Morocco is located in North Africa along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco has a large rural population that is highly dependent on natural resources and, thus, very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Agriculture is important to the country’s economy and food security; it is practiced on 67% of the total area land, employs about 41% of the population and, in 2009, contributed 16% to the total gross domestic product. Agriculture consumes over 83% of harvested water, but water scarcity and irregularity are major hindrances to its development. The coastline is very important not only in defining the country’s climate, but also in commercial exchange, fishing, tourism and development. Climate change poses a significant threat to Morocco’s water and environmental resources, which are already under extensive pressure from population explosion, industrial growth, tourism development activities and agricultural extension.
Morocco's Department of Environment within the Ministry of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment is the government body looking at climate change policies and played a major role in developing the country’s National Strategy for Sustainable Development (NSSD) in 2014. The country also has other national strategies such as the National Plan Against Global Warming 2009 and sectoral strategies developed by concerned ministries that address climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts such as the National Water Strategy. Morocco ratified the Paris Agreement on September 21, 2016 and the associated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) can be found here.