Bridging the Epistemic Divide: A Knowledge Management Analysis of Traditional Water Wisdom and Contemporary Governance, Case Study of the Ourika Valley (Morocco)

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between ancestral water knowledge and contemporary policy in Morocco’s Ourika Valley, positing that the current crisis is fundamentally one of epistemic neglect. By examining the transition from community-based management to state-imposed groundwater contracts, the study investigates how modern instruments often devalue the tacit cognitive capital and indigenous knowledge of local populations.Utilizing a qualitative methodology that combines Nonaka’s SECI model with a survey of 55 stakeholders, the research analyzes the failure to integrate "tacit knowledge"—the deep, site-specific understanding of mountain ecosystems—into official policy. The analysis reveals a profound disconnect between the "explicit knowledge" utilized by state agencies and the "tacit knowledge" practiced by communities. Results indicate that top-down regulation frequently clashes with customary law, diminishing the social legitimacy of state projects, whereas traditional systems effectively manage scarcity through shared ethical constraints. The paper concludes that a sustainable future requires knowledge hybridization. Rather than substituting technology for tradition, the state must act as a mediator, integrating the precision of ancestral methods into formal legal frameworks. The study advocates for rethinking the water contract, transforming it from a top-down directive into a co-created platform that synthesizes modern technological rigor with the enduring wisdom of indigenous water management.