Socio-economic vulnerability to climate change : a regional assessment in the context of water stress and tourism development in north-eastern Morocco

Water resources in north-eastern Morocco are increasingly under pressure from a growing human demand and a regional drying trend caused by changing climate patterns. Recently, water resources have reached or already fallen below critical limits. The human exploitation of water resources represents the main reason for an alarming decrease of freshwater resources: caused by population growth, high agricultural irrigation water needs, and the recent implementation of a water-intense tourism sector. The lack of appropriate policies to respond to these challenges determines regional vulnerability und puts socio-economic development at risk. The overarching research objective of this thesis is the identification of human and climateinduced rivers for increasing water stress in north-eastern Morocco with a focus on regional tourism development. With particular regard to climate change and to the water-intense regional development plans, it is necessary to analyse how this will influence the near-term water situation and water demand, respectively. The key economic sectors with the highest share of working population are highly waterdependent,thus sufficient water availability represents the basis for socio-economic development. Climate change in the region can aggravate the scarcity situation: precipitation is now the main hydrological variable, as the quality and quantity of groundwater resources has seriously deteriorated and as water efficiency measures and technologies ...