondly, the implementation of a complementary program in rural areas, including the purchase of 582 water tankers and 4,400 water tanks, at a cost of 471 million Dirhams (USD 47 million). Added to this is the acquisition of 26 mobile seawater desalination plants and 15 brackish water demineralization plants, at a total cost of 400 million Dirhams (USD 40 million).
Mohamed CHAOUI
