International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance

Newsletter n° 03 - Januay 2005

Happy New Year Rainwater Harvesters,

The newsletter is now distributed to over 700 people in 70 countries, & rising. You can now choose English or French, & from next month Spanish. If you wish to receive the newsletter in a different language next month please let us know.


Asian Tsunami Disaster

IRHA would like to extend its sympathy to all those affected by the Asian tsunami disaster. IRHA & the Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum, in conjunction with the Sri Lankan National Water Supply & Drainage Board are looking for donors to support a USD 120,000 programme to equip 100 of the 200 camps for internally displaced people with RWH systems. This is immediate humanitarian assistance, but we are also looking for sponsors of longer term RWH projects to be carried out in conjunction with reconstruction projects. See:
http://www.waterboard.lk for the National Water Supply & Drainage Board; and
http://www.rainwaterharvesting.com for the Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum.


The Expanding Alliance

IRHA is pleased to announce the creation of the "Red para la Región de Latinoamerica y el Caribe sobre Sistemas de Captación de Agua de Lluvia para uso Doméstico y Agrícola" (RELACALL) or the Latin American & Caribbean Rainwater Harvesting Network, which came into existence on the 27th August 2004 with the signatures of representatives of about 20 different countries. IRHA is one of the founding members of this important new network.

Another important new resource in RWH is the "Centro Internacional de Demostración y Capacitación en Aprovechamiento del Agua de Lluvia" CIDECALLI or the International Centre for Demonstration & Training in Utilising Rainwater, based in Mexico. See press article at: http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=26772

"Rainwater Harvesting" film nominated for another award

The 90 second, short film, "Rainwater Harvesting", produced by the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE), of India, has been nominated for a prize at Earth Vision - the 13th Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival 2005. The film highlights the key role people can play in conserving & managing water & has been shown on several leading Indian & international television channels & was recently nominated at the Wildscreen 2004 film festival in Bristol, UK. It won Best Documentary on the theme of "Water for Life" at the Vatavaran 2003 film festival in New Delhi. For more information contact, Ashwini at ashwini@cseindia.org


Can you really drink rainwater?

The proof is already in bottles in Australia and the USA.

Collected on King Island (renowned for the cleanest air in the world), Australia, "King Island Cloud Juice", 100% pure rainwater, available from: http://www.cloudjuice.com.au

In "Richard's Rainwater" fresh-squeezed cloud-juice, made between Heaven & Earth over Dripping Springs, Texas & available from: http://www.rainwatercollection.com


Ferrocement Tank Construction Video

We are looking for the best video or DVD or CD/ROM step by step guide to building a ferrocement tank for storing water. Does one exist? Please tell us which one is best in your opinion.


Mark your calendar

The 2nd Water Resources Policy Dialogue, 14-15th February, 2005, will be held in Tucson, Arizona, USA. More information is available on the American Water Resources Association web site at www.awra.org

Commission on Sustainable Development 13, 11-22nd April, 2005, will be held in New York, NY, USA. The theme is "Expediting Implementation on Water, Sanitation & Human Settlements". The Rainwater Partnership, under the aegis of UNEP will be lobbying for the inclusion of RWH in the conclusions of CSD13. See: www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd.htm

The American Water Works Association 124th Annual Conference & Exposition, 12-16th June, 2005, will be held in San Francisco, California. One of the four International Sessions will be on the topic of Rainwater Harvesting. For more information go to: www.awwa.org/ace2005

The North American Rainwater Harvesting Conference, 14-16th July, 2005, will be held in Seattle, Washington, USA. More information is available on the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association's 2nd national conference web site at: www.arcsa-usa.org. Two days of presentations, poster sessions and exhibit displays, followed by a third day for optional field trips.

The International Platform on Sustainable Urban Development (conference and exhibition), 11-13th October, 2005 will be held in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information visit: www.s-dev.org

The XIIth International Rainwater Catchment Systems Association Conference, 15-18th November, 2005, will be held in New Delhi, India, under the title "Mainstreaming Rainwater Harvesting". More information is available from: www.afpro.org or www.ircsa.org


Rainwater Harvesting Throughout History

The International Water History Association (IWHA) invites panel proposals & individual paper abstracts for IWHA's 4th biennial conference, 1-4th December, 2005, in Paris, France. The programme will bring together scholars & practitioners from a variety of disciplines & different parts of the world. In the process, IWHA hopes to help advance the theoretical & methodological quality of water history as a research field & to thereby increase understanding of the role of water in history & development. Specifically, the panels and presentations will dovetail with the long-term IWHA/UNESCO project to publish a seven-volume series on "Water and Civilization." See: http://www.iwha.net

Best regards from the IRHA Secretariat staff