The Great Moroccan South, swallowed by the sand
The Sahara, not content with being the largest arid desert in the world, continues to swallow up land, to the point of gaining 10% of its surface area over the last century, or 900,000 km². The impact of man is not innocent in this process, first by global warming, which deprives the region of its rainfall, but also by poor soil management, which makes them unfit for vegetation. Regions such as Rissani, which used to be rich in agriculture, are now seeing their soils covered with sand. In one century, Morocco has lost two-thirds of its oases, due to the advancing desert and drought. The Moroccan government is trying to mitigate the process, notably through the "Green Morocco" agricultural organization plans, renewed in a Generation Green plan in 2020, as well as a program to combat desertification supported by the United Nations.
One of the solutions put forward is the planting of date palms. These indigenous, drought-resistant species help prevent sand from advancing, both through their solid trunks that create a natural wall, and through their roots implanted in the soil that prevent soil erosion. Between 2010 and 2020, 3.2 million date palms were planted in southern Morocco, exceeding the initial objectives of the "Green Morocco" plan! The program is a success: in addition to curbing the desert and safeguarding the precious oases, the local economy benefits greatly with the creation of many jobs and the doubling of date yields.
Forty years of drought
For the past forty years, Morocco has experienced an almost continuous drought. Dams are struggling to fill up to a third of their capacity, leaving barely 600m3 of water per capita per year, a score nearly three times lower than the water shortage threshold! In the 1960s, water availability was four times higher, with 2,600m3 per year per inhabitant.
Global warming is in the dock, while Morocco recorded in 2020 a temperature 1.4 ° C higher than its normal from 1980 to 2010. Many cities in southern Morocco have even broken their temperature record in the summer of 2021, such as Taroudant, with 49.3 ° C or Guelmim, with 47.6 ° C. In addition to the stifling temperatures, there is overexploitation of groundwater and excessive water consumption.
This leads the authorities to restrict the use of water during the summer, in particular by prohibiting the watering of green spaces or golf courses. But this measure seems limited, given that agriculture, the main pillar of the economy, uses nearly 90% of drinking water resources. The government has also planned to build 20 seawater desalination plants by 2030, although they are known to be very energy intensive.
Politics and the ecological challenge
The Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development sets the pace for environmental policy. To do this, it is armed with a multitude of legislative and institutional frameworks, including the National Charter for the Environment and Sustainable Development, initiated by the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI. It assigns rights and duties to public authorities, local authorities, and also to citizens, with the aim of concretely structuring everyone's role in the ecological shift. Many other programs specify this environmental policy, such as the national program of household waste. It aims to ensure the collection of domestic waste, rehabilitate and create landfills, and implement recycling in the country, which is well behind in this area. As for the national parks, the national water and forestry agency is responsible for managing them.
Strengthened by all its efforts, Morocco hosted the COP 22 in 2016, welcoming 197 countries with the aim of complying with the Paris Agreements on climate.
An ambitious energy transition
Fossil fuels, mainly imported oil, cover 90% of Morocco's energy needs, but its goals are much more ambitious. By the end of the decade, it wants to see renewable energies represent half of its capacity, but also reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 13%. Determined to make this goal a reality, the Kingdom inaugurated the Noor Ouarzazate complex in 2016, one of the largest solar power plants in the world. In addition to taking advantage of its more than 300 days of sunshine per year, Morocco wants to develop its wind farm. It is already the third most equipped country on the continent in this respect, particularly in the south of the country, in Tarfaya and Laâyoune.
This ambitious energy policy was the main reason for Morocco's ranking as the second most committed country to the climate in 2018 and 2019, according to the Climate Change Performance Index.
Endangered species
In an environment as extreme as Morocco's, evolution tends to result in highly specialized creatures to adapt to it. Thus, 22% of the country's plants are endemic to it. This is the case of Commelina rupicola, a plant that grows only on the rocks of the southwest of the country. Like many others in its case, it is threatened, because the very specialized species are also more fragile in the face of changes in their environment, climate change, or the arrival of species much more adaptable, such as the false mimosa, introduced in the country and invasive.
Thus, 15% of the country's fauna and flora are threatened with extinction, making it the country in the Mediterranean basin with the most endangered biodiversity. The cause: climate change, extremely rapid population growth, repeated fires, drought, and overgrazing. To fight against this phenomenon, Morocco has set up an action plan for biodiversity, responsible for strengthening the conservation of species and their environment.
Parks to conserve biodiversity
To protect its biodiversity, Morocco has 10 national parks and nearly 150 nature reserves. Among them, four national parks are located in the Great Moroccan South.
Gateway to the High Atlas, the Jebel Toubkal National Park covers 380 km², making it the largest in the region, in addition to being the oldest in the country, since it has enjoyed conservation status since 1942. It owes its name to Jebel Toubkal, the highest point in North Africa, which dominates the park with its 4,167 meters of altitude. Above this mountainous landscape made of mosaics of plateaus, cliffs and crystalline streams, many birds of prey soar: golden eagle, Bonelli's eagle or the white-tailed eagle.
The National Park of Souss Massa is of capital importance, in that it shelters most of the last bald ibis in the world. Once widespread throughout North Africa, only a handful of individuals remain today, forming only four colonies, three of which are located in the park. Due to hunting, habitat loss and pesticides, the Northern Bald Ibis is now one of the 100 most endangered species in the world. However, extensive reintroduction programs are slowly increasing the number of specimens from year to year.
At the same level, but in the far east of the country, is the Iriqui National Park, covering 1,200 km². This Saharan park was created with the aim of preserving the species of the desert, and to rehabilitate the Iriqui lake. This lake naturally dries up during the dry seasons, but as these become more intense and longer, they threaten the survival of this body of water, which provides water for many animals, such as dorcas gazelles.
Much further south, on the border with the Western Sahara, is the Khenifiss National Park, which protects a large expanse of dunes, but also the largest lagoon in the country. Each winter, 20,000 migratory birds find refuge here, in addition to the many species that spend the year there.
