Strategic Structural Reforms for Sustainable Water Resource Management in Morocco

Abstract

Morocco is facing a growing water security challenge as structural and climate change pressures are increasing demand with dwindling renewable water resources. The nation is caught between two conflicting trends, as rapidly growing demographics and urbanization increase water demand even as prolonged droughts and climate-induced variability reduce its availability and reliability. The purpose of this paper is to explore population dynamics, urbanization, and agriculture, and institutions in a multi-dimensional perspective in relation to the dynamics of the sustainability of water management. Methodologically, using an ARDL model for the period 1995–2022, the effects associated with these determinants and the freshwater are estimated for short- and long-run dynamics. Our empirical results reveal that the governance effectiveness and urban growth have a significant positive impact on water sustainability, which means that the better institutional setup and the more organized urban dynamics are congruent with water systems' sustainability. By contrast, but with less structural robustness (and thus more in line with sculpture) agricultural pressure is structured in as there is no such a strong tendency towards an undifferentiated diffusion: not being able to make a trade-off between feeding and saving resources appears as a challenge In addition to the empirical evidence it emphasizes that adaptive governance through institution al change, technological developments in water infrastructure and involvement of local stakeholders also plays a crucial role. By using evidence based on the context (the case study)—which feeds to other studies, this article contributes to the broader literature about how such management of natural resources could be designed in semi-arid regions and input needed for policy development so Morocco may increase its adaptability toward fast variable climate conditions.