Moroccan Researcher Follows Impact of Climate Change.
After receiving a Ph.D. degree on the proper use of irrigation water in Morocco last year and finishing a training fellowship at NASA two years ago, Kholoud Kahime continues to study the impact of climate change on her country.
“Morocco has a lot of natural resources such as the sun and wind energy,” she said.
At the same time, she continues to work on a NASA project that uses satellite data to monitor water use in irrigation, so that farmers can make the most precise and economical use of water in agriculture.
According to a report by IRES, a Moroccan public policy think tank, the region will be subject to increasing drought and flooding, deterioration of ecosystems, water scarcity, the development of new diseases, and forced population migration.
In 2015, Kahime was the only Arab among ten Ph.D. students from developing countries to receive the Prince Albert of Monaco Scholarship for the study of climate change.
This enabled her to enroll in a training program at the Biosphere Sciences Lab at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, in the United States.
Kahime received an award from Ibn Zohr University for her master’s degree research in 2010.
Kahime now works with five farms in the Marrakesh region to test new irrigation methods based on close monitoring of water use.
The government of Morocco has made a public commitment to supporting techniques and policies that help the country adapt to a changing climate, yet there still needs to be better communication between policy makers and scientists, Kahime says.