TY  - JOUR
A1  - Tekken, Vera
A1  - Costa, Luís Fílípe Carvalho da
A1  - Kropp, Jürgen
T1  - Increasing pressure, declining water and climate change in north-eastern Morocco
JF  - Journal of coastal conservation : planning and management
N2  - The coastal stretch of north-eastern Mediterranean Morocco holds vitally important ecological, social, and economic functions. The implementation of large-scale luxury tourism resorts shall push socio-economic development and facilitate the shift from a mainly agrarian to a service economy. Sufficient water availability and intact beaches are among the key requirements for the successful realization of regional development plans. The water situation is already critical, additional water-intense sectors could overstrain the capacity of water resources. Further, coastal erosion caused by sea-level rise is projected. Regional climate change is observable, and must be included in regional water management. Long-term climate trends are assessed for the larger region (Moulouya basin) and for the near-coastal zone at Saidia. The amount of additional water demand is assessed for the large-dimensioned Saidia resort; including the monthly, seasonal and annual tourist per capita water need under inclusion of irrigated golf courses and garden areas. A shift of climate patterns is observed, a lengthening of the dry summer season, and as well a significant decline of annual precipitation. Thus, current water scarcity is mainly human-induced; however, climate change will aggravate the situation. As a consequence, severe environmental damage due to water scarcity is likely and could impinge on the quality of local tourism. The re-adjustment of current management routines is therefore essential. Possible adjustments are discussed and the analysis concludes with management recommendations for innovative regional water management of tourism facilities.
KW  - North-eastern Morocco
KW  - Climate change
KW  - Coastal zone
KW  - Luxury tourism
KW  - Water demand
KW  - Adaptation
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-013-0234-7
SN  - 1400-0350
VL  - 17
IS  - 3
SP  - 379
EP  - 388
PB  - Springer
CY  - New York
ER  -