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Morocco
>> Regional Overview >>Morocco Overview Program Data Sheet
608-006
USAID MISSION: Morocco
PROGRAM TITLE: Protecting Morocco’s Environment for Sustainable Development (Pillar: Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade)
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE AND NUMBER: Improved Water Resources Management in the Souss-Massa River Basin, 608-006
STATUS: Continuing
PLANNED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $2,300,000 DA
PROPOSED FY 2003 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $3,000,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: 1999 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 2005Summary: USAID's program to improve water resources management in the Souss-Massa region of southern Morocco includes—
- technical assistance and training to improve planning and decision-making;
- funding for pilot projects to demonstrate improved water management technologies for agriculture, industry, and homes;
- technical assistance to develop policies that encourage efficient water use; and
- technical assistance and training to increase decentralization and private-sector involvement in water management.
Inputs, Outputs, and Activities: FY 2002 Program: FY 2002 funds will be used to strengthen institutional and decentralization activities already underway, as well as to initiate pilot projects that demonstrate improved water savings and protection of water quality. USAID will continue developing information technology (IT) networks to improve communication, data sharing, and confidence building among government and private-sector partners. Under the Souss-Massa Integrated Water Management activity, USAID will design and install an IT network for water users associations as well as for up to six government agencies involved in water management. USAID will launch a web site targeting different economic and social sectors of the economy, such as industry, local governments, and NGOs. USAID will also provide training for the Director and Board of Directors of the newly created Souss-Massa River Basin Agency. These activities will improve planning and decision making to protect the region’s water resources.
Also in FY 2002, USAID will launch five pilot projects consisting of the purchase and installation of equipment to transmit real-time data on water availability; an inventory of wells and aquifers; electronic notification to farmers of when to irrigate; the use of drip irrigation by water user associations; and protection of coastal aquifers from salt water contamination. USAID will also develop a Geographic Information System, including the procurement of equipment for better planning and decision-making. To improve the role of civil society in water management in the region, USAID will select and train NGO water-users associations to participate on the River Basin Agency and to improve their advocacy and institutional development skills.
Planned FY 2003 Program: FY 2003 funds will be used to operationalize the Souss-Massa River Basin Agency. USAID will focus on staff training, installing administrative and financial controls, and financing technical assistance to develop operational policies and procedures. A policy-focused study tour to the United States will be organized for key staff of the River Basin Agency to observe integrated water management as practiced in the United States. Also, USAID will help develop a Water Master Plan for the Souss-Massa that will address the long-term needs of the river basin area.
FY 2003 funds will further develop the five pilot projects begun in FY 2002, and initiate a new, sixth pilot project on coastal zone protection. A major element of the new pilot project will be the development of legislation to reduce the amount of untreated municipal and industrial sewage discharged into the ocean and rivers. The drip irrigation pilot project will be ready for replication to additional water users associations, a development that will greatly reduce the amount of water used by farms in the region.
FY 2003 funding will also fund studies and technical assistance to address policy shortfalls that discourage water savings. USAID proposes to support a policy advisor in the Ministry of Agriculture—the largest water-consuming sector in Morocco—to develop policy incentives to economize and use water on crops with higher economic returns. USAID will also help develop simulation models to determine optimal water allocation among sectors. In FY 2003, USAID plans to intensify drought-mitigation efforts by helping to install a regional drought reporting and monitoring system.
SUBMISSION OF THIS PROGRAM DATA SHEET CONSTITUTES FORMAL RENOTIFICATION OF USAID'S INTENT TO OBLIGATE FY 2002 RESOURCES FOR THE ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED ABOVE.
Performance and Results: The end-state of "Improved Water Resources Management in the Souss-Massa River Basin" will be achieved when 1) decision-making on water management is decentralized to the region; 2) all government agencies involved in water management are working collaboratively with each other and with the private sector; and 3) water is being conserved, nontraditional sources are being tapped, and water quality is protected.
USAID assistance to date has resulted in the issuance of a decree creating the Souss-Massa River Basin Agency, which consists of government agencies and urban and rural NGOs working together to share data for decision-making. These public- and private-sector agencies have developed proposals for six pilot projects involving data harmonization, water inventories, drip irrigation, protection of the aquifer from municipal and industrial pollution, and the use of IT for water management.
USAID has helped construct a cost-effective and environmentally appropriate wastewater treatment plant for communities of up to 30,000 persons. USAID technical assistance is helping prepare feasibility studies to replicate this technology in up to four more municipalities. USAID is also helping to replicate successful soil erosion techniques from earlier projects to protect reservoirs from siltation. USAID has drafted norms and standards for industrial water pollution control and wastewater reuse so that improved policies can be developed. All of the results and those yet to be achieved are helping to improve water resources management in the Souss-Massa*one of the most water-stressed regions in Morocco. Further, the resulting improved institutions, policies, and technologies in the Souss-Massa are a model for dissemination to other river basins in Morocco.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID uses two large prime contractors to implement its water program in Morocco. Development Alternatives, Inc., is the prime contractor for the SIWM activity, and Chemonics International is the prime contractor for the Watershed Protection and Management activity. In addition to these two prime contractors, numerous U.S. and Moroccan companies, universities, and NGOs are providing short-term assistance or work as subcontractors.
US Financing in Thousands of Dollars
608-006 Improved Water Resources Management in the Souss-Massa River Basin DA Through September 30, 2000 Obligations 3,459 Expenditures 553 Unliquidated 2,906 Fiscal Year 2001 Obligations 1,750 Expenditures 1,076 Through September 30, 2001 Obligations 5,209 Expenditures 1,629 Unliquidated 3,580 Prior Year Unobligated Funds Obligations 0 Planned Fiscal Year 2002 NOA Obligations 2,300 Total Planned Fiscal Year 2002 Obligations 2,300 Proposed Fiscal Year 2003 NOA Obligations 3,000 Future Obligations 3,300 Est. Total Cost 13,809
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
