Morocco on track to exceed mdg targets for water and sanitation services, wb says
By Madison on mar 09, 2010
Rabat – Morocco is now on track to exceed the targets for water and sanitation services contained in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the World Bank said.
« Morocco is now on track to exceed the targets for water and sanitation services contained in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), thanks to greater public spending on water supply and sanitation infrastructure, » the World Bank said in a note on Morocco.
Between 2005 and 2009, public expenditure in support of urban, peri-urban, and rural water supply and sanitation infrastructure programs rose to 25% of the total public expenditure for water (which also covers water resource management and irrigation), the Washington-based organization noted.
Extending water supply & developing new alternatives
The Bank added that as a result of acceleration of rural water supply programs, including a $60 million project financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), potable water access has risen to over 87% in 2009 from 50% in 2004.
It underlined that the government has also placed new emphasis on water management policies, including development of new alternatives, such as desalination and water reuse.
In this regard, the WB said that the MAD 34 billion National Irrigation Water Efficiency Program, launched in 2008, is aimed at generating water efficiency gains of 30-to-50% by converting conventional irrigation systems to water-saving technology.
It added the World Bank Group is assisting with the development of an innovative desalination private-public partnership in the Souss-Massa region, to complement irrigation resources and conserve groundwater.
Future prospects
Tackling the future prospects, the Bank says that besides the implementation of on-going projects, next steps in the water partnership with the Morocco may include policy dialogue and lending to accompany further reforms and investment for climate change adaptation of water resources management, irrigation sector modernization, water supply and sanitation sector reorganization and regulation, and nationwide replication of peri-urban connection pilots.
The World Bank said the reforms undertaken in Morocco in the field of water and sanitation “contributed to a jump in the number of rural people with access to potable water, and in the number of poor peri-urban households connected to piped water and sewage services.”
Morocco’s water policy “largely successful”
Due to scarce and unevenly distributed rainfall, the country has made water a key economic and social development issue, said the document, noting that Morocco has invested heavily in dams, water supply capacity and large-scale irrigation systems, to secure water for urban and agricultural demands.
Underlining that this policy was “largely successful”, the Bank highlighted the efforts that are to be made in terms of water demand management, water resource conservation and protection, and equitable service development in rural and poor communities.
The Bank also noted that Morocco’s water management strategies needed to adapt to meet a number of challenges: growing water deficits, persisting gaps in service access, slow changes in legislation, limited infrastructure programs, pressing demographic growth, and climate change.
Morocco-WB cooperation in water field
The document recalled that in 2007, a $100 million Morocco Water Sector development policy loan supported comprehensive water reforms in Morocco.
It also recalled that prior to the loan, IBRD supported extensive analytical work and capacity building with $2.2 million and another $8.5 million in trust fund grants.
These efforts led to a reform program in which water-demand management, conservation and resource protection became new thrusts in Morocco’s water strategy, the document noted.
source: map