**3. The politics of water management in Morocco**

It is not rare to hear people talk of water as the new gold, or to associate the idea of having water as having power. Water security has grown as a major concern for the 21st century. In brief, who manages water inevitably has to deal with political issues. As Turton stressed, "Because water is scarce, and because it is essential for life, health and welfare, it has become a contested terrain and therefore a political issue" (Turton, 2002, p.9). In the literature, one talks of **hydropolitics** as "the authoritative allocation of values in society with respect to water". This definition implies the issue of **scale** (ranging from the individual, to

From Traditional to Modern Water Management Systems;

*khulafa*, stewarts of the earth.

(ablution before praying) and *ghusl* (bathing).

registered).

Social and spiritual dimensions of water

Non economic instruments for water management

Economic instruments for water management

Integrated water management (IWM) at different levels

Faruqui et al. (2001)

Reflection on the Evolution of a 'Water Ethic' in Semi-Arid Morocco 245

registered rights over water, customary rights registered and customary rights un-

Water is considered a blessing from God that gives and sustains life and purifies humankind and the earth. Water is especially important for muslims for its use in *wudu*

Equity: A Muslim cannot hoard excess water- he is obliged to allow others to benefit from it. The priority of water use rights is: first the right of humans to quench their thirst, second, the right of cattle and household animals and third the right of irrigation. In Islam, human-environment interactions are guided by the position of humans as

The Qu'ran states clearly that the supply of water is fixed and that it should not be wasted. Given the importance of cleanliness in Islam, and that many MENA countries have minimal waste water treatment, it is common to hear muslims declare that *waste* 

Family planning is allowable in Islam but should not be encouraged solely for material reasons. In many countries continued high population growth is severely stressing existing water resources and the environment. Family planning could help prevent

Economic measures over water usage are controversial in Muslim nations because of the **Islam precept that water cannot be bought or sold**. In Islam, water is considered the gift of God, so no individual literally owns it. According to Islam, a fair tariff will lead to equity across society. In endorsing fair markets, the prophet refused to fix prices for goods in the market, including water, except in special circumstances. Most Muslim scholars agree that a just price for water is that determined by the market, providing

Economic practices also deal with **intersectoral transfers of water**, which will change radically in the next decades. Are intersectoral water markets allowable in Islam? As a population evolves from rural and agrarian to urban and industrial, reallocation is not only permissible but is required to preserve equity, and the primacy of the right to

**IWM** should address all water resource management issues in relation to each other and to the water sector as a whole, with the goal of promoting equity, efficiency and sustainability. The water sector has many horizontal and vertical linkages and IWM

**Community based water management**: The input of the community on matters that concerns it, including water management, is mandatory in Islam. This consultation is

**National level**: haddith command not to harm oneself and others, and the environment

**International levels**: *Shura* (consultation on matters of mutual interest) and *fassad* 

– hence encouraging an integrated approach that protects humans and nature.

*water reuse* is undesirable or even haram (unlawful according to Islam).

further reductions in water availability of water per capita.

quench thirst. Intersectoral transfers are considered inevitable.

required of all of those who are entitled a voice – women too.

(avoiding harm and damage) should be applied internationally.

Table 1. How does Islam regards various approaches to water management - adapted from

needs to address micro and macro level decisions.

that the market is free from unfair practices.

the household, village, city, social, provincial, national and international level with a number of undefined levels in between) and the **range of issues** that are covered (water conflicts and their mitigation, states and non-state actors, water service delivery, water for food, the social value of water, the political value of water, the psychological value of water, water demand management (WDM), water as a target of aggression, water as an instrument of peace, water and gender, …). Including in the range of issues is the core place occupied by water in a specific type of development, as mediator between people and nature. The politics of scarce natural resource management offers a particularly interesting terrain of research in the context of both a *Muslim country* and a rise in *sustainable concerns*, as well as when attempting to **re-think the notion of economic development**. It is on these three aspects that I will be focusing next.

### **3.1 The evolution of water politics in Morocco: Towards 21st century 'new departures'?**

Morocco is a Muslim country. Its King is the religious chief of 'his' believers, and the conduct of economic, social, political affairs all have to be in agreement with Islamic principles. In the context of environmental management, and with regards to water, in particular, this could and should present an advantage since water is so central to Islam. As Caroline Pestieau, then president of the International Development Research Centre, emphasised in her preface to Faruqui et al.'s book on Islam and water management, "since Islam is the religion of about one-fifth of the world's population and the official faith of a number of countries, in many of which water is the key scarce factor for development, understanding its actual or potential role is important" (in Faruqui et al, 2001, p.vii). Reminding ourselves of the Islamic principles related to water management is important in order to understand the present structure and functioning of water institutions in Morocco (Table 1).

This is because "the laws and rules governing the functioning of land and water uses in the country have actually emerged from the historical superimposition of three bodies of laws and rules: the *Orf* (customary sets of rules and admitted practices), the *Chraa* (religious interpretation of the Islamic law and rules) and the modern legislation introduced by the French protectorate and later reinforced by independent Morocco, since 1956" (Doukkali, 2005, p.75). When Islam was introduced to Morocco, the religious jurist (*Ulema*) accepted the very heterogeneous customary practices adapted to different physical milieu in the country. The only impact that the *Chraa* then had was to give some moral references that remained very theoretical and that didn't have real impact on the management of water resources. Lakes, groundwater and rivers, uncovered by customary laws, were at the time defined as public goods under the control of the sultan. At the beginning of the French Protectorate, in 1914, all surface waters were put under public domain following two arguments, as explained by Doukkali (2005). a) All waters were traditionally owned by central authority in Morocco. b) The concept of public domain was more in accordance with the true precepts of Islam. A state control over water was thus imposed by a protectorate very keen to manage the resources as it wanted. The conditions of water usage through irrigation and other purposes were described in a 1925 new legislation on water which strangled any private initiative on water development in the country.

The Protectorate also issued a law regarding water user associations to formalise and initiate the creation of an irrigation network. Three major rights systems were then in place (modern

the household, village, city, social, provincial, national and international level with a number of undefined levels in between) and the **range of issues** that are covered (water conflicts and their mitigation, states and non-state actors, water service delivery, water for food, the social value of water, the political value of water, the psychological value of water, water demand management (WDM), water as a target of aggression, water as an instrument of peace, water and gender, …). Including in the range of issues is the core place occupied by water in a specific type of development, as mediator between people and nature. The politics of scarce natural resource management offers a particularly interesting terrain of research in the context of both a *Muslim country* and a rise in *sustainable concerns*, as well as when attempting to **re-think the notion of economic development**. It is on these three

**3.1 The evolution of water politics in Morocco: Towards 21st century 'new** 

the present structure and functioning of water institutions in Morocco (Table 1).

Morocco is a Muslim country. Its King is the religious chief of 'his' believers, and the conduct of economic, social, political affairs all have to be in agreement with Islamic principles. In the context of environmental management, and with regards to water, in particular, this could and should present an advantage since water is so central to Islam. As Caroline Pestieau, then president of the International Development Research Centre, emphasised in her preface to Faruqui et al.'s book on Islam and water management, "since Islam is the religion of about one-fifth of the world's population and the official faith of a number of countries, in many of which water is the key scarce factor for development, understanding its actual or potential role is important" (in Faruqui et al, 2001, p.vii). Reminding ourselves of the Islamic principles related to water management is important in order to understand

This is because "the laws and rules governing the functioning of land and water uses in the country have actually emerged from the historical superimposition of three bodies of laws and rules: the *Orf* (customary sets of rules and admitted practices), the *Chraa* (religious interpretation of the Islamic law and rules) and the modern legislation introduced by the French protectorate and later reinforced by independent Morocco, since 1956" (Doukkali, 2005, p.75). When Islam was introduced to Morocco, the religious jurist (*Ulema*) accepted the very heterogeneous customary practices adapted to different physical milieu in the country. The only impact that the *Chraa* then had was to give some moral references that remained very theoretical and that didn't have real impact on the management of water resources. Lakes, groundwater and rivers, uncovered by customary laws, were at the time defined as public goods under the control of the sultan. At the beginning of the French Protectorate, in 1914, all surface waters were put under public domain following two arguments, as explained by Doukkali (2005). a) All waters were traditionally owned by central authority in Morocco. b) The concept of public domain was more in accordance with the true precepts of Islam. A state control over water was thus imposed by a protectorate very keen to manage the resources as it wanted. The conditions of water usage through irrigation and other purposes were described in a 1925 new legislation on water which strangled any private

The Protectorate also issued a law regarding water user associations to formalise and initiate the creation of an irrigation network. Three major rights systems were then in place (modern

aspects that I will be focusing next.

initiative on water development in the country.

**departures'?** 

registered rights over water, customary rights registered and customary rights unregistered).


Table 1. How does Islam regards various approaches to water management - adapted from Faruqui et al. (2001)

From Traditional to Modern Water Management Systems;

Reflection on the Evolution of a 'Water Ethic' in Semi-Arid Morocco 247

allocation, groundwater pumping and water pollution and quality. Their main responsibility is to prepare river basin management plans that are respectful of IWRM principles and well integrated in the twenty year National Water Master Plan, as indicated by the national government through the heavy inputs it provides in such enterprises. As Doukkali explains, the RBAs have considerable managerial and regulatory responsibilities beside their role in developing and supplying water. They can monitor and regulate water use and quality as well as plan and organise flood control and water related emergencies within their respective basins. That third institutional phase, that of the 1990s, therefore changed once again the configuration of water actors on the national scene. It also changed it on the international scene, since it is at that point that the government of Morocco decided to significantly reorganise its water administration and to promote the private sector in water resource development and management. Thus, the concessions for water distribution in four large cities (Tangier, Casablanca, Rabat and Tetouan) were granted to private water companies, and the private sector involvement was also extended to the irrigation sector in 2002, encouraged by World Bank enthousiasts, through two projects – the construction of a transmission pipeline (Guerdane project) and a distribution network (the Gharb project).

In the urban context, political choices related to water management options are characterised by three main phases, as Haouès-Joune explains. The final phase of the Protectorate (1946- 1953) was one during which the urbanism strategy was to ensure that the poorest communities could have access to urban services. In practice, that meant that efforts were put into providing services through infrastructures whose costs would be optimised. From the end of the 1970s, efforts were then put into identifying water tariffs that would be economically viable whilst still allowing the poorest communities to have access to water and water services. This was done in a context where the management and growth of accommodation was not well coordinated with the management of the water sector. Until the 1990s, water distribution was done both through 'régies' and through public services. To simplify, until the 1990s, the *institutional organisational* system, lead by the State, was as follows in the water sector (Allain-El Mansouri, 2005, p.166). Consultation bodies, such as the Superior Water and Climate Council, created in 1981, were aimed at coordinating the various actors in the water sector. *Administrative bodies* were originally represented by the Interior Ministry (through 'régies') and the Land, Environment and Water management Ministry. The creation of the Secretary of State for Water was aimed at illustrating the political will to prioritise water issues in the context of moves towards sustainable development strategies. At a local level, the directors of the 'agences de bassins' were in charge of implementing water policies imposed from above. *Public establishments* such as the ONEP (National Office in charge of drinkable water and régies) were in charge of the planning, production and provision of water in urban and rural centres and are autonomous financially. Finally, *local* 

*interventions* were undertaken by local collectivities and users associations.

Major changes took place in the 1990s with regards to political choices in the water sector. The risks of real water shortage had then increased in the country, together with the difficulties in meeting a growing demand for water because of the heavy expenditures associated with the equipment of new large scale infrastructures such as big dams, water transfers, water pollution treatment, and more extensive groundwater exploitation. The 1990s were marked by a desperate need to start saving water (water leakages were estimated to reach 40% of the resources provided), to improve water treatment and recycling, and to diminish the water infrastructure bills. Choices to be made were perceived as being technical

The dominant concerns for resource protection inherent in the 1914 and 1925 laws gave place to the emerging economic requirements of the independent country after 1956, and the Moroccan 'policy of dams', centred on irrigated agriculture, emerged. The State got involved in large scale development works and, "for the purposes of balancing growth requirements and poverty concerns, agricultural development became an important component of the economic strategy since the mid-1960s and through the 1970s and the 1980s" (Doukkali, 2005, p.78). The increase in State intervention in the water sector was then based on the 1969 Agricultural Investment Code. Since the 1980s, the emerging macroeconomic necessities and resource related constraints have prompted diverse types of water institutional reforms in Morocco.
