Morocco's experience in loss and damage management: the case of oases

This submission by Morocco to the Transition Committee focuses specifically on the perspective of oases communities in Morocco as frontline communities in the climate crisis, and builds on previous engagements by Morocco with this process, including a submission regarding macro-level national loss and damages from drought and decreases in precipitation. The establishment of a fund to help compensate for loss and damage caused by climate change at COP27 is encouraging news for the highly vulnerable oases communities of Morocco, which have suffered extreme events that have had considerable repercussions. The oases of Tafilalet, which have played a key role in the nation’s history, are a prime example of the loss and damage caused by the consequences of climate change. Periods of drought, water scarcity, floods and fires have become commonplace in the oases, with devastating consequences for local communities and the land, as well as on tangible and intangible heritage. Given the gaps in adaptation and resilience, the establishment of the global loss and damage fund offers an opportunity to support national financing measures aimed at coping with loss and damage in oasis frontline communities, in Morocco and beyond, especially in similar oasis regions of other Arab and African countries.