RABAT, June 17 (NNN-MAP) -- The total cost of land degradation in Morocco amounts to around one billion USD a year, or 1.7 of the gross domesticv product (GDP), according to figures released by the authorities on the occasion of the celebration on June 17 of World Day to Combat Desertification.

Figures from the High Commissioner for Water and Forests also suggest that some 93 per cent of Morocco's dry-weather (arid to sub-humid) areas are vulnerable to desertification because of over-exploitation of natural resources.

Morocco's lands also undergo a degradation of forest cover, estimated at 31,000 hectares per year, particularly because of excessive firewood harvesting, over-grazing, land clearing, fires and urbanization.

The degradation is also caused by to water and wind erosion, siltation, salinity and the rise of groundwater levels that affect roughly all large irrigated areas.

in order to address the phenomenon, Morocco has taken several measures designed to reverse the situation and mitigate its effects. These include the construction of more than 100 dams to mobilize more than 15.5 billion cubic metres of water for irrigation, drinking and production of hydro-electric energy.

They also include developing agriculture and pastoral areas (270,000 hectares), conserving the sustainable development of forest resources (reforestation of about 624,000 hectares), developing catchment basins (about 560,000 hectares), and combating siltation.

Regarding rural development, the strategy aims to redress imbalances affecting rural areas, combat drought and develop natural resources. Measures also include legislation providing for the preservation and the sustainable management of forest resources along with awareness-raising campaigns. -- NNN-MAP