Morocco: Before It’s Gone

M’hammed Kilito, this year’s World Press Photo Award winner in Africa, is documenting how a changing climate and humans are destroying Morocco’s oases.

The World Press Photo Award recognises the very best photography in each part of the world. Its long-term category is for projects with up to 30 photographs, spread across at least three years. M’hammed Kilito, this year’s winner in Africa, is documenting how a changing climate and humans are destroying Morocco’s oases.

An oasis depends on a delicate balance of abundant water, good quality soil and date palms to function as an island of biodiversity and as a barrier against desertification. In Morocco, human activity and global heating are currently disrupting this ecosystem.

About two thirds of Morocco’s oasis habitats have disappeared in the past century due to steadily rising temperatures, fires, and water scarcity. Oasis degradation in turn affects those who depend on them, causing decreased agricultural production, poverty, and displacement.

Shifting sands: A man checks the water level of a well at Merzouga Oasis in eastern Morocco, near the Algerian border. Deep wells can deplete the water table, leaving farmers who have no access to them without a supply.

Holding water: Pots from the Tighmert Oasis in southwest Morocco are on display at the nearby Kasbah Caravanserail Museum, which is dedicated to oasis domestic culture.

Keeping the faith: Mohammed, pictured in the village of Ait M’hanned near Tighmert Oasis, belongs to one of the last four families who were living in the village in 2020.

High, not dry: A water tower in Zagora. Families often join forces to build and finance these towers to benefit from a more stable water supply.

Brush work: Each Sunday Mohammed Elfakhar, a potter, collects wood at the Skoura Oasis for fuel to fire the pottery he has made during the week.