September 16, 2019
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Country: Morocco
Committee: Enviornmental (ECOSOC)
Topic: Access to Water
Delegate:Savannah Andrews
School: Williamston High School

Morocco is a water-scarce country confronted with dwindling groundwater reserves and a strong dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Only 15 percent of total agricultural land is irrigated, resulting in inefficient water use and management. Many rural communities rely on a single water source to sustain families and livelihoods. The lack of a functioning sanitation network and wastewater treatment system causes already scarce water resources to become contaminated and unsuitable for multipurpose use.

USAID supports water resource management in Morocco by introducing new technologies to help improve agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. By working with small farmers and private sector firms, such technology reduces operational costs while using less water. USAID is a SMS based service that sends individually tailored irrigation advice directly to Moroccan farmers’ cell phones to help them optimize their use of agricultural water. despite the availability of good infrastructure for the delivery of water and sanitation services, over 1 million residents still lack access in the fast-growing outskirts of cities and urban areas.

 In 2015 the government came up with a directive to improve the provision of water and sanitation services to low-income communities and informal settlements in urban areas. This initiative set in motion a collaboration between private operators in the country, local municipalities, and GPOBA.The GPOBA support provided funding for a pilot OBA scheme to expand services in poor peri-urban areas to bridge the financial gap between households’ ability to pay for connections and the cost of service. The project helped over 62,000 residents receive improved access to sanitation and piped water supply services.

In conclusion,  Today, 83 percent of Moroccans have access to improved drinking water, and 72 percent have access to improved water and sanitation. However, in a steadily growing population, the percentage of Moroccans lacking such access are faced with many challenges that the goverment of Morocco have yet to fix.

 

 

 

  • Savannah Andrews

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