Cap des Trois Fourches, North of Nador For the Sustainability of Livelihood and Adaptation to Climate Change

These resources which constitute the basic source of local livelihood suffer from vulnerability and continuous impoverishment due to overharvesting.

A person may be forced to live on a steeply inclined, rocky, arid or highly saline land. Sometimes, conditions force men to live close to water systems in which fishing resources are steadily dwindling. How does one adjust to life’s conditions when these are affected by alarmingly fast paced climate and environmental changes?

How can we come up with initiatives that provide opportunity and know-how, guarantee access to resources and bring to fruition the joint efforts of researcher, farmers and poor fishermen, men and women, for a sustainability of income sources and adaptation to climate changes?

The Adaptation to Climate Change in Morocco –ACCMA- project, implemented in the framework of Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA), jointly funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC), Canada, and the Department of Foreign Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, has conducted an in-depth review and analysis of the Eastern Mediterranean Coast of Morocco, a region that hosts exceptionally beautiful wetlands classified as RAMSAR sites, one of which is Cap des Trois Fourches (Tres Forcas).

Cap des Trois Fourches is a soaring coastal cliff or mountainous rise which penetrates the Mediterranean Sea over 20 kilometers, located 25 kilometers away from the northern front of Nador and some 100 km away from the borders of Algeria. It stretches over 8000 hectares of which 80% hugs the coast.

The project is aimed at building the capacity of Tibouda village residents, in the rural commune of Beni Chiker, to adapt to climate change and reduce the vulnerability of the local ecosystems which are under severe onslaught as a result of alarmingly fast climate changes.

The project selected two main axes in its efforts to improve adaptation to climate change. These include the betterment of traditional fishing practices in order to adapt fishing to climate change, and agriculture and water management, i.e. the ability of agricultural activities to halt the depletion of water resources and the rising salinity of soil and water through rainwater catchment and better water management.

Residents of Tibouda engage in such traditional activities as fishing, farming, and cattle raising as well as gathering various natural resources. The area suffers from its geographical isolation and difficulty of access. The local fishing community relies on 44 boats ranging in length from 3.5 to 6 meters. Less important activities include farming in mountainous terrain, orchards, grain and legumes cultures and fruit trees.

Over the past few years, a number of inhabitants of this area have migrated to neighbouring cities and to foreign countries in search of jobs or for necessity to children to have access to secondary education.

Rising Temperatures

The region is subject to climate change which manifests themselves in higher temperatures and weather unpredictability, in addition to extreme weather phenomena such as heat waves, storms and floods. These phenomena and changes impact directly on the local communities by jeopardising traditional agricultural activities as a result of excessive evaporation, scarcity of water for irrigation, the deterioration of an already impoverished soil, and the salinity of soil and coastal underground table. They also undermine fishing activities by reducing the number of fishing days, depleting fish resources and therefore producing fish catches of a lesser quality and quantity.

This desolate environmental and social situation calls for a serious intervention to alleviate the impact of climate change, break the isolation of the region’s populations and dissuade them from migrating to cities.

Dr. Abdellatif Khattabi, coordinator of the ACCMA project and professor at the National School for Forest Engineers, explained that the project aims to reinforce the capacity of fishermen and farmers to adapt to climate change, lessen the vulnerability of an ecosystem that provide goods and services for the local population, as well as promote other subsistence activities. This would help the population in remedying to the resource (water and soil) vulnerability inherent to climate change. Such process would involve helping fishermen and farmers adjust to climate change impacts by improving the fishing techniques and conditions, as well as agriculture production by developing water harvesting and use.

Analysing the benefits that may be reaped from some of the proposals and contents of the study carried out by the research team, Dr. Khattabi explained that the adaptation of fishermen to rising temperatures by improving the conditions of fish storage in hot weather requires a rehabilitation of the existing old storage unit of the village and training fishermen with the help of local civil society.
To co finance this project, coordination is underway with the Community Based Adaptation program (GEF/UNDP) for which the strategic priorities fall in line with this project, and with the AFAK Association for Human Development as which is a project carrier for fishermen community of Tibouda. The project implementation will be monitored through measuring reliable indicators for land restoration and sustainably managed, fishing activity improvement, etc. Low rainfall and rising temperatures, compounded with violent floods, droughts and other manifestations of climate change extremes, exacerbate soil deterioration and are steadily eroding the suitability of lands for farming by increasing the soil and underground water salinity.

100, 000 dollars

Queried about the role of the project in alleviating climate change impacts, Dr. Abdellatif Khattabi indicated that the activities scheduled under the project include enabling the local populations to develop rational water and soil management techniques as well as farming techniques related to water salinity, soil erosion and salinity and improving the techniques and the practices of the fishing activity.

Haj Mohamed, a resident of the region, underscored the enthusiasm of the population for a project aimed at rehabilitating their living environment through workshops organised to this end with various social stakeholders (fishermen, farmers and women), and in cooperation with the rural community and other elements in line with the local tradition and practice known as ‘Touiza’.

The cost of the project is estimated at US$ 100 000. The project carrier, the AFAK Association for Human Development, the local community, the fishermen and the local government will only contribute US$48 000, while the ACCMA project funds the cost of stocktaking, project proposal development and the facilitation of participatory workshops.


Mohammed Tafraouti