The Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN)
was founded in 1992 and today comprises
over 6,500 professionals in over 140
countries striving to get safe, accessible,
affordable water to everyone living in rural
areas around the world. www.rural-water-
supply.net
RAIN Foundation, based in the
Netherlands, has a mission to promote
rainwater harvesting as a means to
improve safe water supplies and food
security. Find out more at:
www.rainfoundation.org
Rainwater harvesting has incredible potential for
, it can also tackle wider problems around soil
erosion, biodiversity loss and groundwater over-exploitation.
Rainwater harvesting can make an important contribution to achieving Sustainable
Development Goals, in particular the expected
.
. We
need to advocate its benefits to others who can benefit from it – climate change
adaptation, flood risk reduction, agriculture, soil and biodiversity conservation,
healthcare, education, and empowerment of women.
Rainwater harvesting is an excellent Self-supply option that promotes greater self-
sufficiency and can create
and small to medium sized businesses.
Initial up-front costs are relatively high – particular on a per capita basis compared to
other water supply options. This could be overcome through
and through better evidence of non-monetary benefits
– such as ease of access, higher self-esteem through self-sufficiency and community
cohesion.
Rainwater is not often mentioned in national and international water discussions and
agreements - many small rainwater inventions could deliver more benefit than a few
big schemes, but
Rainwater harvesting is being practiced in many countries around the world but
This lack of evidence makes it
hard for governments and development funders to advocate internally and externally
for stronger budgets and policies for promoting rainwater harvesting.
for project
information to be collected, analysed and presented.
from political leaders to masons and
households. This can be addressed by training and communication that is specifically
targeted to the needs and contexts of these stakeholders. Creating national
knowledge and skills hubs can play an important role.
The webinars on rainwater harvesting topics have been successful at showcasing
interesting and important projects and issues. They have also been helping to
in the network that now actively provide help and advice.
Briefing Note on the RAIN-RWSN webinar series 2014
We support the development of a more
unified global network of national and
regional organisations, networks and
professionals, working in or interested in
rainwater harvesting.
By bringing together these actors and
sharing knowledge in multiple ways and by
creating more awareness and
understanding more widely, we aim to see
more people benefit from better food and
water security as a result of using
rainwater.
www.rain4food.net
photo: L’association VDS
Honduras
Rainwater Ponds for farm diver-
sification (photo: iDE),
Webinar: 23 September
Burkina Faso
Low-cost rainwater tanks for
drip irrigation (photo: iDE)
Webinar: 23 September
During 2014, 825 people (from 90 countries)
registered for at least one rainwater webinar and
there were 419 attendances from the 59
countries marked with:
Brazil
9th Brazil Rainwater Harvesting
Symposium
International, 2014 (Photo: Han
Heijnen)
Webinar: 7 Oct
Burkina Faso & Mali
Sand dams, PVC lined pits and
ferro-cement tanks (photo:
VDS)
Webinar: 4 November
Netherlands & Global
RSR online reporting system
(photo: Akvo)
Webinar: 3 July
Uganda
Soil bunds and 3R structures,
government support (photo:
JESE). Webinars: 4 November &
30 October
Somalia
Drought resilience & irrigation
improvement (photo: RAAS)
Webinar: 4 November
Madagascar
Rain collection pads &
underground tanks (photo:
Practica)
Webinar: 4 November
Global
Basics of Roofwater harvesting
(photo: Helvetas)
Webinar: 3 December
Nepal
Government support to
rainwater harvesting (photo:
Gov. of Nepal)
Webinar: 30 October
Uganda
bob rainwater bag
(photo: Relief International)
Webinar: 8 May
Presenters and Discussants: Ahmed Abdi, Han Heijnen, Dr Terry Thomas, Nasser Kinaalwa, Rosine Tchemeu, Adbouramane Diallo, Stephan Abric, Lau-
rent Stravato, Dr. Callist Tindimugaya, Mahesh Neupane, Jane Nichols, Carlos Urmeneta, Jon Naugle, Tony Uhl, Tom Opio-Oming, Viola Bwanika-
Semyalo, Charlotte Soedjak, Mawira, Chitma, Alex Odour, Viswanath and their respective organisations.
Organisers and facilitators: Robert Meerman (RAIN Foundation), Hans Merton (Akvo); Dr Kerstin Danert, Sean Furey, Anne Sophie Aublet, Martin Laeng
(Skat Foundation). This initiative was funded by IFAD through the Rain4Food programme with co-funding through Skat Foundation.
Imprint: S. G. Furey, Skat Foundation, St Gallen, Switzerland, December 2014
During 2014, RWSN and RAIN hosted a series
of webinars, initially as standalone events and
then as part of a wider webinar series that also
covered water point mapping and
groundwater research in Africa. All the
recordings can be found on the RWSN video
collection:
vimeo.com/album/3171105
8 May “The story of introducing the Bob
rainwater harvesting system in Uganda: a
private sector approach”
3 Jul “An introduction to using Really Simple
Reporting (RSR) for Rainwater Projects”
23 Sept “Rainwater Harvesting and Food
Security - IDE cases from Burkina Faso and
Honduras”
7 Oct “Building momentum for rainwater
harvesting “
30 Oct “Mainstreaming Rainwater Harvesting
policy and practice - Government
Perspectives from Uganda and Nepal”
4 Nov “Rainwater Harvesting – experiences
from around the world”
3 Dec “Roofwater Harvesting - the basics”
Rainwater from homes and community buildings
The most commonly understood form of rainwater harvesting is collecting rainwater that falls on the
roofs of buildings. By taking the water as close to its source (the sky) as possible, the quality and
safety of the water can generally be assured (although heavy industry can impact rainwater quality
and some roof materials, such as straw or reeds, are problematic).
A roofwater system is relatively simple – it needs guttering to intercept the water that falls on a roof,
a tank to store the water and first flush system to intercept the dirt washed off the roof at the
beginning of a rainfall event. However, ‘simple’ does not mean ‘easy’, because the sizing of the
guttering, pipes, first-flush system and tanks needs to be carefully thought through because it affects
the costs and reliability of the supply.
The ways for rolling out roof water harvesting vary appears to be mostly through NGO interventions
because the relatively high per capita investment costs often mean that it is overlooked in larger
government and donor programmes. Many households invest in their own systems and this self-
supply could be supported by supporting the private sector to deliver affordable, high quality
products and services. Scaling-up may need more skills and access to marketing and micro-finance.
However, it is difficult to sell a product where men make financial decisions but it is women and
children that benefit most – because time spent collecting water is often not valued.
Collecting rainwater in the landscape
Rainwater harvesting is more than just roofs and tanks; managing the landscape can have an
important buffering affect, which is important in tropical climates where there is often major seasonal,
and inter-annual differences in rainfall. The 3R principles of Recharge, Retention and Re-use enhance
natural process to capture and store rainwater for use when it is needed, generally for agriculture but
also groundwater for drinking.
Check dams, swales and bunds can slow down surface runoff so that it can seep into the soil and
recharge the underlying aquifers. This in turn can increase the reliability of springs, well and
boreholes down slope. In other contexts, it is better to build a tank or pond to store the water, for
irrigation or livestock use. Here, cost becomes a major issue, so many of the webinar case studies
focus on affordable solutions for small farmers, such as PVC-lined tanks, pits, ponds or sand dams.
Providing technical and financial support to farmers to do this can come from government, private
sector or NGOs and there is wealth of experience from many countries. The challenge is to develop
robust evidence that these measures are effective and worth the investment of time, money and hard
labour1.
This partnership will continue to find new exciting case studies from around the world to show case
what can and is being done. Through these sharing opportunities we hope to spark new ideas and
collaborations between individuals and organisations. In 2015, we will look at doing webinars in
English and Spanish to open up to new audiences and experiences from around the world. If you
have an idea for a webinar, or for a collaborative project based on the issues raised in this series,
then we would love to hear from you. Contact Robert Meerman ([email protected]),
Hans Merton ([email protected]) or Sean Furey ([email protected])
(1 For more information visit: www.bebuffered.com/downloads/profit-from-storage-reprint-2013_digitalvs.pdf)
Rainwater Harvesting: the collection and storage
of rainwater for various uses, it can be at the
scale of a building or a valley.
Roofwater Harvesting: collecting and storing
rainwater from buildings.
3R: Recharge, Retention and Reuse. Visit:
www.bebuffered.com
Webinar: an online audio-visual presentation
where anyone can log in from anywhere in the
world, listen and ask questions.
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