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Newsletter n° 08 - June 2005
"Every Drop Counts - Use Every Drop"
Dear Rainwater Harvesters, this edition contains information on:
Rainwater Harvesting to prevent Conflict in Sudan
"Sometimes I have to treat people who have fought over water, yet I do not have even a drop of water in my clinic & I cannot work effectively without water. That is why I ask my patients to fetch water or come with water before I treat them. Otherwise how do I sterilize surgical equipments & clean wounds?" says Robert Lochan, health worker at Kimatong Health Centre.
As water for animals & humans gets scarce & inaccessible during the dry season, the Buya people who inhabit Kimatong compete amongst themselves & with their neighbours, the Toposa, Lango, Lothuho & Lopit, leading to misunderstandings, hostility & eventually conflict. Because of this the Kidepo River, a seasonal river along the Kidepo Valley located 12km from Kimatong, becomes a battle zone filled with gun-totting raiders.
In Sudanese society the responsibility of fetching water falls on women & children. In areas where conflict is rife they risk becoming targets of abduction & rape. But the water problem facing Kimatong people is no different from other areas in southern Sudan because the war between the north & south weakened communities' ability to improve water access. Social & economic infrastructure not destroyed by the 21-year war has been ruined by lack of investment & maintenance. Only 25% of the population has access to safe drinking water. One in four children dies before reaching age five & nearly half of those deaths are caused by water-related diseases.
Galcholo, a local Sudanese community based organisation has teamed up with PACT to implement a RWH project (rock catchment) in Kimatong. With grants from USAID's South Sudan Transition Initiative the project (which includes two water tanks for the school & the health centre) is expected to be complete in three months, just in time to trap the first rains.
When completed, the rock catchment together with the two water tanks, with a total capacity of more than 500,000 cubic meters, will not only serve 6,300 people living in villages around Kimatong for eight months, but will also strengthen the capacity for the community-managed water resources as well as reduce conflict between the communities.
Galcholo knows that a successful water project depends on community participation. The community agreed to provide labour to build the rock catchment and people will also be selected from the community to form water committees & be trained to help in maintenance.
"We see this project not only as a source of water, but also as a means of reducing conflict between communities living here," says Clement Lopeyok, field administrator & co-ordinator of Galcholo. "Since the community owns this project, we decided to involve them right from the beginning. By doing so, they feel the project belongs to them & they will strive towards sustaining it long after the initial sponsor has left," he said.
Contact the Pact Sudan Country Programme, Kenya, pactsudan@pactsudan.org , visit
www.pactsudan.org or see http://allafrica.com/stories/200505310532.html.
Rainwater Harvesting & Micro-Credits for Improved Water Supply
Poverty alleviation, food security & access to water & sanitation are priority areas identified by the Millennium Development Goals. In recent years we have witnessed how micro-finance has helped local communities improve their livelihoods by initiating micro-enterprises that bring socio-economic benefits and respect the environment. However, there still remain many water-related constrains that hamper development of such commercial activities, such as quantitative, qualitative or institutional water scarcity issues. RWH can contribute to mitigating these constraints.
Linking micro-finance and RWH in developing countries seems a great opportunity to bridge the financial gaps that can bring socio-economic activities to local communities. By improving access to water by RWH, there is a reduction of time spent on water collection, reduce time spent sick & medical bills, thus increasing time spent in school or on income generating activities to improve livelihoods. There is also an owned asset - a household RWH system & storage tank, for example - at the end of the loan.
The IRHA Secretariat & UNEP Finance Initiative www.unepfi.org, are in the process of developing this interesting project with the donor community, micro-finance institutions & local communities in developing countries. Together we are collecting case studies & good practices from where water supply has been improved through micro-finance.
New Tax Relief for Rainwater Harvesting Equipment in the United Kingdom
The Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme for Water Technologies allows businesses to claim 100% first year capital allowances on investments in technologies & products that encourage sustainable water use. This tax relief will encourage businesses to invest in water saving technologies such as RWH equipment, which is now a qualified technology. UK manufacturers or distributors of meters & monitoring equipment, flow controllers, leakage detection equipment, efficient toilets & efficient taps, etc, can also apply to have their products included in the scheme. Full information is available on: www.eca-water.gov.uk
This is excellent news & something which other countries facing water crises would do well to imitate. IRHA strongly supports fiscal incentives for RWH or other methods of encouraging efficient & sustainable water use.
Call for participants in IRHA / WOCAT training in Kenya
IRHA & the World Overview on Conservation Approaches & Technologies www.wocat.net, both organisations being supported by the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation www.sdc.admin.ch, are holding an Exchange & Dialogue Programme on "Rainwater Harvesting & Soil Conservation for Food Security". Major topics will include documenting, evaluating, monitoring & disseminating RWH & soil conservation practices.
A limited number of spaces for this training workshop are still available. The workshop will take place in Nanyuki, Kenya, 9-16 October, 2005. Please e-mail a CV & a letter to secretariat@irha-h2o.org explaining why your candidate (a professional dealing in soil & water management) would benefit from this experience & what he or she could bring to the event in terms of knowledge sharing. Preference will be given to participants from African countries & the working language will be English. Participating institutions will be required to provide co-sponsoring. Organisation in Nanyuki will be by the Centre for Training & Integrated Research in Arid & Semi-arid Lands Development www.cetrad.org.
Rainwater Harvesting Association of Zimbabwe's new web site
RHAZ - the Rainwater Harvesting Association of Zimbabwe has recently opened its own web site, www.rhaz.co.zw. RHAZ is a dynamic network of member organisations involved in RWH countrywide. The web site gives information about the association, its vision, mission & objectives. Read about their achievements & success stories or order books, videos, pamphlets & manuals.
Mapping suitability for rainwater harvesting in SEARNET countries
The United Nations Environment Programme & the Southern & Eastern Africa Rainwater Network (SEARNET) have recently linked up to implement a project to develop maps illustrating the suitability for RWH. The maps are produced in GIS format & are aimed at aiding planners, investors & donors make decisions. The project will cover Botswana, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia & Zimbabwe.
In order to complete the project the SEARNET secretariat is currently looking for GIS data for all of these countries. The data should include: Rainfall in steps of 200mm; topographic classification of slopes (DEM); evaporation rates; soil types preferably based on FAO classifications & land use or cover; seasonal streams & permanent rivers should be differentiated; lakes; population & household information & poverty details; hydrogeology, water depth & groundwater availability; water abstraction data for conventional water supplies such as boreholes, wells, springs, dams, etc; district and sub basins.
More information is available on www.searnet.org or from Naomi Njeri n.njeri@cgiar.org.
Timor-Leste Representatives visit the IRHA Secretariat
On 13 June the IRHA Secretariat welcomed the Timor-Leste Ambassador to the European Union, the Timor-Leste special representative to the UN in Geneva & representatives of trade unions & employers federations. They were especially interested in how RWH could be means for rural people to meet their own water needs & how to make the population aware & accepting of RWH. Even in tropical Timor-Leste, certain regions lack sufficient water supplies & outside the capital, Dili, piped water systems are rare. The Timorese visitors were excited by the prospect of introducing RWH concepts early on in their country's history.
A Unique Jalajatha (Procession for Water Awareness) in Karnataka, India
(Thanks to Shree Padre)
Bagalkot district in Karnataka State, South India, has an annual average rainfall of 547 mm but has been reeling under a 3 year drought & huge agricultural losses. The district administration had to spend Rs 50-60 lakh (USD 100-120,000) to provide drinking water via tanker to 80 villages for about two months. To create water awareness among its people, the administration recently opened up a Rain Centre at Malenadu. This is an information clearing house-cum-training centre, built at a cost of Rs 8 lakh (USD 16,000).
Now that the monsoon has begun, the administration is preparing itself for a 10-day/100-village jalajatha - first of its kind in the state. Niranthara Foundation, a group of multi-talented artists from Mysore, gave 10 days training to 60 selected drama artists in folk songs, street plays & skits on rainwater, beginning with a 2-day slide-show session on Water Conservation & Rainwater Harvesting. Two local farmers who have successfully drought-proofed their land using traditional methods & reaped good yields despite the drought shared their experiences. The troupe gained first hand experience in RWH by digging a farm-pond, assembling a roof-top RWH system & digging a contour bund at Morarji Desai residential school. The schoolchildren also lent their hands to the construction of these RWH structures.
Jalajatha ran from 16-25 June with local support in the selected villages. The troupe was split into 5 groups, each visiting two villages per day. Their agenda included: tree planting; interaction with farmers; collecting information about RWH enthusiasts who might volunteer as jalyodhas; documenting traditional RWH & Soil-n-Water conservation methods; street plays, skits & songs on rain. Local farmers & experienced elders were requested to take part in this programme. A second leg of jalajatha will start after a review of the first leg.
For further details: DC Bagalkot, dcbkot.nic@sancharnet.in , phone: +91 (08354) 235 091; Sudhakar Cholachgud, sudhakar_ck47@rediffmail.com.
Ms Adélia Branco of ABCMAC visits the IRHA secretariat
Ms Adélia de Melo Branco is the secretary of ABCMAC (Associação Brasileira de Captação e Manejo de Água de Chuva - the Brazilian Association for Rainwater Catchment & Management) & a member of IRHA's steering committee. She visited the secretariat from 21-24 June. Adélia's PhD was entitled "Women of the Drought: Struggle & Visibility in the face of a Disaster Situation", so she was pleased to take advantage of the secretariat's position in Geneva & participate in discussions between IRHA & UN-International Strategy for Disaster Reduction staff. The new ISDR officer for South America, to be based in Panama was very interested to learn about RWH for flood & drought disaster reduction as well as for food security & the two organisations now aim towards a memorandum of understanding.
Adélia will represent IRHA at ABCMAC's upcoming 5th Brazilian Symposium on Rainwater Catchment & Management in Teresina, Piaui State, 11-14 July. For more information see www.abcmac.org.br.
Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water
This prize was initiated in 2002 to recognize outstanding research and innovation in the five branches of the Prize. The Prize value for each branch is SR 500,000 (USD 133,000). The topics for the 2nd award of the Prize 2004-06 will be as follows:
1 - Surface water; topic: WATER HARVESTING
2 - Ground water; topic: Management of coastal aquifers
3 - Alternative (non-traditional) Water Resources; topic: Treatment and re-use of waste water
4 - Water Resources Management; topic: Integrated & sustainable water resources management in arid and semi-arid regions (which must surely contain RWH too!)
5 - Protection of Water Resources; topic: Ground water pollution by urban activities
For more information e-mail: info@psipw.org or visit www.psipw.org . You can also subscribe to the PSIPW newsletter on this site.
Kyoto World Water Grand Prize
This prize is sponsored by Soroptimist International of Kyoto & the World Water Council to the amount of JPY 5m (USD 46,000) which must be used to continue the winning exercise or similar ones. It honours a distinguished individual or organisation whose grassroots-level activities work towards addressing critical water needs of communities & regions.
The Prize is being awarded for the first time at the 4th World Water Forum on 22 March, 2006. The applications should be in the context of: water for growth & development; implementing IWRM; water supply & sanitation for all; water management for food & the environment; risk management; new models for financing local water initiatives; institutional development & political processes; capacity building & social learning; application of science, technology & knowledge; targeting, monitoring & implementation assessment.
Contact: Kyoto_prize@worldwaterforum4.org.mx or visit www.worldwatercouncil.org/kyoto_prize/index.shtml
Grants for Strengthening Capacity in Water Resources Research
Citizens of Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC) countries are eligible for grants of up to USD 12,000 in research support for projects lasting 1-3 years. Topics include: Water for livelihoods; Safe drinking water; Pollution abatement; (Waste-)Water treatment and reuse; Water for agriculture; On-site rain-fed agriculture and rainfall harvesting; Use of low-quality irrigation water; Salinity management & local knowledge; Micro-irrigation technologies; Social & economic dimensions on water resources management; Integrated water resources management; Trans-boundary issues; Make women a central part of the water agenda; & Increasing the number of women scientists.
This grant is organized by the Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development & Management www.inwrdam.org, the Organization of the Islamic Conference's
Standing Committee for Scientific & Technological Cooperation www.oic-oci.org & www.comstech.org.pk, & the International Foundation for Science www.ifs.se.
Application deadlines are 30 June & 31 December 2005. For more information, contact Ms. Eva Rostig, IFS, Sweden, eva.rostig@ifs.se or see www.ifs.se/Programme/inwrdam-comstech-ifs.asp.
2005 Women in Water Awards winners in South Africa
The South African Department of Water Affairs & Forestry presents annual Women in Water Awards in five categories. The winner of the Education & Communication category, Thelmah Mavimbela, is a Grade 5 teacher at Mhwayi Primary School in water-scarce Mpumalanga. During breaks & cleaning periods, students had to walk long distances looking for water; often finding none. With limited resources, Ms Mavimbela developed an effective policy of water harvesting & conservation at the school.
As a result, this educator has made a real difference in the lives of many students & has contributed to community development in general. Full details are available on www.dwaf.gov.za/Events/WWA/2005.asp.
Publications
The latest translations of, "Rainwater and You - 100 ways to use rainwater", will be published by the end of 2005 into Arabic & Persian. This book was first published in 1994 in Japanese. An English version was published in 1995 & it has been translated & published in Korean, Portuguese, Vietnamese & Bangladeshi. The Chinese version published in 2005 received the 2nd Beijing "Best Scientific Awareness Work" prize. More information (also on the upcoming Tokyo Asia Pacific Sky Water Forum) is available on www.tap-skywater.jp.
Dates for your Diaries
The Centre for Science & Environment is holding another of its successful training courses on Urban Rainwater Harvesting, 8-11 August, 2005, in New Delhi. Course modules are: Rainwater Harvesting - tradition and relevance; Urban water scenario & importance of RWH - case studies; RWH Design - terrain, monsoon pattern, water table, soil conditions; Maintenance & monitoring; Field visits to model project sites. For more information contact Sumita Dasgupta, sumita@cseindia.org or Salahuddin Saiphy salah@cseindia.org.
The Third International Conference on Wadi Hydrology will take place in Sana'a, Republic of Yemen, 5-8 September, 2005. It is organised by the UNESCO regional office for science & technology for the Arab region & the Ministry of Water & Environment.
Theme 2 is, "Best practices for rainfall harvesting in wadi systems", including:
(i) Water harvesting potential & techniques;
(ii) The concept of water harvesting & the role of information technology in planning & design; and
(iii) Terrace management. More information is available on:
http://www.unesco.org/water/ihp/events/yemen_wadi/call_papers.pdf
"Integrated Water Resources Management & Challenges of Sustainable Development" is organised in Marrakech, Morocco, 23rd-25th May, 2006, by the Moroccan Committee of the International Association of Hydro-geologists (IAH). This congress will allow the different specialists in the field of water resources management to present & exchange information about the latest developments in their work related to IWRM:
www.unesco.org/water/water_events/Detailed/972.shtml
The 3rd Asia Pacific Association of Hydrology & Water Resources Conference: 'Wise Water Resources Management towards Sustainable Growth & Poverty Reduction', takes place 16-18 October, 2006, in Bangkok, Thailand.
It is organized in conjunction with the National Research Council of Thailand & the Association of Researchers.
The conference will raise water problems or cases relevant to the Asia-Pacific region's geography & climate & offer possible approaches or solutions for sound utilization of water resources, climate change, variation & disasters, & wise water resources management. For more information see:
www.unesco.org/water/water_events/Detailed/1043.shtml
You are over 1600 Rainwater Harvesters in 140 countries. If you would like your newsletter in French next month or you wish to be removed from the list, please send us an e-mail. If you want to tell the world about your RWH success, send the IRHA secretariat some news!
If you would like your newsletter in French next month then just send us an e-mail.
Best regards from the IRHA Secretariat staff