World Bank: Morocco Faces Severe Water Stress, Economic Slowdown Amid Drought

The severe drought, the slowdown in the global economy, exacerbated by the effects of the war in Ukraine, will affect Morocco’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, which will drop from 7.9% in 2021 to 1.3% in 2022, the World Bank said in a note.

"Morocco is one of the countries most affected in the world by water stress. Recent events have shown that technical solutions are not enough to protect the economy from climate shocks," said Jesko Hentschel, the World Bank’s Director of Operations for the Maghreb and Malta, in a statement cited by the note, stressing the need to undertake reforms to promote "efficient and more rational" use of water resources.

Between 1960 and 2020, Morocco’s water resources have dropped from 2,560 cubic meters to 620 cubic meters per person per year. A situation that has led the kingdom into a "structural water stress", explains the note, adding that Morocco has multiplied its water storage capacity tenfold during the same period by building more than 120 dams.

The Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, specified on Monday in parliament that the scarcity of water is due to the low level of the water table, which is falling by 2 to 3 meters per year, and the decrease in the level of water stored in reservoirs, which has dropped from 9.4 billion cubic meters in 2018 to 4.7 billion cubic meters this year. In December, the Moroccan government approved an emergency plan that provides for the establishment of seawater desalination plants and the drilling of new wells.