Area:

710 850 km2

Population:

32 644 370

Climate:

In terms of types of climate, Morocco has a rich diversity due to its geographical position. The climate is primarily characterised by a hot dry summer with almost no precipitations and high evapotranspiration. The winter is mild on the coast and cold inside the country, on the Atlas Mountains, the Rif and the highlands in the Oriental region. The disposition of these mountains has a strong influence on the climate. The average annual rainfall goes from less than 100 mm in the south to 1200 mm. It is marked by two seasonal peaks, in winter and in spring, depending on the regions.

Natural Resources:

The superficial water resources over the whole country are estimated at an annual average of 18 billion m3 and vary from 5 to 50 billion m3 depending on the years. In addition to surface water, aquifers offer important advantages and cover about 10% of the territory.

Mineral resources are not to be overlooked as they occupy a privileged place in the Moroccan economy. They contribute to 21% of the export earnings and represent 2.2% of the GDP. Phosphates remain the main mineral resource making Morocco the third biggest producer worldwide.

Agriculture:

Agriculture has always been regarded as a leading sector, playing a key role at the socioeconomic level. However, its modernisation has favoured irrigated land at the expense of non-irrigated zones. Being the main consumer of water (78% of the country’s resources), agriculture is the most vulnerable to its depletion and degradation caused by climate change. The problems which non-irrigated lands face (low productivity, limited use of new technology, isolation of crops, etc.) influence the living standards of farmers of these communities who represent 90% of rural populations. In fact, the impacts of climate change (increased temperatures, lack of water) considerably influence the crises that occur in the Moroccan agriculture.

Climate Vulnerabilities:

Vulnerability to climate changes has hit almost all sectors: agriculture, because of the regional disparity of rainfalls and droughts; fishing, affected by coastal erosion and salinization; forestry; health and tourism. However, the impacts were most felt in the water sector, with a reduction of nearly 20% of natural inflows over the past three decades. Moreover, an alarming decrease in the groundwater level has been registered (often reaching more than 2m). This is related to droughts caused by climate changes and results in more consequences than the degradation of the quality of the water.

The vulnerability of the water sector is accentuated by several institutional, socioeconomic, legal and political factors. Amongst these factors there are the high water consumption for irrigated agriculture, the overexploitation of groundwater, pollution and the loss of dams’ capacity due to siltation.

Source:

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/mornc2f.pdf