'Cloud Fishing' Reels in Precious Water in Morocco
Everyone was leaving the village where I grew up, and it was all because of water,” says Jamila Bargach, whose village in rural Morocco has steadily emptied of people amid severe water stress.
As in most of rural Morocco, climate change and population pressures have led to more unpredictable rainfall patterns and the depletion of natural water sources, such as underground aquifers, in the area around the village of Taloust. Situated in the country’s south-west Sidi Ifni region, close to the coast, the area is extremely arid as it borders the northern Sahara desert. Average annual precipitation is less than 130mm.
In recent years, repeated cycles of intense drought followed by flash floods have led to deaths and the devastation of local infrastructure. Desertification, land degradation and the advance of the Sahara also affect the area.
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