Council of Europe Meering Highlights Morocco’s Pioneering Experience in Water Management

Morocco’s pioneering experience in managing water resources was highlighted on Tuesday in Strasbourg, at the 47th session of the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. Speaking at a meeting of the Governance Commission, Fatna K’hiel, a member of the Moroccan delegation, underscored the dam policy adopted by Morocco since the 1960s, stressing that it had enabled the Kingdom to position itself as a model in terms of preserving and saving this precious commodity and rationalizing its use. The president of Morocco’s network of elected women emphasized the importance of these dams in collecting rainwater, at a time when water stress is becoming increasingly acute in Morocco, as elsewhere. She also spoke of Morocco’s experience in desalinating seawater and reusing wastewater. The president of the Arbaoua municipality also spoke of the effects of climate change on water resources, recalling the recent floods in southern Morocco. “In the Merzouga desert, popular with tourists and known for its palm trees and breathtaking dunes, gigantic lakes have been formed as a result of the flooding, an immediate effect of climate change, completely changing the landscape and way of life in the region,” she said. Faced with this phenomenon and in order to better preserve water and ensure ecological balance, for the good of future generations, the former Secretary of State for Housing called for the development of long-term, universal strategies, through the sharing of experience and the use of new technologies. The Kingdom is taking part in this session in its capacity as a Partner for Local Democracy, a designation granted by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in 2019, making Morocco the first country to receive this recognition. This status offers countries in the CoE’s vicinity a privileged framework for dialogue and institutional contacts with their European counterparts.