Climate change is likely to have cumulative and cascading effects on Morocco’s water security.
WD News: The Board of Directors of the World Bank has approved a US$350 million financing program (Program-for-Results) to support the Government of Morocco in implementing its National Program for Potable Water Supply and Irrigation in the context of the 30-year National Water Plan.
Launched in 2020, the PNAEPI is aimed at improving water security by accelerating investments in the water sector and increasing the resilience of drinking water supply and irrigation. The World Bank Program will contribute to a sub-set of activities included in the PNAEPI, through three strategic, mutually reinforcing pillars: strengthening governance of the water sector; improving financial sustainability and water use efficiency, and enabling the integration of non-conventional water resources.
Morocco is a climate hotspot and one of the world’s most water-stressed countries. Water scarcity imposes significant economic constraints, which are expected to worsen as the country approaches the absolute threshold of 500 cubic metres of water per person per year by 2030.
In addition to supporting the PNE, the program will help to strengthen water sector governance by protecting groundwater resources, improving the quality and availability of water-related information, supporting the performance of river basin agencies, developing water data information systems; and, developing mandatory reporting by multiservice operators.
The program is also focused on supporting the government’s efforts to improve financial sustainability and water use efficiency. This will enhance climate resilience for the water sector, including the development of a financial model and the adoption of a financial sustainability action plan that will inform pricing strategies for specific sub-sectors, the implementation of the PNAEPI communication strategy to raise awareness of the importance of water conservation, and the operationalisation of water loss reduction plans in distribution networks.
Source: World Bank
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