Adaption to Climate Change in Morocco- ACCMA -Project. The results of Three Years and a Half of Research for Development

But the surprise was still in store, torrential rains which were more reminiscent of winter’s stormy nights than summer days.

This strange display of weather, let alone the terrible natural disasters experienced by some Asian countries and which have wreaked havoc with crops and cattle and cost their lives to many, presents an scene never witnessed before by our planet.

Tackling concerns similar to these, the Adaptation to Climate Change in Morocco–ACCMA- project has over three and a half years conducted scientific research that produced almost 75 studies through which it sought to shed light on the harshest rural areas of Morocco, a region at the mercy of extreme weather conditions in the Moroccan Rif and northeastern coastal Mediterranean zones, namely in Nador, Berkane and Driouech. The studies were structured around axes that embodied the main grievances of a population that endures social vulnerability, rural isolation and depleted resources.

The ACCMA Project proposed an action plan for the integrated coastal zones management in the context of climate change and weaved a social dynamic between the inhabitants of targeted areas and the various local decision makers. This approach acquires even higher importance since the region under study hosts three wetlands of international importance classified as RAMSAR Sites, namely the lagoon of Nador (Mar Chica), the Cap des Trois Fourches and the estuary of the River mouth of Moulouya, besides the Gourougou Mountain which is also a site of biological and ecological interest and ecosystems endangered by human activity and climate change.

The Project has come to an end, having fulfilled its objectives and identified the emergency interventions needed on the part of decision makers, the civil society and the population to improve their adaptive capacity to potential climate change impacts..

Testimonies

At the opening of the session held to announce the closing of the ACCMA Project, Prof. Mohamed Saber, Director of the National School for Forest Engineers, commended the achievements of the project which concluded with good results and collected valuable and accurate scientific data which uncovers the sources of vulnerability as a first step towards achieving a climate change-adapted development. Dr Saber went on to say that the project has made it possible to collect a wealth of local knowledge and to launch development initiatives that sensitized local residents, decision makers and the civil society. The research also highlighted the role of local council elects in tackling development issues and interacting with the researchers; and consolidated relations between various role players, endeavoring at the same time to involve women in management matters as they are most affected by climate change.

The President of the Boudinar rurale commune, Mr Hussein Saidi, expressed satisfaction with the results and indisputable accuracy of the studies conducted by ACCMA through a concrete reality check. The studies have made it possible to encourage donors to further support adaptation to climate change in the region.

The president pointed out that the research results can be considered as a detailed action plan that addresses issues of paramount importance and the means and ways of resolving them through a participatory approach that breaks the isolation of the collectivity’s villages and builds the capacity of the population to confront the natural and climatic constraints unique to the region in general, as well as to rationalize human intervention to better reflect the capacities and limited resources of the area.
Representing the Directorate of Meteorology, Mrs Fatima Driouech explained ACCMA’s approach for adaption to climate change in terms of weather monitoring in northeast of Morocco, which entails short-term monitoring weather and temperatures in the region using scientific data. Weather monitoring is adjusted to the long term of 30 years and above following scientific models that are based on precise physical laws.

Taking the floor, Dr Zine El Abidine explained the importance of the ACCMA project and the approach adopted in the research, addressing several aspects related to climate change and building local adaptation capacities, as well as devising activities based on a participatory basis that opens the way before all relevant role players. He likened the ACCMA project to a pilot school that tackles the phenomenon of climate change using different tools adapted to specific fields, by participating in various studies, particularly ecosystem system-related ones, supervising research projects and coaching the civil society on how to impact administrative and technical authorities. It also strived to build the civil society’s capacity to develop mechanisms of adaptation to climate change effects and to sensitize the population about the need for self-adaptation to this phenomenon.
74 documents on Integrated Management of Coastal Zones

Professor Abellatif Khattabi reviewed more than 74 research papers from various angles and aspects as primary conclusions in the integrated management of coastal areas faced by the inexorable invasion of visible and predicted climate changes. He underscored the importance of drawing benefits from these studies and integrating their contents in action plans and local master planning by the relevant authorities…

ACCMA Coordinator, Abdellatif Khattabi indicated that the studies carried out on coastal areas in the northeast of Morocco followed several approaches to analyze living conditions and styles, the extent of the inhabitants’ assimilation of climate changes, all in the course of evaluating the impact of these changes on their socio-economic activities and local environmental systems. Thus, a survey of the region’s flora and fauna was carried out within the framework of a biological, socioeconomic and finally ecological approach. More than 600 farmers were interviewed to identify and analyze problems related to agricultural activity and modes of subsistence in the region.

Dr Khattabi went on to explain in further detail the context and approach adopted in this research process, which was fundamentally participatory and collaborative involving most stakeholders in the region. The project, said has focused mostly on vulnerability and adaptation to sea level rise and extreme weather events, both of which are applicable to the flat lands of the Mediterranean coast, particularly in Nador and Berkane coasts. This requires recourse to the use of local meteorological data in Nador and Oujda where hotter temperatures and high frequency of extreme events have been documented, as well as beach sand erosion on the coastal strip of the Moulouya river mouth and lagoon of Nador, as clearly shown by satellite images and aerial photos.

Dr Khattabi reviewed data on irregular rainfall and soil erosion, a study on soil erosion in the targeted regions, and another study on the 2008-2009 floods experienced there and the severe damages inflicted upon some isolated areas which already suffer from social vulnerability induced by climate change and arbitrary human interference. Five main activities most vulnerable to climate change were identified in a participatory manner in the targeted region, namely traditional fishing, tourism, water, agriculture and natural ecosystems. In-depth studies were carried out on each sector of activity to gauge the impact of climate change on it according to the specific conditions of the area and through a participatory research action that involved local stakeholders taking into account the gender dimension, the overriding aim being to strengthen ecological systems and determine best adaptation options. This entailed the organization of various workshops in partnership with stakeholders such as the municipalities, the provinces administrations, the environment authority, the Tourism Provincial Delegation, the Provincial Forest Service, the regional Office of Agriculture, the University of Nador, local NGOs, professional associations of fishermen, cooperatives, etc.

Dr Khattabi pointed out that the ACCMA project has initiated the implementation of concrete adaptation actions for the benefit of local associations, thanks to the studies and research conducted and availability of data and information and which encouraged the Community Based Adaptation program (GEF/UNDP) and the National Initiative for Human Development to grant funding to two fishermen adaptation projects, one in Cap des trois Fourches and the other one in Saidia-Moulouya river mouth area, and two agricultural projects in the rural commune of Boudinar.

The ACCMA project is also attracting the World Bank’s sponsoring for other projects in the area and their implementation is foreseen in a short horizon.

A Poll on Climate Change Awareness
In the same vein, Professor Khattabi presented the results of a poll taken to gauge the level of awareness among the population about the concept and impact of climate change. He presented a summary of the poll, conducted in a highly focused and precise manner, indicating that the population held some misconceptions about the nature and causes of climate change, but had nonetheless some knowledge about its impacts on the region such as droughts and human diseases. The poll covered more than 600 residents of the targeted areas and 240 fishermen, using simplified questions designed to determine their perception of climate change.

The Adaptation to Climate Change in Morocco –ACCMA- sought to develop understanding, build capacities and assess vulnerabilities to climate change in various social contexts and economic sectors in the coastal areas of the Berkane, Nador and Driouech. The project lasted for three and a half years between 2007 and 2010 and studied adaptation to sea level rising and other extreme climate phenomena. The project also seeks to build the population’s capacity to adapt to climate change of which the impacts have noticeably worsened east of the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. ACCMA’s research has focused on local populations, giving special attention to the role of women and other social categories in order to learn about their lifestyles, sources of income and the extent of their awareness about the magnitude of climate changes to better assess the impact of these changes on their living conditions.

ACCMA falls under the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) program funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Department of International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom.


Mohamed Tafraouti