Water Issues and Trajectories in the MENA Region: Monopolisation and Dispossession of a common good?

The next issue of Maghreb-Machrek (270-271/2027) will focus on:
Water Issues and Trajectories in the MENA Region:
Monopolisation and Dispossession of a common good?
Edited by: Philippe Adair, Yvan Renou and Mourad Kertous
The journal, published since 1964, is indexed by Scopus and does not charge any publication
fees (see the website: www.eska.fr).
This issue will include around ten articles selected through a double-blind scientific review
process. Articles, which must comply with the editorial standards (see appendix), should be
sent by April 27, 2026 at the latest to: [email protected] and [email protected].
Selection of articles: April 28-May 12, 2026.
Notification to authors: May 13, 2026.
Workshop/webinar in Valence (onlinel/in-person): May 19, 2026
Corrections and submission of revised articles: August 20, 2026
Final formatted version (in French and English): December 7, 2026
Publication: February23-March 9, 2027
Call for papers: https://www.journaleska.com/index.php/mm/announcement
Water is an interdisciplinary subject of study, which has been the focus of numerous research
programmes in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region that have developed mainly
since the second half of the 20th century (for a tentative synthesis, see for instance Amzert et
al. 2000 and Slama 2004). The rapid expansion of the global economy has deeply transformed
societies. In this context, many authors are calling for a new human development policy (Amara
et al. 2007, etc.). The aim is to make the right to water effective. This right must meet the basic
needs of humans and non-humans (UNDP 2006). Exposed to the multiple ‘crises’ that have hit
the national territories of the region (climatic, demographic, socio-economic, ecological,
energy, etc.). This discourse has had little practical effect. This concerns both the small cycle
and the large water cycle. The same dynamics, at work for many decades, continue to have a
destructive effect on fragile hydro-social territories (Molle & Closas 2016): water
capture/hoarding by largely export-oriented value chains, depletion of aquifers and pollution of
surface waters, economic and financial unsustainability of urban water services, development
of hydro-social inequalities and injustices, low effectiveness of ‘reforms’ to traditional water
policies, affirmation of technocratic knowledge and low consideration for the requirements of
citizen participation, etc. These paradoxes persist over time. They are evidence of organised
water irresponsibility. Development trajectories remain ecologically unsustainable: the
development of productivist agriculture, the return of large-scale hydraulic infrastructure,
technological solutionism, the strategic consolidation of ‘extroverted’ tourism. It is worth
noting that water scarcity, or bankruptcy, has triggered a strong increase in conflicts (Policy
Commons, 2026).
These phenomena reflect the functioning of hydrocracies. These find it difficult to address
environmental and political problems. This call for papers seeks to identify what is changing
despite everything in this complex region, whether in terms of a deepening or reconfiguration
of previous dynamics or the emergence of new trends. We propose a central hypothesis. In the
MENA region, water governance is not limited to its redistribution. It also involves deeper
processes of “capture” and “redistribution” within hydro-social territories in multiple crises
(Menga & Swyngedouw 2018). As a fundamental component of vulnerable “critical zones”,
water appears to be subject to the development of a logic that goes beyond liquid capture. As is
the case in other regions of the world, it seems subject to phenomena of ‘fluid dispossession’.
These consist of a revision/amputation of what constitutes the vital force of water: its ability to
regenerate life through its fluid potential. By channelling, moving, storing, treating and reusing
water, which is essentially fluid, within multiple systemic loops using increasingly
sophisticated technologies and infrastructures (development of ‘unconventional’ water), an
ontological work of reclassifying water is being revealed and studied. The issue is therefore not
only one of hoarding that denies all the current ‘crises’, but also a loss of potential that invites
us to explore other related issues: the degradation/pollution of groundwater and surface water
(by phytosanitary products, the development of extractive activities, or the occurrence of armed
conflicts); the increasingly assertive domination of infrastructure and technology within
artificial hydro-social cycles; the drying up of alternative development imaginaries through the
assertion of technocratic knowledge and the imposition of an ‘authoritarian’ political vision.
Facing such challenges, forms of resistance do exist. They appear at local and decentralised
levels and propose a different relationship with water. This call for papers invites us to follow
the trail of water commons and their future between appropriation, dispossession and practical
regeneration (Haller 2020). Three areas of inquiry are sketched.
1. New frontiers of water overexploitation: discourse and practices, technologies and
socio-ecological inequalities
Water supply is decreasing and becoming more irregular (Ward et al. 2017). Demand is
increasing in all sectors (De Waal et al 2023). The gap between supply and demand is widening.
It is necessary to analyse the extent of water extractivism (Molle & Cloas 2016).
Particular attention must be paid to the discourse of the various governments that frame and
accompany this dynamic: how do they describe what is happening deep within their territories?
How do they justify the persistence of unsustainable technical systems? What role does science
play in creating incomprehensibility or, conversely, territorial ignorance at work?
Technological solutionism relies on hydraulic infrastructure, which aim to secure vulnerable
territories. They must be analysed critically (Fragkou & Budds 2020). ‘Unconventional water’
(desalination, reuse, etc.) was first developed at the regional level before proliferating on a
global scale. In many countries, seawater desalination is an increasingly popular solution to the
growing scarcity of fresh water, particularly in arid or heavily urbanised regions. By
transforming an abundant resource into drinking water, it secures supply and reduces pressure
on groundwater and waterways. However, this solution remains energy-intensive and generates
environmental impacts (brine discharge and CO₂ emissions), which highlights the importance
of integrating it into a comprehensive strategy that combines water conservation, wastewater
reuse and improved efficiency of water use (Plan Bleu 2025). Today, increasing the amount of
water available is put forward as the archetypal technical solution to address the decline and
degradation of water resources in the MENA region. What patterns do these new technologies
take? What are the conditions for their sustainable operation? What are the expected
consequences, particularly economic ones, of their large-scale deployment? What levers can
they activate for more sober and sustainable water management? What might their social and
environmental impacts be, and what are the implications in terms of social and environmental
justice?
A final area needs to be explored analytically: that of the ‘forces of resistance’ to the expansion
of extractivism. Given the breakdown of public services in many countries and the limited room
for manoeuvre of the associated public authorities, it is worth studying the emergence of
popular movements or critical local protests (Hariri 2024). How are they organised? Through
what channels do they express themselves? What threats do they face? What are their goals? ...
Particular emphasis is expected to be placed on the issue of injustice and social mobility in
relation to water, especially in urban areas where displaced populations reside. Can new forms
of solidarity be forged with the incoming populations? Conversely, are tensions to be expected
or perhaps are they already emerging?
2. New aspects of the society- water nexus: agricultural and industrial transformations,
scale dynamics and revenue sharing
The dynamics at work are particularly obvious in a marked trend towards adopting more
efficient techniques, promoting less water-intensive economic sectors, drafting public
restrictions and discouraging certain crops in certain areas (FAO & IWMI 2018). Conversely,
strong continuities and even technical and economic inertia, such as dams and water transfers,
and massive subsidies for water-intensive crops, persist in the territories studied. To what extent
do the public policies implemented in the countries concerned reflect a new social relationship
with water? How can this be characterised?
These complex dynamics deserve an investigation through the prism of the interplay of spatial
and temporal scales, paying particular (historical) attention to the tensions between cooperation
and socio-economic resistance. Indeed, top-down mechanisms such as the development of
agribusiness or contract farming are currently reshaping the relationship with water (often in
interaction with the state). At the same time, bottom-up mechanisms are fostering farmers
organise themselves into networks. How can we interpret these scalar dynamics: ‘resistance’
from traditional farmers? New water tenure? More broadly, what conclusions can be drawn
from the social mobilisations associated with the Arab Spring, fifteen years after they took
place? What links can be established between ‘water and land’ in view of the current structuring
of hydro-social territories and the sharing of the rents that take place (Verdeil 2019)?
Eventually, with regard to the climate crisis and its multiple impacts on the various territories,
it is important to understand the extent to which geophysical phenomena such as water scarcity
(droughts) or excess (floods) are causing radical changes in the way territories are managed.
From a pragmatic perspective, how can we accurately identify the ways in which desert areas
are being ‘put to work’ for agricultural production (exports, strategic crops)? What methods
should be used to identify and assess the challenges this poses with respect to environmental
and social sustainability of the territories? What practical responses do such dynamics elicit in
return?
3. New geopolitical configurations of territories and water regimes.
In order to understand the geopolitical and geo-economic developments in the region, an
analysis of transboundary water governance, the hydropolitics of large basins, and intra- and
inter-basin diplomacy is requested (Gleick 2019; Daoudy 2024). What types of data and
analyses have recently been designed that renew our understanding of these issues? Has the
concept of ‘water wars’ been clarified or reconfigured? Is it possible to better understand the
role that access to resources and the manifestations of climate change have played in triggering
or intensifying the armed conflicts that have been raging in the region since the beginning of
the 21st century?
In addition to these potential wars ‘over’ water, we can also consider an analysis of wars
‘against’ water: the example of dams blown up during the Syrian conflict is the archetypal
example, but more everyday analyses such as the degradation of surface and groundwater
bodies due to ongoing armed conflicts (Ouda et al. 2021) also deserve to be documented: what
is the political ecology of water life forms in times of war?
Eventually, it seems important to look at the new relationships being forged with external
partners: what place and role do Chinese or Emirati capital play in seawater desalination as for
MENA countries using this technology? Broadly speaking, are we witnessing the emergence
of new international water regimes?
These generic questions need to be adapted to the specific characteristics of the
national/regional/local areas studied, so that they can be discussed, amended, reformulated, etc.
Comparative analyses between the areas studied are also encouraged in order to detect the
converging dynamics and irreducible specificities at work. This call for papers aims to bring
together a variety of contributions. Economic, sociological, anthropological and political
approaches are welcome (regional, national or multi-country).
The topics and questions suggested below are not exhaustive.
Topics and questions
Water as a common good or private property? Drilling and distribution: public management versus markets.
(Potential) conflicts over access to water: Ethiopian dams versus Egyptian dams.
Inter-state cooperation: the (non-)sharing of the Jordan River: Israel versus Jordan.
Role of multinational water sanitation companies (Veolia, Suez, etc.) in the MENA region.
Drought, water crisis and irreversible water scarcity.
Water scarcity and rising costs.
The comparative costs of non–conventional water.
Is the MENA region facing water bankruptcy?
How can water desalination be made economically and energetically sustainable for countries facing water
scarcity? What are the ecological impacts of desalination, and how can brine discharge and emissions be limited?
How can desalination be integrated into a comprehensive sustainable water management strategy that combines
reuse, conservation and groundwater protection?
How can social acceptance, local regulation and the exploitation of desalinated water resources be reconciled?
References
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Aubry, H. Ed. (2007). Imaginaires de l’eau, imaginaires du monde, La Dispute.
Blanc, P. (2024). Terres, eau et régimes politiques en Méditerranée et au Proche-Orient”. Confluences
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Borgomeo, E., Jägerskog, A., Talbi, A., Wijnen, M., Hejazi M., & Miralles-Wilhelm, F. (2018). The WaterEnergy-Food Nexus in the Middle East and North Africa: Scenarios for a Sustainable Future.” World Bank,
Washington, DC.
Daoudy, M. (Ed.) (2024). Troubled Waters in Conflict and a Changing Climate: Transboundary Basins Across
the Middle East and North Africa, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
De Waal, D., Khemani, S., Barone, A., & Borgomeo, E. (2023). The Economics of Water Scarcity in the Middle
East and North Africa: Institutional Solutions. The World Bank.
FAO & IWMI (2018). More People, More Food, Worse Water? A Global Review of Water Pollution from
Agricul-ture. FAO, Rome, &IWMI, Colombo, Sri Lanka. http://www.fao.org/3/CA0146EN/ca0146en.pdf.
Fragkou, M.C., &t Budds, J. (2020). Desalination and the disarticulation of water resources: Stabilising the
neoliberal model in Chile. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 45(2), 448-463.
Gleick P. (2019). Water as a weapon and casualty of armed conflict: A review of recent water-related violence
in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water , 6(4), id.e1351, 15 pp. DOI
10.1002/wat2.1351
Hariri, N. (2024). La pauvreté en eau urbaine au Liban. Privations relatives et dépossession absolue.
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Haller, T. (2020). Institution Shopping and Resilience Grabbing: Changing Scapes and Grabbing Pastoral
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Menga, F., & Swyngedouw, E. (Eds) (2018). Water, Technology and the Nation-State. Routledge.
Molle, F., & Closas, A. (2016). Groundwater Governance in the Middle East and North Africa. IMWI Project
Report No. 1. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute.
Ouda, M., Kadadou, D., Swaidan, B.,Al-Othman, A. Al-Asheh, S., Banat, F., & Hasan, S. W. (2021). Emerging
Contaminants in the Water Bodies of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): A Critical Review.”
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Scientific Advisory Board
Philippe ADAIR, ERUDITE, University of Paris Est Créteil, France
Khaled AMRANI, PACTE, University of Grenoble-Alpes, France
Younes BEN ZAIED, EDC Paris Business School, France
Marie-Estelle BINET, AMURE, University of Brest UBO, France
Céline BONNEFOND, CREG, University of Grenoble-Alpes, France
Stéphane CARTIER, PACTE, University of Grenoble-Alpes, France
Assaf DAHDAH, CNRS ART-DEV Montpellier 3, France
Stéphane GHIOTTI, CNRS, ART-DEV Montpellier 3, France
Nathalie HILMI, Scientific Centre of Monaco
Sondès KAHOULI, AMURE, University of Brest UBO, France
Mourad KERTOUS, AMURE, University of Brest UBO, France
Marcel KUPER, CIRAD Montpellier, France
Samir MALIKI, AMURE, University of Brest UBO, France
Pierre-Louis MAYAUX, CIRAD Montpellier, France
Livio PEROSINO, IEP Bordeaux, France
Betty QUEFFELEC, AMURE, University of Brest UBO, France
Esther REGNIER, AMURE, University of Brest UBO, France
Yvan RENOU, PACTE, University of Grenoble-Alpes, France
Isabelle RUCK, CAREP, France
Julien THAVARD, AMURE, University of Brest UBO, France
Julie TROTTIER, CNRS, UMR PRODIG, France
Louinord VOLTAIRE, TVES, University of the Littoral Côte d'Opale (ULCO), Franceof Brest UBO, France
We are grateful for the support provided by the CREG research team, the PACTE Laboratory,
the AMURE Laboratory, the University of Grenoble-Alpes, the Valencie Institute of
Technology, the University of Brest, the journals Maghreb-Machrek and Maghreb-Mashreq
International, the EuroMediterranean and African Network for Economic Studies (EMANES)
and the Association Tiers-Monde (Third World Association).

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THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTION AND RURAL POVERTY IN MOROCCO
AUTHOR’S FIRST NAME AND NAME1
Abstract
Agriculture represents the main source of income for rural people in Morocco, and is
substantially affected by climate change (CC). The average increase in temperatures observed
since 1960 is 0.23°C, and precipitation follows a general downward trend in the three rainfall
regions of Morocco. Faced with such findings, agriculture has nevertheless recorded an average
increase in agricultural GDP of 6.9% between 2001 and 2020, and relative poverty in rural areas
has fallen from 35% to 22.9%. Faced with this paradox, this article seeks to determine whether
the current CC, approached by the increase in temperatures and the variability of precipitation,
has effects on the four agricultural productions to which the majority of rural people are devoted
and by extension on poverty. Thus, the use of the Pettitt test and the study of the correlations
between these parametric variations of the CC and the average aggregated yields of productions
between 2001 and 2020 did not reveal any significant link. With the exception of cereal yield
during the 5 years of drought, effectively excluding the most vulnerable farmers, this result,
distinct from the expectation resulting from the literature review, opens up other
methodological research perspectives for a more detailed analysis.
Keywords: agricultural production, climate change, Morocco, rural poverty, vulnerability
JEL: N57, O13, Q18.
1. INTRODUCTION
Climate change threatens the livelihoods of the most vulnerable rural populations and tends
to have a detrimental effect on economic growth (Abidoye & Odusola 2015). The World Bank
estimates that 100 million people worldwide, primarily in South Asia and Africa, are at risk of
falling back into poverty due to the effects of climate change (Hallegatte et al. 2016, Baarsch
et al. 2020). African countries are the most threatened by this phenomenon due to low
production capacity, lack of investment, the significant proportion of the population working in
agriculture, low productivity, and limited crop diversification (Hallegatte & Rozenberg 2017).
This weak production is also dependent on climatic variability and the absence of political
strategies for adaptation to climate change (Azzarri & Signorelli 2020). Declining harvests thus
expose rural households to poverty, potentially undermining development efforts (Angelsen &
Dokken 2018).
…
1 Affiliation. Email.
Figure 2. Sharp deceleration in agricultural production growth compared to other sectors
2001–2010 2011-2020
Primary Sector (Agriculture) Secondary Sector (Industry) Tertiary Sector (Services)
Source: HCP (2022)
Table 1. Correlation coefficients between the yields of 4 crops for the period 2001-2020
Fruits and Vegetables Cereals Legumes Market Gardening and Sugar Crops
Fruits and Vegetables - 0,43 (0,03) 0,56 (0,01) 0,83 (0,02)
Cereals 0,84 (0,06) 0,76 (0,05)
Legumes - 0,69 (0,04)
Market Gardening and Sugar Crops -
Source: Calculations by the authors
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