Governance and Sustainability Challenges in the Water Policy of Morocco 1995–2020: Insights from the Middle Draa Valley

Since the UN Water Conference in 1977, international debates have centered on global water scarcity and achieving sustainable development. In 1995, Morocco introduced a policy to strengthen country’s socio-economic development through irrigated agriculture, while ensuring long-term sustainability of resources integrated resource management (IWRM). Empirical research, however, reveals decreasing groundwater levels increasing inequalities around access. The purpose this article is shed light challenges provokes for development, limitations it faces implement IWRM, provide insights how linked increased pressure as reported literature. We conducted content analysis ten key documents thirty-seven in-depth semi-structured interviews undertaken between 2020 2021 with governmental actors inhabitants Middle Draa Valley (south Morocco). found that social-inequality problems unintendedly triggered by were three factors: use disciplinary approach formulation its encompass complexity water-related problems, compartmentalization government sectors hindering sound solutions neglect social, economic, political factors affecting actual access water.