Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
October 24, 2009

Tourism eating up water resources in Morocco. Nadia Ben Sellam - Morocco, Eurojar
No water, no tourism. The correlation between these two factors is, indeed, as clear as water. However, this vital interdependence is hardly discernible in some countries of the south Mediterranean, even if the question of water provision comes on top of their national agenda.

Aiming at reducing the ambiguity in the correlation between “water and tourism” in the Mediterranean, a study has been launched this year to evaluate the channels of water consumption in the touristic field in this region. Carried out in several countries (including Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan), the results of this study were recently published. This survey was conducted in the context of the drying up of water resources in the Mediterranean, the world’s best tourist attracting area, and of a dramatic increase of touristic activity.

The Directorate-General for Environment at the European Commission was behind the initiative. In fact, the study was carried out in the framework of Medstat II programme, launched in the year 2006 over a period of three years, and funded by 30 million Euros. As a follow-up to Medstat I, the second phase of the programme focused on nine objectives, most of them defined in the Medstat I. Three new goals emerge in the second phase: social statistics, agriculture and energy.

A good source of income, but…
Tourism in Morocco is well developed. It is the second strongest sector in the country, and constitutes an increasingly important source of hard currency. However, the overgrowing consumption of water by touristic activities is becoming a cause of alarm. In fact, mass tourism in coastal and dry regions in the country is exhausting water resources. The peak of tourist traffic during holidays and summer time, accentuates the pressure on water resources, and makes it scantier.

The requirements for comfort and the development of facilities increase the pressure on water resources. Golf courses, swimming pools and aquatic centers are some of the top consumers of water in the country. In fact, Morocco is already considered a poor country in water resources, where annual individual consumption is limited to 1000 m3. According to a report published by the World Bank, Morocco’s water supply is threatened by drought by the year 2050.

A re-evaluation of tourism policy
“Water and Tourism”, the pilot innovative study on water consumption in the tourism sector in Morocco, published in the framework of MEDSTAT II programme, explores the issue of water use by tourism in Morocco and 4 other concerned countries. This study assesses the availability of statistical information in this matter to be able to determine the real impact of tourist activities on water provisions. The objective of this study is to rationalize tourism policy and planning with respect to environmental issues. These are partly the objectives of the regional statistical cooperation programme between the European Union and Mediterranean partner countries, MEDSTAT, which kicked off in the year 1996.

Since then, efforts are being deployed to improve the production, collection, dissemination and use of statistics to encourage exchange in this field between both sides of the Mediterranean, in response to the economic and social requirements defined by the Barcelona accord. The main objective was to facilitate the elaboration of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone, with standardized national and regional statistical data.

This study led to several principal conclusions. First, golf courses seem to be consuming huge amounts of water in Morocco. An 18-hole golf course, for example, consumes alone 3500 m3 of water a day. However, Moroccan authorities do not consider golf courses as touristic facilities and their activities do not figure on the list of touristic activities. It is worth noting that Morocco, compared to the other countries concerned by the study, has the largest number of golf courses (17), compared to 9 in Tunisia and 1 in Jordan. Studies show that golf courses in Morocco, as well as in Tunisia, mainly consume recycled wastewater. Another fact is that water consumption in luxury hotels in Morocco is particularly high, according to international norms. Most of these hotels and resorts consume water from private water wells that are not necessarily subject to tariffs or control.

The study shows also that a part of water consumers in the tourism sector are not listed among legal consumers because they fall in the category of non-classified and non-structured hotels, mainly for internal tourism. Thus, statistics of water consumption in the tourism sector suffer from deficiencies, which lead, most of the time, to erroneous and non-reliable results.

In fact, this lack in statistical data resulted in various obstacles in the processing of the study. Fragmented and distorted data hindered the implementation of a global strategy for water consumption in the country. It seems difficult as well to collect reliable information in this field in a unified and regular manner. This study came thus to classify the different categories of touristic activities, such as golf, hotels, swimming pools, and define the level of water consumption of each one of them. A proper classification of the country’s water resources was made possible thanks to this research work.

Finally, the study came to the conclusion that statistical information that highlight the correlation between water and tourism is mainly inexistent in the concerned countries. Any progress in this field turns out to be hard and costing. Yet, some recommendations were made to enhance statistical data in this field, namely, the modernization of institutional structures and the implementation of adequate information technology to collect and exchange information. A shake up to actors in the water and tourism sectors might be a good catalyst for potential success and cooperation.
http://www.eurojar.org/en/euromed-articles/tourism-eating-water-resources-morocco/5460
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Morocco to deliver boost to desalination sector.
22nd October 2009

Morocco’s long-term desalination strategy is taking shape, with a nationwide study on course to be completed by the end of 2009.

The Secrétariat d’Etat chargé de l’Eau et de l’Environnement (SEEE), the ministerial department responsible for water, has already earmarked non-conventional water resources for an important role in Morocco’s future. Although desalination has traditionally been confined to small-scale applications in Morocco, approximately 70,000m3/d of new capacity is under planning and yet to be tendered. The study will also address how to approach the development of a large new desalination plant in the Casablanca region, slated for a capacity of around 685,000m3/d.

Major capital projects are likely to be a theme of the study – plans for a north-south water transfer project with an average conveyance capacity of around 2.74 million m3/d over 500-600 km from the Sebu basin to the water-stressed Tensift basins (near Marrakesh) are also on the table.
http://www.globalwaterintel.com/news/2009/43/morocco-course-deliver-boost-desalination-sector.html
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Five int'l institutions contribute € 513m to Morocco's education plan.
Rabat

Five international institutions have chipped in, Friday, a total of 513 million Euros to Morocco's emergency plan to reform the education system. The money will be provided under an agreement signed here between the French development agency (AFD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Investment Bank (BEI), the World Bank, the European Commission and the Moroccan Ministry of Education. This partnership covers the 2009-2012 period and takes account of the commitments of the 2005 Paris Declaration regarding cooperation.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Moroccan State Secretary for Primary Schooling Latifa el Abida said the agreement shows the trust of the partners in the ambitions of the educational reform in the north African country. It also evidences the commitment of both parties to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), notably those relating to generalising primary schooling and promoting gender equality, she said. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/see_also/five_int_l_instituti/view
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Swept off my feet in Morocco
Beverley FearisThe Observer, Sunday 30 November 2008

Trekking with Berbers across the remote Jebel Sahro mountains offers a Christmas treat – and a romantic surprise for Beverley Fearis

On a bitterly cold but beauti fully starlit Moroccan night, in the remote, rocky mountains of the Jebel Sahro, the last thing I'd expected to be doing was the hokey cokey. But there I was, in a circle around the campfire, putting my right foot in, taking it out, and shaking it all about with the rest of them. After all, with temperatures below freezing, it was a good way to keep warm.
Read more  by clicking below:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/nov/30/jebel-sahro-morocco-walking-holiday
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