Rainwater harvesting – an HIA of rainwater harvesting in ...
The Contribution of Rainwater Harvesting to Disaster Risk Reduction
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Transcript of The Contribution of Rainwater Harvesting to Disaster Risk Reduction
The Contribution of Rainwater Harvesting to Disaster Risk
Reduction
IRHAInternational Environment House 2
Chemin de Balexert 7-91219 Geneva, Switzerland
Consultative Meeting on a “Global Network of NGOs”
UN-ISDR
Geneva 25-26 October 2006
Rainwater Harvesting is one of the most ancient activities in the history of mankind
Human beings have always sought to settle near water
Whether in dry or wet areas, they had to learn how to find and save water as it is a limited resource
Human beings learnt to meticulously harvest every raindrop
Build simple constructions to store the collected rain and use it rationally
Practicing Rainwater Harvesting is valuable under different disaster conditions
• In areas with heavy tropical rains and prone to floods
• In arid and semi-arid zones prone to droughts
•An appropriate rainwater management is necessary for the protection of the ecosystems
• The two « hazards » - flood and drought should be integrated into a wider risk management system
Use of Rainwater Harvesting
• for disaster reduction
• for rural development and food security
• for urban development and natural resources preservation
IRHA – The International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance consists of a network
of NGOs with members in different continents
IRHA Members’ Focus areas :
1. Household and productive uses;
2. Sanitation and hygiene;
3. Watershed management;
4. Food sovereignty and soil conservation;
5. Aquifer recharge and ecosystem conservation;
6. Disaster risk reduction and reconstruction.
RWH intoIWRM policy
IRHA Secretariat Activities:
A. Project Implementation;
B. Training and knowledge transfer;
C. Federating the RWH movement;
D. Positioning RWH in national and local political agendas.
IRHA Secretariat, Regional Focal Points and Activities in Different Continents
A Community Based Initiative: Rainwater Harvesting in the Municipality of San Antonio de Lomerio, Bolivia
Objectives:
• Reduce the vulnerability of the population towards the shortage of water by improving the infrastructure
• Capacity Building (Environmental Education and training of RWH managers)
Duration:
• September 2005 to October 2006
Funding Source:
• Service de Solidarité et de Coopération du Canton de Genève
Budget of the Project:
• 16’000 USD
Partners:• Green Cross International and American Peace Corps
Construction of Water Tanks
The goal is to construct 25 water tanks of 10m3 each
At the end of August 2006, 21 reservoirs had already been constructed
Capacity Building of 15 community members
Along with the construction of the water tanks, 15 community members were trained on how to construct them. In this case sustainability could be reached after the project was finalised. This also contributed to the empowerment of community members
Another result of that was to train 15 rainwater harvesting managers
Training Workshops
The resilience of community members was a result of:• Decreasing the number of skin and gastro-intestinal deseases;• Stressing the importance of hygiene to the health and well being of the population;• Focusing on the importance of environmental preservation;• Introducing the Swiss system of purification of water « SODIS »
All of these factors contributed to disaster risk reduction
Impact of RWH on Disaster Reduction:
• In the case of a drought, assured access to drinking water and enlarged possibilities for yielding crops;
• Avoids the danger of gastro-intestinal epidemies and diminishes child mortality because of improved hygiene;
• Assures water reserves for fire protection;
• In case it is practiced on a larger scale, it contributes to flood reduction;
• In post-disaster conditions, offers the only clean water;
• Benefits not only human beings but the environment in general.
Thank you for your attention
www.irha-h2o.org
Vessela Monta (Executive Director)
Adelia Branco (Steering Committee Member)