Water scarcity in the Maghreb - its impact

The Maghreb is a “water-stressed” region, meaning demand for water exceeds the amount of quality water available. Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Libya are all on the World Resource Institute's list of the top 33 water-stressed countries in the world. In fact, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania receive an average of less than 1000 cubic meters of renewable fresh water available per person per year. That’s a precarious situation to be in, so what are Maghreb countries doing to address the potential looming crisis.  

Just over a month ago violent riots erupted in a drought-stricken Algerian desert city southwest of Algiers; it came after a long period of water shortages had forced residents to queue to access water for their households. Algeria suffers profoundly from water scarcity, with less than 300 cubic meters of water per person per year as of 2019. According to the official Algeria Press Service, Algeria is investing in desalination plants to address its water shortages. Recently the government approved plans to build one such plant in Iflissen, near the coast. 

But will this be enough? 

In a recent research paper “Water Policy in Algeria” written by Dr. Nadjib Drouiche, he notes that because of its geographical location Algeria has an arid and semi-arid climate which brings with it higher risk of both floods and droughts and exacerbates the already challenging situation created by chronic water scarcity faced by most of the North African countries. He suggests that “this situation certainly has a major influence in shaping environmental and sustainability issues in Algeria, with water considered as the single most constraining factor of growth. Water has a vital role in the country’s sustainable development, which can hardly be overstated.” 

What is clear is that addressing water scarcity and improving water management will be immensely important for ensuring the region’s stability, sustainability, and well-being in the face of a changing climate. For Algeria to ensure the water resources required, Dr Drouiche confirms that “the water public sector plans to transfer several water dams from the coastal area to the area of the Tell Atlas, whose surplus will then be transferred to the Highlands. The deficit in the coastal zone should then be compensated by desalination of sea water and water conservation.” 

However, this is not a guarantee as according to agricultural engineer Said Ouarad, talking to the Associated Press, he says the reservoirs have become less functional due to a “death of volume” and are reduced to 20% of their capacity. The region where the riots took place are located on a semi-arid high desert plateau increasingly plagued by extreme heat, which gets its water from three dammed reservoirs that are shrinking as temperatures spike and less rain falls. 

Investing in water security is probably one of the most important issues Maghreb governments will face in the coming years.  

*Kieran Baker is an Emmy award winning journalist who has started up various networks including Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg TV Africa and TRT World.