The effects of drought in the Maghreb are no longer limited to the decline in dam reserves or the reduction of water resources available to the population and agriculture, but have begun to appear in one of the most fragile links of the system, which is freshwater systems, lakes and wetlands.
As countries in the region face rising temperatures and more frequent droughts, there are growing concerns that some of these phenomena could turn from seasonal, recoverable conditions into deeper changes that affect the ability of water systems to restore their balance.
The lakes of the Middle Atlas in Morocco offer a striking example. They are a group of natural lakes scattered among the Atlas Mountains and plateaus, especially in the Middle Atlas and the High Atlas in Morocco. But at the same time, it raises a question that goes beyond Moroccan borders: Is what is happening in these lakes an early warning of what other water systems in the Maghreb may face?
The study showed that 6 lakes had completely dried up by the end of the monitoring period, namely Ifrah, Hashlaf, Awa, Afnourir, Afourgagh and Tamda, while the water area of the two lakes of Aguelmame Aziza decreased by about 52%, and Sidi Ali by about 34%.
The study does not attribute this decline to a single factor, but rather links it to the interaction of climatic and human pressures, from rising temperatures, lack of rainfall, and heat waves, to the expansion of agricultural activities and unsustainable use of water, with repercussions that have affected ecosystems, biodiversity, and fish communities associated with these lakes.
Is the drought temporary or a long-term shift?
According to Dr. Leila Mandy, an expert in water science, environment and sustainable development and a member of the African Academy of Sciences and the French Academy of Water, what is happening in Morocco reflects pressures that also exist in other wetland areas in the Maghreb, although they differ from country to country and from one water system to another.
Mandy argues that the common denominator is rising temperatures, drought, and human pressure on water resources, but the Atlas Mountain lakes differ from the salt flats and salt marshes of Algeria and Tunisia, the coastal wetlands of Libya, or the systems associated with the Senegal River in Mauritania. Therefore, interpreting these changes must consider the local characteristics of each water system, rather than reducing them all to climate change.
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