Desertification threatens 90 percent of Moroccan land

Desertification threatens 90 percent of land in Morocco, where forests cover only 8 percent of the national territory.

The alarming figures were disclosed Friday in Rabat by water and forests minister, Hassan Maaouni, at a scientific seminar on water traditional management.

The minister imputed the intensification of desert encroachment to strong demographic growth and weak adaptation of natural resources exploitation.

Maaouni also warned of increasing erosion, noting that 25 percent of the 20 million hectares of basins in Morocco risk hydraulic erosion.

The official also deplored weak exploitation of water resources. Morocco's water resources are estimated at 150 billion cubic meters annually and only 16 billion cubic meters of surface waters and 4 billion of underground water are exploited. 80 percent of this water is used in agriculture and 14 percent in domestic and industrial consumption, he said.

Maaouni called for the promotion of economically and ecologically viable exploitation practices and a rational management of water infrastructures (dams and reservoirs) combining an efficient struggle against water squandering.