With the growing pressure of climate change threatening many desert communities around the globe, it is crucial to explore ways to help people in these areas not only survive desertification and drought but thrive in the modern world. In many countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, there has been a focus on returning to traditional forms of technology. One of these focuses has been on a 3,000-year-old irrigation system known widely as the qanat (locally as karez, galeria, aflaj, foggara, khettara, and kanerjing), which can be found in at least 34 countries around the world. In Morocco, there are around 2,500 khettara systems spread throughout 500 communities. These ancient irrigation systems allowed for settlement and agricultural production throughout the Sahara, Anti and Middle Atlas, and even the large city of Marrakech. In the past century, the qanat system has been experiencing global abandonment. In Morocco, this loss has been drastic, with only 15-20% of the khettara systems still in use. This rapid abandonment of the khettara, coupled with extreme climate change, has resulted in mass emigration from many communities which relied heavily on these traditional irrigation systems. With this loss of community comes a loss of culture, history, language, and way of life that is intrinsically tied to these regions. Those who remain face the daunting environmental, economic, and cultural challenges of a rapidly changing world. This project focused on the underlying causes of abandonment of the khettara in Morocco. Around 300 active and inactive khettara systems throughout 75 communities in Anti-Atlas were surveyed using ethnoarchaeological methods. The communities surveyed represent various historical backgrounds, social systems, languages, landscapes, and environmental attributes. Despite the many differences, the narratives of abandonment of the khettara told one unifying story. The abandonment of the khettara is a result of climatic changes, introduction of modern technology, and rapidly changing social values. Furthermore, the historical use of the khettara relied on a balance of communal versus individual values, state versus local authority, and traditional versus modern technology. The khettara system is not simply a physical structure but is intertwined within a complex cultural and social network that has allowed for life in the desert for thousands of years. This presentation will consider the current implications and future ramifications of the abandonment of the khettara system across Morocco.