Challenges and Threats to Forest Resiliency in Morocco

Abstract

Morocco's forest ecosystems, spanning 5.8 million hectares, face many threats that compromise their ecological and socio-economic functions. This chapter employs the DPSIR framework combined with multi-criteria decision analysis to systematically evaluate and prioritize threats affecting Moroccan forests. Principal component analysis reveals water stress as the central node connecting all pressures through complex feedback loops and synergistic interactions. Critical threats are water stress, deforestation, timber overexploitation, and overgrazing. Major threats include forest fires, no-timber products overexploitation, and parasitic attacks. Minor threats include intersectoral coordination, scientific-management gaps and pollution. Those threats operate through self-reinforcing degradation spirals, causing massive dieback, regeneration failure, and land degradation. These pressures trigger cascading impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and rural livelihoods. To address root causes, break degradation and strengthen adaptive capacity, integrated strategies are needed.