3. Querying Community-based versus Governmental water management in Morocco

I find the topic of questioning effectiveness of community based water management fascinating due to its relevance to the political and practical debate of who holds responsibility for water management. Pragmatic acceptance of modern government’s incapability of sustainable water management points towards a more bottom-up approach whereby local communities would take control over the resources they utilise (Carter et al, 1999). Within the wider political sphere, narrative placing the dichotomy between people and state into a Manichean framework seems ever-present as worldwide, protests and technological advancements are promoted in response to government inefficiency. Yet literature querying community based water management is inconclusive as to whether community management or community participation are the prerequisites for sustainable water management; the first relinquishes responsibility of the government to oversee management and requires sustained community involvement which may be lacking, whereas the second requires community involvement so far as advantages for water infrastructure are understood and agreed upon. Issues of geographical boundaries play into both, where the community using the water resource is not necessarily the same as the predefined clan/ family/ village/ ethnicity. (Harvey et al, 2006), as well as the question then of whether the community are capable and actually desire to take charge of the management. 

To gain a deeper insight into the above, I’d like to look into the case study of the Sidi Abdellah dam located in the Souss valley in Southern Morocco, known for “produc[ing] more than half of Morocco’s exported citrus and vegetables.”. Groundwater for agricultural irrigation is obtained from the Sous Valley alluvial aquifer, where the recharge rate is 4506 m3 per annum (varying according to rainfall) with a total use of 9656 m3 per annum with a large deficit thus occurring annually and previously being accounted for by mining groundwater (Keith & Outtar, 2003).

Figure 1; ibid, 2003. The above graph illuminates the drop in aquifer levels, Guerdane is 20km from Taroudant.

I spent 3 months working in Taroudant, as seen South West of Sidi Abdellah on figure 3, where I heard varied opinions between those against (usually elderly, valuing traditional small community structures) and for development (usually youth excited at the opportunities given by development), though the latter didn’t seem overly concerned with power relations between community versus government. I interviewed a friend working in the dam’s construction, where he was responsible for managing itinerary, raw materials and construction machinery.

Figure 2; Image displays the geographical position of the dam in relation to surrounding towns.(RCC Dams, 2019)

To give an overview of the interview; during the reign of King Hasan II of Morocco (1961-1999), the monarchical government considered saving water of utmost importance so began water infrastructure projects all over Morocco, culminating in over 150 dams to this day. Construction of the Sidi Abdellah dam was contracted to Moroccan construction group EMT who signed for bankruptcy in 2013, the dam was then passed onto SGTM-Maroc in 2017. Once the dam is completed, the government will hand it over to وكالت الحود المأي, a governmental agency responsible for managing all dams in Morocco. Approximately 60% of the construction workers and craftsmen in the dam are from Taroudant, it has temporarily become a source of livelihood to a town high in unemployment. During the long summer months , citizens of Taroudant often suffer frequent water scarcity, and so are, according to my interviewee, appreciative of the dam’s importance in sustaining the rising population. Throughout the interview, I tried to focus on the question of whether people perceive the government and governmental agencies as capable for managing the dam, or whether smaller community based management was preferred. The answer I received was that the interviewee perceived the topic of water as too great an issue for local people to attempt to manage given the desire for continued infrastructural expansion and economic development. One reason the interviewee quoted for this was that if water management was given into community hands, then development of the region deteriorate and ‘things would go back to how they were’. This view held by many of the younger generation, many of whom attribute tradition as to why Moroccan culture and society has not developed as far as they like. 

The above ideas align with Hobbes Social Contract Theory, whereby in the ‘state of nature’ without governing bodies, individual rights were in full force meaning that society’s right to security was impeded, and in realising this the social contract was developed to regain societal right to freedom whereby acts designed morally wrong are disallowed by assumed agreement between people (Hobbes, 1651). In relation to the youth of Taroudant and Morocco, it seems widely acknowledged that a social contract between state and society has ‘saved’ the current population from some dystopian idea of the past. Moreover, the current and former kings of Morocco are well-respected, this can be accounted to them often being positively compared to previous monarchies and French colonialism. Although the above case study relates more to a large governmental project rather than one compatible with small community based management, negative attitudes to assuming responsibility of participation in the dam’s management could be transferred to scrutinizing the idea of community based management versus community participation, in that Taroudant residents are eager to participate in the outcomes and contribute to the workforce of the dam, but prefer that overarching larger structures assume responsibility of overall management. 

Interview transcript