Effects analysis of international cooperation on environmental water policy and quality trends in Morocco (1972--2002)

The process of establishing policies and regulations that protect the environment and ecological health is not easy, particularly so in developing countries where inadequate education, technology, and financial resources further slow down the efforts. This dissertation examined the process of environmental water policy and water quality trends in one developing country, Morocco, to try to elucidate the factors that contributed to the process. The first water quality laws in Morocco were enacted in 1995, with subsequent addenda and amendments since then. A comprehensive policy analysis based on extensive review of reports indicated that international environmental initiatives were crucial to the policy implementation and creation of the laws. The UN Stockholm Conference of 1972 declared the importance of protecting environmental quality, but attention was not paid to socioeconomic factors and the economic cost for the protection instruments. It was not until the UN Rio de Janeiro Conference of 1992 that these factors were integrated in Sustainable Development Principles; thereby steps were taken to provide international financial resources so that environmental improvement could be incorporated in the national strategy for economic development. The dissertation analyzed the policy process of the environmental water quality improvement efforts as they moved from international to regional to national policy implementation over the period from 1972 to 2002. The analysis identified significant changes in policy and trends, as a result of multilateral and bilateral cooperation and the fundamental role of the national leadership. Regression and correlation analysis of biochemical oxygen demand and economic development indicators over the period from 1980 to 2001, showed a trend of improvement that indicated a positive connection to the international environmental investments that resulted from the 1992 Sustainable Development Principles. Overall, the policy analysis and the detailed review of water quality standards as a case study demonstrated the effectiveness of international cooperation in strengthening water policy and quality trends in Morocco.