Washingtonia palm trees line Avenue Mohammed V in the Marina Bay area of Tangier. Photo by Ahlam Ben Saga
High temperatures and dwindling reservoirs have become the new normal in Morocco. Now, the spread of water-thirsty palms is turning up the heat — both figuratively and literally.
Strolling through any major street, public park, or green space in Morocco reveals a common sight: clusters of tall and slender palm trees with fan-shaped leaves.
Tangier, Morocco’s northernmost city known for its Mediterranean climate and rugged mountains framing the Strait of Gibraltar, is unrecognizable without its palm trees.
Palm trees are everywhere, lining coastal streets, roadways, public parks and gardens.
To some tourists, the combination of these palms, Tangier’s far-reaching coastline, and the sunny summer weather almost evokes a Californian beach feel.
They may not be far off the mark as the signature palm tree seen in almost all of Morocco’s major cities including Casablanca and the country’s capital Rabat, is a Californian-native palm known as Washingtonia filifera.
While these imported palms add a striking visual and provide a laid-back atmosphere in busy urban areas, experts and activists are concerned about what their proliferation might entail for the local environment.
At the same time, many residents are starting to find them too commonplace to appreciate while longing for trees that can provide ample shade and help cool their cities and towns.
Why palm trees and why now?
Washingtonia palm trees adorn the Villa Haris Park in Tangier. Photo by Ahlam Ben Saga
Amid an ongoing drought and relentless heatwaves, with temperatures soaring to 107.1°F (41.7°C) and 117.7°F (47.6°C) in multiple regions this summer, Moroccans are taking refuge in bodies of water, from beaches and swimming pools to rivers.
For those who prefer to lounge in city parks or watch their children play at local playgrounds, the sparse shade from nearby trees is their only escape from the scorching sun.
Many also find themselves settling for indoor attractions like air-conditioned restaurants and commercial centers to escape their oven-hot homes. If those aren’t an option, nightly walks are the only other way to enjoy the remainder of their summer vacation outdoors.
With the rising temperatures and reports of heat-related deaths in the country this summer, it’s no surprise that the average Moroccan is becoming more and more interested in climate change discussions while searching for much-needed shade.
For three years, Maroc Environment 2050, a leading environmental movement in Morocco, has been calling for an immediate halt to indiscriminate palm tree planting outside oases and their replacement with shade trees. The campaign specifically identifies the Washingtonia palm tree as potentially destructive to the local biodiversity.
Non-native plants can sometimes become invasive, outcompeting native species and destabilizing local ecosystems.
Although not all non-native plants are invasive, there is still a risk that these plants, including trees, can alter soil chemistry and microbial functioning, reduce wildlife diversity, and threaten human health.
The campaign stressed this risk as it reiterated its urgent calls to government authorities, launching an online petition to cease palm tree planting in July and protesting in front of the parliament in Rabat earlier this August.
The call for more shade trees has also echoed across various social media platforms under the hashtag #No_to_planting_palm_trees_in_Moroccan_cities.
“We want more shade trees,” netizens demand on Instagram and X/Twitter, whereas others engage with environment-related threads on Reddit.
One Reddit user wrote, “I feel like a lot of palm trees are even dying here in Casablanca. If you walk along Ain Diab [a Casablanca suburb], you’ll see that most palm trees are actually yellow and shriveled, and provide almost no shade at all.”
A taxi passenger in the city of Tangier expresses her dismay at how the lack of shade-giving trees and the intense summer heat can hamper daily activities.
Frustration dripping from her sweat-glistened face, she huffs out, “I can’t take walks because I can’t take the heat… and to top it off, there aren’t enough trees to give us shade while we wait for a bus or taxi.”
“For every 10 palm trees [in a Tangier street], you will find five or fewer [shade] trees,” the Taxi driver interjects.
A little further down the map, in the city of Sale on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, a 64-year-old local shopkeeper, Fella Ittobane, wishes there were more fruit trees in her hometown.
“Palm trees make the streets look pretty, but honestly, I wish there were more trees like orange trees around. We need more trees because they bring us rain,” she says.
The relationship between trees and rain is a scientifically proven process called transpiration. Through small openings in their leaves called stomata, trees release water vapor that rises into the atmosphere and helps form new rain clouds.
Since palm trees conserve water, at first glance, planting them might seem like a practical solution for a drought-susceptible country like Morocco. However, planting them in excess can be counterproductive, especially as palms outside their native soil tend to consume more water.
A study by peer-reviewed science journal HortTechnology affirms that while some palm species including Washingtonia filifera can survive with minimal irrigation in countries with Mediterranean climates, they still require additional watering to produce new leaves and maintain a healthy appearance.
Newly planted palms need watering three to four times a week within the first four years or more until their roots are firmly established. The amount of water used will depend on their size and planting location.
Palm trees in their natural habitats, like date palms in southern Morocco and the Washingtonia palms in California and Mexico, typically use less water since they are better adapted to local soil, climate, and water conditions.
Date palms at El Kesiba oasis near Errachidia in central Morocco. Photo by Ahlam Ben Saga
Compared to the consistent warmth and drier conditions of arid zones, the Washingtonia filifera palm may not thrive as well in areas like Tangier, which is characterized by wetter winters and high humidity year-round.
When urban aesthetics clash with environmental priorities
Palm trees crowd a garden in the Agdal district of Rabat, Morocco’s capital. Photo by Ahlam Ben Saga
According to Morocco’s water and agriculture ministry, the water dams plummeted to 23% of their filling rate in the early months of 2024, down from last year’s levels of around 31%.
Side-by-side satellite image by NASA Earth Observatory of the effects of drought on the Moroccan landscape from February 12, 2023, to February 19, 2024.
Although an official estimate of the number of Washingtonia palms planted as part of Morocco’s landscaping efforts is not currently available, they seem to be a primary choice for horticultural design in the country.
Morocco is making efforts to reduce water consumption across the country like limiting usage of hammams, traditional public baths, to three days a week, so fewer of these water-draining palms across cities is a move in the right direction.
Though palm trees are a signature feature of Moroccan urban landscapes, they come with drawbacks. They consume a lot of water, and their maintenance is often costly, which is a challenge in a drought context.
Non-native trees can be more expensive, including palms like Washingtonia, which range from $100-$600 for smaller specimens to $2,000 for fully-grown ones. When adding importation and maintenance to the mix, the costs can climb even higher.
Another disadvantage of planting palm trees is their limited cooling effect. The large size of palm trees creates less shade and contributes much less to the thermal regulation of urban environments.
It’s the responsibility of landscape architects to balance the demand for aesthetic plants with the environmental realities of each landscaping site before obtaining approval from relevant stakeholders and authorities.
Morocco expecting greener lands by World Cup 2030
Architectural rendering of Hassan II Stadium for the 2030 World Cup, shared by Morocco’s official public broadcaster, SNRT.
Morocco has lost thousands of hectares of forest to climate change, deforestation, urbanization, and agricultural expansion over the past decade.
From 2001 to 2023, a total of 58,600 hectares of tree cover was lost, representing a 9% decrease since 2000. In 2010, Morocco had 381,000 hectares of natural forest, covering 0.98% of its land area. By 2023, it had lost 3,510 hectares of this natural forest.
On the bright side, Morocco is now set on planting more forests, aiming for 600,000 hectares by 2030 as part of the ‘Forests of Morocco 2020-2030’ initiative.
The afforestation efforts include trees like Argan, cork oak, and cedar. These trees are well-adapted to the local climate and play an important role in preserving the health of the country’s ecosystem.
The ‘Forests of Morocco’ initiative comes at the perfect time as Morocco prepares its infrastructure for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which it will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
If responsible authorities also decide to plant more native trees in cities and the drought eases, by 2030, both locals and visitors will get to breathe fresher air and find more green canopy for shade as they enjoy their favorite sport.
Since landscaping projects can take a significant amount of time and planning, now is the time to act.
Not just in Morocco, but all across the world, the Earth aches for more trees. When something as natural and mundane as the sound of a tree’s rustling leaves or the coolness of its shade becomes a rarity, that’s when people become desperate. Like water, a tree’s presence is just as crucial.
