Salty Water Threatens Oases Farms in Morocco

Here is a post from Futurity.org by some researchers from Duke University. It discusses water issues in the desert areas of Morocco and some possible upcoming challenges. The original post contains a link to the full study.
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Salty water threatens Morocco’s oases farms

Credit: Nathaniel Warner/Duke University

DUKE (US) — Efforts to divert water from mountains in Morocco to irrigate oases farms have dramatically increased the natural saltiness of groundwater.


For more than 40 years, snowmelt and runoff from Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains has been dammed and redirected hundreds of kilometers to the south to irrigate oases farms in the arid, sub-Saharan Draa Basin.

Researchers from Duke University and Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, Morocco, measured dissolved salt levels as high as 12,000 milligrams per liter at some locations—far above the 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams per liter most crops can tolerate.

Dissolved salt levels in the groundwater of the three southernmost farm oases are now so high they endanger the long-term sustainability of date palm farming there.

“The flow of imported surface water onto farm fields has caused natural salts in the desert soil and underlying rock strata to dissolve and leach into local groundwater supplies,” says Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. “Over time, the buildup of dissolved salt levels has become irreversible.”


FULL ARTICLE

Morocco's (Illegal) Mussel Pickers and the Marine Ecosystem

This article from Radio Netherlands clarified a lot of what I would see in Rabat along the Ocean - men in the water at all times of  day and night with buckets and flashlights. Mussels  are apparently worth such effort , especially if you are unemployed.
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Morocco's illegal mussel pickers ply non-eco trade

Published on 29 August 2012 - 7:33pm

Thousands of Morocco's unemployed slum-dwellers head to the Atlantic coast every morning to scrape a living as illegal mussel pickers. But experts say they threaten the health of the marine ecosystem.

The stretch of coast between Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco's economic capital renowned for its sprawling slums, or "bidonvilles," is the most popular destination for these unlicensed fishermen, who flock to the area at low tide.

The mussels that line the rocky sections of the coast are highly sought after in Morocco, where they are served up in tajines, or cooked with onions and lemons, and are particularly in demand during the holy month of Ramadan.

So when the tide is out, the poachers scour the rocks with iron bars they use to catch the black-shelled mollusks, and with the full knowledge of the authorities, who are supposed to help protect the shoreline but instead turn a blind eye.

Unemployment is a major problem in Morocco -- tens of thousands demonstrated in Casablanca in May demanding jobs -- so the unauthorised mussel-pickers are tolerated, as an official in Harhoura, a seaside resort near Rabat, explained.

"We can't stop this informal activity because we have nothing to offer the fishermen as an alternative," he told AFP.
More importantly, from an ecological point of view, the government has never passed a law to encourage the conservation of the mussels, which play an important role in preserving the marine environment.

They act as filters for microbes found along the coast, including bacteria and algae, excreting nutrients that stimulate the growth of plant plankton, which in turn benefit the fish.

Their shells are also able to absorb metal pollutants, adding to concerns among environmentalists about their disappearance.
The sides of the rocks south of Rabat are scoured by the mussel pickers on a daily basis "and left bare," according to a Moroccan development NGO.

The poachers have much to gain from this activity. One person may collect 200 kilos of mussels per day, which when shelled would yield about 3-4 kilos of meat, sold to buyers for around 50 dirhams (4.5 euros) per kilo and potentially earning the poachers between 100 and 150 dirhams per day.

There are no official figures on the number of poachers plying the trade along the heavily urbanised shoreline south of the capital, but an official in the Rabat prefecture estimated there are more than 2,000 during peak season.

At other times, the number drops by half.
During the summer months, they work in small groups down on the coast, and are also seen seated at the roadside, selling their mussels in the sweltering heat, which brings problems of its own.

"Exposing mussels to the sun for too long can make them a health hazard to the consumer," said Abdelaziz Ben Ameur, a doctor in Rabat.

But for all the risks involved, Moroccans are still happy to fork out for a bag of fresh mussels, and the poaching business helps many of the area's unemployed to support their families.
Brahim Touil, a seasoned poacher at Temara, south of Rabat, strongly defends his line of work, which he says enables him to feed seven people.

"If they tried to stop me from collecting mussels, I would beat myself to death," he told AFP.
For the moment it appears unlikely that anyone will try and stop him, but the National Institute for Fish Resources insists the exploitation of coastal resources is subject to regulations that must be adhered to.

"The rules for gathering mussels must be respected," institute director Mustapha Faik told AFP, adding that unfortunately "that is not the case."

Faik admitted that getting a permit to collect mussels can involve lengthy bureaucratic procedures at the ministry of fisheries.

"But the ministry provides information on this. If they want authorisation, of course they can get it."

Rachid Choukri, who heads marine studies at the environment ministry, laments that research on the environmental impact of mussel collecting in Morocco did not take into account the large informal sector.

"No authority is managing this, and it is time that the government opened this file, for the benefit of our fish resources," he said.
© ANP/AFP

Stealing Morocco's Cherished Cedar Wood

Here is an article from the AFP about illegal cutting of cedar trees in Morocco's Middle Atlas region.
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'Cedar mafia' threatens Morocco's cherished wood

By Omar Brousky (AFP) – 4 days ago

AJDIR , Morocco — Revered as the "king of the forest" in Morocco, the native cedar tree is under increasing threat from illegal logging -- a crime which also threatens the country's main water reserve.

In the Ajdir forest, in the heart of the Middle Atlas mountain range, these imposing trees once covered every slope. Now their numbers are in rapid decline, to the bitter dismay of the local Berber-speaking population.

"Each year thousands of trees - some of them several centuries old - are illegally felled as many forest wardens turn a blind eye," human rights activist, Aziz Akkaoui, told AFP.

A favourite of cabinetmakers, cedar is a symbol of power and opulence in Morocco's stately homes and its natural oils have been known to act as an insect repellent.

Now the conifer, which covers about 134,000 hectares (330,000 acres) of the North African country, is at risk of disappearing.

Just a few metres from a forest warden's hut, by a tree-lined lake, lies the stump of a freshly-felled cedar.

"This tree was felled with a saw whose noise the forest wardens could not help but hear," said Akkaoui, from the Moroccan Association for Human Rights. "There are the poachers who cut the cedar illegally; the carpenters who buy the wood; there are some corrupt Water and Forestry agents and some corrupt justice ministry officials," he said.

"So you can talk about a cedar mafia, an organised mafia."

Within the forest, some inhabitants admit that they themselves have cut down cedars illegally in order to survive in this poor mountainous area.

A villager named Ahmed said: "We don't have much choice. There's nothing here."

"But to cut down a tree you have to give bribes to the warden -- between 2,000 and 3,000 dirhams (190-280 euros/270-400 dollars). It depends."

"Each time a group of locals want to go cut down a tree they give a forest warden a fee," he added.

Each cedar, which take up to 30 years to reach maturity, can earn illegal loggers up to 800 euros. If lawfully traded, villagers can benefit from a sum three times that.

Every year communities hold wood auctions which bring in around one million euros. Furious locals say they no longer profit from the trade, however.

"Look around you, there's nothing," said Ahmed. "Here we are dirt poor. Why don't we benefit from the revenues of our village after the legal sales of the cedars?"

"There's no work, no schools, no hospitals. We want jobs, facilities, projects to help us and improve our lives.

Those responsible for managing the area's water and forest programmes deny the villagers' claims.

"When someone is caught, he's obviously going to accuse a forest warden. But there's no proof to say that he gave a warden money," said Mohamed Chedid, from the Centre for Development and Protection of Forest Resources.

Observers have warned for many years about the effect of the illegal trade in cedars, which hold water and reduce erosion in an area regarded as Morocco's main water reserve.

"Uncontrolled logging leads to erosion and desertification, which threatens the ecological balance of the region," said academic Abdeslam Ouhejjou.

"The Middle Atlas forests are Morocco's main water reserve and any disruption there has repercussions for the rest of the country," he warned.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Moroccan Toads , Moroccan Tide - Environmentalists working in Morocco

I've come across these two rather interesting sites both dealing with an environmental matter in Morocco. One is concerned with studying an endangered toad and the other about the use of the clothing detergent Tide in Morocco and how this must be affecting the groundwater.

Below is a short portion of the Tide article, click on the link above for the full version :
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On the 30^th May 2008, almost 10 months ago, colleague and good friend of mine decided to write to Alan G. Lafley, Chairman of Procter & Gamble .

My friend had just returned from Morocco where he had been shocked by the overwhelming presence of Tide washing products in most of the rural areas he had visited. He shared one observation that is rather common place in the Maghreb: many inhabitants wash clothing directly in the streams of the back country.

With Tide washing powder available everywhere in nearby markets, the obvious question that sprung to his mind was whether the products had been adapted to the local environment. In fact, Moroccans use the word "Tide" in a generic manner to describe a "detergent". This is telling of the product's importance the country.

Morocco suffers from water scarcity and overall poor water quality. The Government has a very informative website that depicts a comprehensive portrait of the country's water resources (in French and Arabic) .

Yet, many Moroccans are using one of Procter & Gamble's leading brands: "Tide". They do so directly in the streams. An estimated 90 percent of wastewater in developing countries similar to Morocco is still discharged directly into rivers and streams without any waste treatment processing[1].

Many streams in Morocco show very little quantities of dissolved oxygen, especially when of industrial or agricultural origin. Authorities also report that water quality in many lakes, basins, and reservoirs show increasing signs of eutrophication . It is proven that this situation usually originates from inputs of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from human activities such as farming, washing, and industrial processes.