An Investigation into Morocco\u27s Water Crisis

For my honors senior project, I will attempt to answer the following questions: 1) What are some of the primary causes of water shortages in rural Morocco (primarily focusing on the south eastern area of Morocco). 2)What are the ways governments and NGO’s are trying to fix the problem? 3) How are rural communities affected by water shortages? To answer this question, I am going to use a combination of field work, such as visiting, observing, and talking to people in the rural villages when possible, contacting people who are currently working on NGO projects or people who have already completed one of these projects, and by doing a thorough review of scientific research and of government documents. In doing my research, I would like to focus on one town, while also examining the experiences of other rural towns as they relate to the rest of the country. The first town I would like to study is Zawiah Ahnsal, which is located at about 5000 ft elevation in the High Atlas Mountains. I visited this town for a field trip recently and was struck by the remoteness; It was about a three-hour drive to the closest town with any amenities. Six years ago, an association made of volunteers, men who grew up in the village, left to get their college degree, returned, and engineered running water to almost every home in the village. As a result of this project, the village saw in increased number of children going to school and an improvement in the quality of life of the women in the village because they did not have to spend as much time getting water for the household. This project will attempt to look at how government development policies, and non-profit organizations are affecting the water shortage and lack of infrastructure bringing water to people, and how these policies are effecting rural communities