Mapping the structural vulnerability to drought in Morocco

Abstract

Because of its recurrence and the durability of its effects, drought in Morocco has become a structural component of the Moroccan climate. It is a real threat to the agricultural sector, which represents nearly 20% of the Moroccan economy. The spatiotemporal variability of this phenomenon makes drought risk management more complex. The current study seeks to map the structural vulnerability to drought in Morocco by using remote sensing techniques to characterize its sensitivity to drought. In this premise, we utilized a weighted combination of soil classes, land cover and socio-economic data with seasonal drought monitoring through a composite index generated monthly over the past twenty years. The generated map shows dominance of areas with high and very high vulnerability risk to drought over respectively 38.5% and 14.4% of the country and this concerns both agricultural and non-agricultural zones. The map also indicates that 36.5% of Morocco presents a medium vulnerability to drought and only 10.6% of the national territory is considered non-vulnerable to drought. This map can be used as a planning tool to support natural resources management and mitigate drought impacts.