Morocco seeks military support to build mountain terraces for water security

The Great Atlas Foundation of Morocco advocates for the urgent construction of agricultural terraces in the Atlas Mountains to combat a severe national water crisis.

Morocco faces a structural water scarcity crisis, with renewable water resources per person dropping from approximately 2,500 to 2,600 cubic meters in the 1960s to between 600 and 620 cubic meters today. This decline puts the country near the absolute water scarcity threshold of 500 cubic meters.

The drought from 2019 to 2025 caused dam levels to fall to 32.8 percent in 2022 and severely impacted the agricultural sector, where 80 percent of cultivated land relies on rainfall. Dr. Youssef Ben Mir of the Great Atlas Foundation argues that building terraces along mountain ranges and high plateaus will retain rainwater and slow surface runoff. These structures allow water to seep into the soil to recharge underground aquifers.

The project would also create new land for cultivation, reduce soil erosion, and protect villages from falling rocks, a hazard highlighted by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in the Greater Atlas Mountains in 2023. The initiative aims to include women's cooperatives in the new agricultural land to provide them with sustainable income. The foundation suggests that the government should mobilize military institutions to handle the large scale of this work, similar to programs in Kenya, Ethiopia, and India.

While the Moroccan government has already established the National Water Plan and the Green Morocco Plan, the foundation argues that terrace construction is a necessary priority. This work would benefit both mountain communities and lowland areas by restoring watershed functions and building resilience against climate change.