Environmental Issues in Morocco and the Effect of Information Technology
Julianne Yarbrough
In determining the top three environmental issues of Morocco I found it necessary to look back at the history of the country. Both the geography and the history of Morocco are factors that determine the environmental issues affecting the country today; that is to say, there is a certain degree of “eco-imperialism” that took place during the period of foreign rule that is having adverse effects on the environment today. There was much exploitation of agriculture and mineral sources of the territory (Evans, 227) which has led to land degradation, soil erosion, and ultimately desertification. There is also a high concern over the water shortage in the country. Morocco uses over 90% of its fresh water for agriculture and the available drinking water is further polluted by sewage and waste. This problem is expected to only get worse with the growing population. The state of the Wetlands in Morocco is also a major environmental issue. All of these environmental issues (land degradation, water supply, and drying up of Wetlands) are interconnected. The contamination of the environment through the extraction of heavy metals, which are used for information technology, is introduced into the atmosphere, terrestrial and aquatic systems and systematically cut down a country’s resources.
Morocco has, since the end of colonization, been focused on agriculture as its main form of income. Unfortunately, the farming practices in Morocco have not moved with the world and as a result the practices are only hurting the environment. (Ettamymy) One of the biggest threats from agriculture production is salinization, which occurs when land is overwatered and causes an increase of salts in the field. Plants cannot grow on salinized land and it must eventually be abandoned. (Robbins and Seaton). This long drought cycles and poor water management in Morocco has led to desertification as the number one environmental issue affecting the country currently.
The way water is utilized does not do much to help the desertification process in Morocco. Climate change has led to longer droughts within the country to begin with; however, the archaic agricultural practices of the country reserve a majority of the water resources to be used for irrigation. In this way, this shows that the biggest environmental issues in the country are all interconnected. Looking at Morocco geographically can help to determine how water is a major environmental issue facing the country. It has a great diversity of climates; stretching from the Mediterranean area to the north Atlas Mountains, the temperate coastal land to the west and desert to the east, this means there is a large range of ecosystems with each of the climates listed above. Unfortunately, in spite of these natural advantages Morocco has not been able to reach a developmental scheme to aid the entire population and preserve the environment. Morocco has a limited renewable water source, and it is made even more volatile by the extreme variations in the climate. This ties in directly with the increasing deterioration of water quality from the dumping of untreated industrial and household waste in the clean water supply.
“Throughout the country the land is becoming less fertile, arable layers are being lost due to water and wind erosion, dams and reservoirs are silting up because of erosion, there is salinization and desertification, urban areas are being developed to the detriment of agricultural land, there are great accumulations of sand in arid areas and the oases, and mining and quarrying are causing the natural environment to deteriorate.” (Espace Associatif)
The degradation of ecosystems threatens the country’s biodiversity, in every region where different species flourish. Salinity levels are rising and land erosion is increasing, aggravated by the over-exploitation of resources, and the natural and artificial desiccation of wetlands.
The Wetlands are facing pressing environmental issues that come as a direct result of a growing population. They are being polluted with industrial, urban, and agricultural waste—raising air, water, and soil toxicity rates. This problem spans across the Mediterranean where agriculture is the main economic support that countries have and there are substantial pressures for the expansion and intensification through improved irrigation, better drainage, increased use of agro-chemicals and fertilizers, and enhanced mechanization. (Vives, 217) Draining these wetlands is one of the ways in which humans pursue agricultural land area, yet it is detrimental to ecosystems and biodiversity; but less dramatic ways can also affect wetlands, such as irrigation schemes through the damming of rivers. The reduction of river flow by inter-basin transfer or the enhanced evaporation concentrates salts in the water draining from the fields. This process ties back into the original point environmental factor, desertification; it can therefore be seen that each environmental problem that the country is facing is connected to each other. Desertification is at the top, yet it stems from issues such as salinization which come from the lack of water that Morocco is dealing with, and because of this lack of water we can see the drying of Wetlands along the Mediterranean. Each issue affects the other in a roundabout way which goes to show that everything within an ecosystem is interconnected.
The top environmental issues in the country act on each other, and are also products of each other. Likewise, information technology has an effect on environmental issues. The actions of humans are holistic, and the needs of one country are not exclusive. The mining of minerals in Morocco are dominated by phosphate mining, but includes anthracite, antimony, barite, cobalt, copper, fluorspar, iron ore, lead, manganese, salt, silver, and zinc. These minerals are invaluable to the creation of information technology. Antimony is a metal extracted from stibnite and is a hardening alloy for lead, especially storage battery and cable sheaths. It is also used for semiconductor technology. Cobalt is used in super alloys for jet engines. Copper is used in electric cables and wires, and for switches, among other construction purposes. Iron ore is used in auto parts and in ferrites for the electronic industry. Lead has use in batteries and electrical and electronic applications. Silver has great use in electronics because of its very high conductivity, and is a catalyst in electric conductors. Finally Zinc is used for electroplating, electric fuses, and dry cell batteries. (Mineral Information Institute).
Morocco is the top silver producer in Africa (Centre Marocain de Conjencture), and while the other minerals listed do not come mainly from Morocco it is clear that their value has not escaped the eye of the miners. Because every environmental issue in the World is intertwined and affects another area it is clear that the mining of these resources can lead to the land degradation in Morocco. The environmental impact of mining can be detrimental, including problems such as erosion, loss of biodiversity, contamination of soil, groundwater, and surface water from the chemicals used when mining. The contamination of the water is especially detrimental to Morocco with climate change and increasing time of drought. With the harmful effects that the production of agriculture has already had on Morocco it is clear to see that erosion from the mining of minerals will only serve to cause more harm to the environment of Morocco.
Issues affecting the environment are not related to one problem and one problem alone. They are all entwined to create a massive problem that cannot be solved individually. This is clear to see when examining any country, and in this case Morocco. The number one problem effecting Morocco is desertification and every other problem tumbles into place from there the increased salinization of the soil in Morocco has led to increase of irrigation and further depletion of water resources that has then led to the drying of wetlands, displacement of animals and loss of biodiversity in a country that has many rich ecosystems. The harvesting of heavy metals exacerbates this problem by contaminating water sources and causing land erosion. It is impossible to imagine a world without information technology; however, the adverse effects that supplying this technology has on the environment may weigh out their overall use in the long run.
Works Cited
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Vives, Pere Tomas. "Ecological Change in the Wetlands." Monitoring Mediterranean Wetlands: A Methodological Guide. N.p.: MedWet Publication, 1996. 5-21. Print.