AECID - Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo

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Name: Morocco.

Area: 446,550 Km2.

Mediterranean coastline: 500 Km.

Population (World Bank data): 28.7 million.

Annual population growth (World Bank data): 1.7%.

Population distribution (World Bank data): 56% urban, 44% rural.

Human Development Index (2001 UNDP Report): 112 of 162.

Distribution by productive sectors (World Bank data): primary 12.6% of GDP, secondary 33.4% and tertiary 54%.

Access to drinking water (2001 UNDP Report): 82%.

Annual per capita energy consumption (IUCN system): 443 Kw/hours.

Geographical description: Morocco has the most extensive plains and the highest mountains in North Africa. There are four natural regions: an area of highlands known as the Rif, parallel to the Mediterranean coast; the Atlas mountains running right through the country southwest-northeast between the Atlantic and the Rif, separated from the mountains by the Taza depression; a flat region along the Atlantic coast, in the arc formed by the Rif and the Atlas regions; and the plains and valleys to the south of the Atlas which converge toward the Sahara, in the southwest of the country. Most Moroccans live on the coast. Morocco has a number of rivers, used for irrigation and electricity generation. The main rivers are the Moulouya which flows into the Mediterranean and the Sebou which ends in the Atlantic.

Climate: Morocco’s climate is subtropical, mitigated by the influence of the Atlantic which moderates coastal temperatures. In Essaouira for example, average temperatures are 22.5ºC in August and 16.4ºC in January. Inland, summer is hotter and winter colder. In Fez, the average summer temperature is 26.9ºC, and in January is 10ºC. At higher altitudes, temperatures below -17.8ºC are not exceptional, and the peaks are under snow most of the year. Rain falls mostly in the winter months, with the greatest precipitation in the northwest, while the lowest registers are in the east and south. Average annual rainfall is 955 mm in Tangiers, 430 mm in Casablanca, 280 mm in Essaouira and less than 102 mm in the Sahara.

Natural resources: Agriculture is Morocco’s main resource, although there are also significant mineral deposits, phosphate rock being the most important of these. Other minerals are coal, iron, lead, manganese, oil, silver, tin and zinc. The coastal soils are halomorphic and humus-carbonated, while those inland are podzolic and steppe. Most of the south of the country is desert.

Main environmental problems: Population pressure has led to extensive soil erosion with the cultivation of marginal lands and the destruction of plant cover from overgrazing. More than 90% of Morocco’s water is used for farming. Drinking water supply has been limited by the pollution of natural sources and by waste water and industrial waste. Periodic droughts contribute to water shortages in some parts of the country, and this problem is expected to worsen if the population continues to grow.

The main environmental problem is related to desertification, namely erosion, deforestation, overgrazing and water shortage. One serious consequence of erosion, in addition to rural poverty, is the disruption of the hydrographic basins, contributing to water shortages at all levels and the accelerated silting up of reservoirs for supply, irrigation and electricity generation.

With 0.3% of forest destroyed annually(1990-1996), Morocco’s deforestation rate is low compared with that of other African countries. These forests cover 8.6% of the territory (1995). Reserves and natural parks take up 0.7% of the area of Morocco (1997), which is the North African country with the greatest diversity of ecosystems and species. There are however 39 animal species under threat. The Mediterranean coast remains intact in part because of the difficulty of land access across the mountains, and most pollution is from factories and plants on the Atlantic coast.

Morocco has ratified international accords to protect biodiversity, endangered species, wetlands, and the ozone layer. It has also signed commitments to limit hazardous wastes and marine dumping.