Analysis of the Water Management System in a Mountain Territory, the Case of the Nekor Watershed, Rif, Morocco

Abstract

Integrated management has become an essential approach for sustainable water resource management. However, if the concept seems relevant, its concrete application at the local scale has yet to be undertaken, with all the difficulties related to the complexity underlying the issue. The Rif is characterized by the multiplication and interdependence of uses, the overlapping responsibilities between public and private actors, the superposition of sectoral regulations, which raises the following question: Is the current management of water resources in the Rif mountains suitable for a future constraining on several aspects: socio-economic and climatic? The general objective of this work is to analyze the current management of water resources scientifically, politically, institutionally and legally, to identify the innovations needed for sustainable management and adaptation to climate change in the Rif Mountains. The systemic approach allowed us to highlight and prioritize the structuring elements of water management in the Nekor basin and their interactions. The crossing of hydrological data with socio-economic data allowed us to have a global and multidisciplinary vision of both uses and water resources, and of all the components of the system’s environment, the interdependencies influence the management system, despite the complexity accentuated by the lack of data. Indeed, it was difficult to identify the influence of each component. The current degradation of resources is only a reflection of a socio-cultural crisis that can only be remedied by a change in mentality, economic development, social equity and more solidarity between the city and rural communities.