Algeria Has Full Legal Grounds to Demand Reparations
Faced with cross-border pollution threatening Maghnia's waterways and the strategic Hammam Boughrara dam, experts insist on source-state liability and full ecological reparations.
The persistent contamination of border rivers threatens a critical water reserve, prompting experts to invoke international environmental law to hold the source state accountable for ecological damage.
The cross-border pollution affecting the Mouilah, El Mehaguene, and Abbes rivers in the Maghnia region raises two major concerns: establishing the responsibility of the state behind the toxic discharges and securing reparations for environmental damage, while safeguarding the Hammam Boughrara dam, a strategic water supply reservoir for the region. This assessment was shared by Dr. Omar Bouazouni, an economic statistician and territorial sustainable development specialist, and Mohamed Mouali, central inspector at the Ministry of Environment and Quality of Life, during their statements on National Radio.
Speaking on Channel 3, Dr. Bouazouni recalled that Algeria possesses solid international legal foundations to hold the source state accountable. He cited principles enshrined in the 1972 Stockholm and 1992 Rio Declarations, which establish state responsibility in preventing cross-border environmental harm and informing downstream countries of pollution risks. Highlighting Sustainable Development Goal No. 6 (Agenda 2030), the expert insisted that "Algeria has the right to demand accountability," warning that contamination severely jeopardizes agricultural activities and local ecological balances.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Mouali stated on Channel 1 that Morocco's responsibility must encompass not only ending the polluting discharges but also repairing damage inflicted on water bodies and sediments where pollutants accumulate persistently. Technically, he noted that water quality monitoring in Oued Mouilah has been conducted since 2021 by the Ministry's regional laboratory and Maghnia environmental monitoring station under the ONEDD, utilizing quarterly sampling and a border "zero point" to yield consistent, cross-verified analytical results.
Wissem Chergui
