The strengths of Morocco in the face of future water wars [FULL]

Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Omar ASSIF
Published on 2024-03-23 11:22:00

A date whose symbolism seems to be growing every year, World Water Day is celebrated in Morocco and elsewhere on Friday, March 22, 2024. Coinciding with the beginning of spring, this Day, established by the United Nations (UN) in 1993, revolves each year around a carefully chosen theme. “The theme of World Water Day 2024 is “Water for Peace.” When we cooperate in the field of water, we create a positive ripple effect that promotes harmony, generates prosperity, and strengthens resilience in the face of common challenges. We must realize that water is not only a resource to be used and fought over, but also a human right, intrinsic to all aspects of life. On this World Water Day, we must all unite our efforts regarding water and use it for peace, laying the foundation for a more stable and prosperous future,” a UN statement emphasizes.

Water wars

Behind the organization’s candid words, it is possible to understand that the issue is to avoid, as far as possible, water wars. Announced by a large number of natural resources specialists, as well as geopolitics experts, the risks of armed conflicts for water control will increase in the current context, exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. “International bodies, especially those responsible for security and defense, believe that water will become the primary source of conflicts on the planet,” explains legal expert Nathalie Hervé-Fournereau, a specialist in environmental law at the Institute of the West, in an article published by the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). Anticipated conflicts can occur at various levels, ranging from local conflicts between users of the same territory to much larger conflicts between several countries fighting over the water resources of the same river, for example.

The Moroccan exception

“The relationship between social security and access to water is a well-known reality for all. In arid territories, it often takes the form of a fear of seeing populations or peoples killing each other over water. It has happened in history, and with climate change, this nightmare is not to be excluded,” explains an expert in integrated water management, adding that “if conflicts still arise between factions of certain tribes in Morocco regarding the use of water sources, it is often a problem that is quickly contained and arbitrated at the local level.” As for the risks of conflicts at the cross-border level, Morocco is privileged in every respect. “All the major rivers and wadis of the Kingdom have their sources within Moroccan territory. This is a major advantage, which is only truly appreciated by other countries that depend on the goodwill of their neighbors to access water,” the same source continues.

Spatial solidarity

During a conference organized by the Alliance of Istiqlal Engineers in cooperation with the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation in Morocco, under the theme “The Water War: Water stress, who will win?” Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment and Water, also mentioned the new dynamic of spatial water solidarity that will allow Moroccans to serenely face the water challenge. The minister then mentioned the important role that multi-service regional societies will have to play to ensure the right to access water at the local level. Citing a break from a past where rural areas stood in solidarity with urban areas by providing them with water, Mr. Baraka recalled that the current water policy will allow urban areas to stand in solidarity with rural areas through seawater desalination. It should be noted that Morocco has also developed other water solidarity solutions, notably through water transfer projects between hydraulic basins.

Read the original article(French) on L’Opinion