Water management, an ancestral expertise in Morocco

Ya Biladi

16-05-2025

DR
As ancient as they may be, the civilizations of the Mediterranean have always placed great importance on water. In Persian, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Amazigh, and Arab-Muslim cultures, this vital resource symbolizes nature, life, and purity. Aman (water) is synonymous with life itself—what the Tuaregs describe as the «possibility of existence». For millennia, beliefs and rituals have elevated water to the status of a guarantor of life on Earth, inseparable from the notion of abundance. As such, it has long been regarded as a communal good, to be managed and distributed equitably to ensure access for all, with close attention to its conservation.
While ancient societies pioneered fair water distribution practices, these methods were extended to places like the Iberian Peninsula during the Caliphate era and beyond, eventually earning recognition on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. After the fall of Granada in 1492, these practices did not disappear; instead, water management became the responsibility of a trusted individual, supported by a council and a water tribunal. This institutionalized model perpetuated a collegial approach rooted in much older traditions. Passed down through generations, these methods ensured the sustainable management of this vital resource, both in water-scarce zones and mountainous regions.
Over the centuries, these traditions have combined local customs, ancient techniques, and scientific innovations. In modern-day Morocco, mountainous and oasis regions are known for preserving these ancient practices, particularly in areas with strong agricultural or pastoral traditions. Among them, the Figuig region has played a key economic role, serving as both a supply hub and a stopover point. A crossroads of knowledge and trans-Saharan trade, it even held what has been described as «an urban function in a territory based on complementarity» between oasis life and nomadism.
The Figuig region is also known for preserving Neolithic rock engravings attributed to early hunter-pastoralist communities. Once part of the Almohad empire (1121–1269), the region saw the construction of Ksar el Aïn near natural springs. Historical records show that Figuig was home to diverse populations—Amazighs (Zenaga and Zenata), Arabs, Andalusian Moors, and sub-Saharan Africans including Haratins descended from enslaved people—with both Muslim and Jewish communities coexisting. As early as the 12th century, the anonymous author of Kitāb al-istibṣār fī ʿajāib al-amṣār («Reflections on the Wonders of Cities») praised the fertility of the Figuig oasis.
Figuig: A Model of Water Management in Oasis Societies
In the 14th century, Ibn Khaldūn mentioned Figuig for its date palm cultivation and its role in redistributing products brought by nomads. Around the same time, the oasis became «an essential stop for caravans en route to Gourara and Touat—a hub of exchange for the whole region», note Youness Khalloufi and Agnès Charpentier in their article «Figuig and Its Region in the Imagination of the French Military in the Mid-19th Century» (Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, 2021).
Figuig also features in the writings of Leo Africanus and Thomas Shaw. However, as Khalloufi and Charpentier point out, «colonial expansion stripped Figuig of its commercial role at the beginning of the 20th century and contributed to the oasis's isolation». In the collective work «The Sharing of Water (Spain, Portugal, Morocco)» (2006), historian and archaeologist Tariq Madani dedicated a chapter to «Water Sharing in the Figuig Oasis», analyzing it through the lens of both his disciplines. He describes the city and its ksour as «a characteristic example of human adaptability to the severe constraints imposed by the arid Maghreb desert environment».
Recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) by the FAO in 2022, the ksour of Figuig illustrate the sustainability of ancient economic models in which water was indispensable. This environment blended agriculture, trade, craftsmanship, religious, cultural, and academic functions. «During droughts, displaced nomads camped around the oasis and offered their labor to the ksourians. In times of abundance, nomads turned Figuig's ksour into storehouses (Makhzen) for their goods—animals, wool, clarified butter, hides, and horns», notes the FAO's registration dossier.
This model of mutual environmental stewardship helped preserve the oasis, including its sophisticated irrigation system and architecture shaped by sociocultural norms. The dossier emphasizes that «each ksar is a distinct community that remained autonomous for a long time», each having its own palm grove subdivided into small terraced plots. «Each ksar manages its own water sources via a canal network overseen by mechanisms such as water bailiffs and irrigators' councils. Internally, a dense institutional network of groups and associations (jmâa, irrigators' associations, gardeners, landowners...) governs these systems independently of municipal politics», it continues.
Figuig's oasis society has developed «an ingenious model of water allocation and distribution tailored to local conditions». Known locally as khettara or foggara, this system differs from those used elsewhere. Here, it doesn't tap into deep underground water but instead channels artesian spring water emerging from confined aquifers. In fact, the founding of each ksar was directly linked to access to these water sources.
According to traditional organization, «the mobilization and upkeep of irrigation works, as well as the distribution methods, rights accounting, and conflict resolution, all fall under customary law». The related «knowledge, techniques, and irrigation practices are central to the region's cultural and technical heritage».
In practice, water is distributed in time units measured directly at the source through the canal network. These units can be converted to volume when water is stored in a communal reservoir. The deliverable amount depends on the measured water level, with each time unit corresponding to a specific volume in square meters. Water management and dispute resolution are entrusted to a consultative village body, the jmâa, composed of elders from each lineage.
This council also oversees the maintenance of the foggara and the main irrigation canals, which are a collective responsibility. The upkeep of secondary canals falls to the landowners whose plots they traverse. Water rights can be rented, bought, or exchanged on the local market.
Foggaras are designed to feed the séguia—a branching system of canals delivering water to each garden by gravity. These networks are adapted to the terrain and are managed by a ksar, lineage, or family. «Each social group maintains its own network», with some sections separated by small bridges to avoid mixing water from different rights holders.
Another key feature of water sharing is that access is tied to participation in digging the foggara or military efforts. In other words, «individuals receive water on a rotating basis», measured in units called kharrouba, equivalent to a 45-minute turn. This water right is considered property and may be transferred, rented, or sold.
Khettaras: A Millennia-Old Technology from the East to North Africa
Beyond Figuig, the first widespread draining networks of khettaras in Morocco are believed to have been introduced by the Almohads in the early 12th century. In Marrakech, the system gained popularity around 1106 through Oubeid Allah Ibn Youssef, originally from Al-Andalus. As the Almohad Empire expanded across North Africa and into Iberia, it brought with it architectural and institutional innovations, including water distribution systems that became central to governance.
This technology draws on ancient models, particularly from Persia, where qanats were developed 3,000 years ago. The organization L'eau du désert notes that these systems date back to «ancient antiquity», with references in Herodotus (5th century BC) and detailed descriptions in Polybius (3rd–2nd centuries BC).
Meanwhile, in North Africa, historical sources mention a similar system independently developed by the Amazigh. Although names vary—qanats, khettaras, foggara—the core principle remains the same: conserving and transporting water in arid zones. This technology spread to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Oman, Yemen, Syria, China, and Spain.
In Marrakech, the system involved capturing both underground and rainwater through gently sloping galleries that followed the natural terrain, helping to recharge the aquifer. Though often overgrown with vegetation, these khettaras enabled efficient water conservation by channeling mountain runoff from the Atlas foothills.
Thanks to this technology, the ochre city of Marrakech, along with its palm groves, olive orchards, and gardens, was supplied with water for centuries—until modern challenges such as drought, intensive agriculture, and evolving uses transformed the mapping of this system. Nowadays, the few remaining khettarat in the region are used in certain rural areas, embodying an ecological dimension in ancestral practices.