, Marrakech
WATER is life. No one living in Morocco can ever take it for granted: frequent droughts often make fresh water scarce, and unequal water distribution means that about 75 per cent comes from just 20 per cent of the kingdom.
This has made Moroccans ingenious when it comes to water. Over the past thousand years, they have developed ways to harness and distribute it everywhere from deserts to mountains. Now, as climate change forces water scarcity up the global worry list, a museum revealing Morocco鈥檚 innovative combinations of new and ancient technology may inspire other countries.
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Late last year, as part of an international conference about water sustainability, the Global Environment Facility invited some 300 experts to the . On show were ancient systems as well as the country鈥檚 current and future water management strategies, displayed using multimedia, models and artefacts.
Some techniques stand the test of time well. Take one exhibit showing images of terraced land in the mountains. Often retained by stone walls, these raised fields are ideal for cultivation because they hold water well, allowing farmers to grow enough crops to make a profit. Terraced land also protects the plains below from flooding during torrential rain.
鈥淯nequal water distribution means that about 75 per cent comes from just 20 per cent of the kingdom鈥�
In other cases, old techniques have been adapted to meet changing conditions. One model shows underground networks, called khettaras, which use gently sloping tunnels to carry water from subterranean sources in the highlands to fields or villages in . In some areas, there are networks of hundreds of tunnels, some up to 15 kilometres long. But near the south-eastern city of Jorf, for example, lack of water during droughts led engineers to extend the tunnels towards the foothills so they could catch rainwater, typically lengthening them from 6 kilometres to 7 kilometres.
At the conference, improving rather than reinventing ancient water systems was a big talking point. In Sri Lanka, for example, a project funded by the UN鈥檚 Green Climate Fund has restored ancient water tanks to boost capacity and improve design. In many poorer countries, managing water is a community affair and this approach allows people to shape their own destiny.
And in Al Haouz, a region near Marrakech, after traditional systems were outstripped by the needs of agriculture as the population grew and groundwater levels decreased, a new balance was created. Old and new networks co-exist, in the shape of old-style canals above ground and modern public infrastructure fed by water from dams.
Morocco is also exploring new sources of water. Near the coastal town of Sidi Ifni, for example, fog collection in nearby mountains is providing 14 villages and a school with a new source of water. 鈥淔og nets鈥�, where wind drives droplets of fog into a mesh so they then fall into a reservoir below, can harvest between 20,000 and 36,000 litres of water a day. This can be stored for the six months when there is no mist. Local people receive up to 18 litres per day compared with the 8 litres they used to get, and women no longer spend up to 3 hours daily retrieving water from distant, depleted wells.
Large-scale projects are also on the table. Seawater desalination and wastewater treatment have been too expensive to use extensively because of the huge amount of energy required. But renewables are now fuelling plans for a massive desalination plant on Morocco鈥檚 coast, part of an ambitious scheme to produce 52 per cent of the country鈥檚 energy from clean sources such as solar, wind and water by 2030.
鈥淲ater contributed to energy production during the 20th century and energy will contribute to producing water during the 21st century,鈥� reads a display at the museum. And the circle is complete.
