Lisbon, 18 July 2025 (SPS) – The Portuguese news outlet “For a Free Sahara,” specializing in Western Sahara issues, shed light on Morocco's relentless exploitation of water resources in occupied Western Sahara through large-scale technological, tourism, and agricultural projects that consume enormous quantities of water.
The news site stated that "at a time when access to drinking water remains a persistent global challenge, Morocco continues to implement massive technological, tourism, and agricultural projects that consume vast amounts of water." It emphasized that "under the banner of innovation and renewable energy, a form of exploitation is being carried out that not only disregards international law but also ignores the environmental sustainability of the occupied territories."
As an example, the report cited the new data center project in the occupied city of Dakhla, with a capacity of 500 megawatts, powered by solar and wind energy. It highlighted that "technical data on this project confirm that its infrastructure could consume up to 1.8 billion liters of water annually for cooling, most of which comes from non-renewable fossil aquifers formed thousands of years ago."
The report also pointed out that "the water resources of the Sahrawi people in their occupied lands are being drained to fuel industries and illegal investment projects whose economic benefits do not include them." It stressed that "implementing a project of this scale in a territory classified by the United Nations as a non-self-governing region awaiting decolonization—without consulting the Sahrawi people or obtaining their consent—constitutes a serious violation of international law, especially since the water resources are non-renewable."
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