ALM UNDP

Background

The provinces of Nador and Berkane on the northeastern Mediterranean coast of Morocco near the Algerian border are home to a number of traditional rural enclaves where residents depend on fishing, farming, and livestock raising for their livelihoods. Development pressures, such as tourism, are destroying wetlands, including three protected by the Ramsar Convention. These act as natural buffer zones against flooding and erosion. As climate change brings more severe and frequent storms and rising seas, the very assets that attract tourists and investment are threatened. Farmers and pastoralists, meanwhile, are coping with less rain, even as the water table grows saline from the incursion of sea water. The rains are more frequently torrential when they do come, adding to erosion of the fragile mountain soils.

Summary

Consistent with Global Warming trends, Observation from Morocco's National Meteorological Directorate show rising temperatures, less precipitation, and an increase in drought, widening the gap between water supply and demand. Average temperatures are expected to rise between 2 and 5 degree Celsius by the end of the century, while rainfall is predicted to decline 20 to 30%.