International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance

Newsletter n° 12 - November 2005
"Rain is the source of all water therefore all water supply systems are, in effect, rainwater harvesting systems"

Dear Rainwater Harvesters, this edition contains information on:

• Membership Reloaded
• IRHA-WOCAT Exposure & Dialogue Programme in Kenya
• IRHA & Partners at S-DEV 05
• Creating a State-wide movement for RWH & Water Conservation in Kerala
• IRHA Secretariat at Strasbourg for the European Water Solidarity Week
• RAIN Foundation gets funding from the Dutch Government
• IRHA & Partners at UNCCE COP-7
• World Bank - Innovative Rainwater Harvesters Apply Now!
• Google Commits USD 1 billion to Charity & Supports Water Research
• Identifying Clouds
• New Publications
• Dates for your Diaries

IRHA Membership Reloaded

As many of you noted after we announced the introduction of IRHA membership last month, you had difficulty opening the application forms. We hope that you will now be able to open them using all computers, explorers, & programmes. Please don't send us cheques as they cost us more to cash than the cost of membership! Direct bank transfer is best if possible.


IRHA-WOCAT Exposure & Dialogue Programme in Kenya

From 10-16 October, IRHA ran its second Exposure & Dialogue Programme in Nanyuki, Kenya; entitled "Rainwater Harvesting & Soil and Water Conservation for Food Security" (the first was in India last year). Participants & trainers came from as far afield as Cameroon, Colombia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somaliland, Switzerland & Tanzania. The workshop was run in conjunction with the World Overview of Conservation Approaches & Technologies (www.wocat.net) & the main work was on the documentation of RWH & soil & water conservation projects for future dissemination & training using WOCAT's questionnaires.

Monday's first session enabled the participants to present themselves & express their expectations for the workshop. The next days were spent in the field with the participants split into two groups of 14. The groups visited different projects in the morning & swapped over in the afternoon, but they only documented the morning's project using the WOCAT questionnaire. Five projects were visited in total with each group documenting three projects. On the Friday, the groups added their completed questionnaires to the WOCAT database, some groups working on their computers until as late as 10pm.
On Saturday it was time to draw some conclusions. Perhaps the most important one was that the WOCAT questionnaires should be adapted to better take into account the RWH aspects of projects. Lastly, the participants declared that their expectations had been met by the workshop & that it should be replicated in many other regions.

The workshop would not have been possible with the organisation & warm welcome of CETRAD (Centre for Training & Integrated Research in Arid & Semi-arid Lands Development), based in Nanyuki, & especially of its director, Boniface Kiteme.

The main funding for this project came from Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (www.deza.ch), but co-sponsoring was also by the given by the Southern and Eastern Africa Rainwater Network (www.searnet.org), the United Nations Human Habitations Programme (www.unhabitat.org), the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (www.fao.org), Watershed Organisation Trust (www.wotr.org) of India & the Volta Basin Development Foundation of Ghana.


IRHA & Partners at S-DEV 05

The first International Platform on Sustainable Development, S-DEV 05, was held at Palexpo, Geneva, 11-13 October (www.s-dev.org). IRHA had a large stand; one of those sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation. This enabled IRHA to promote its own work on RWH & show its ability to bring together diverse actors in this field from around the world: the private sector, NGOs, local authorities, universities, & UN organisations. Posters from 7 countries, representing the projects & achievements of 8 different organisations were on display & staff was on hand to answer questions.

IRHA member organisation, the People & Community Development Association, of Thailand was IRHA's guest at S-DEV (www.pda.or.th). Mr. Wilas Lohitkul presented his NGO's projects in rainwater management & the construction of very large (20-30m3) ferrocement tanks, as a modern technology alternative to the traditional water jars which have been used in Thailand for centuries.

IRHA's partner Dom Eau, a part of the water authority of the Canton of Geneva (www.geneve.ch/eau), displayed its work in the field of urban rainwater management policy which encourages infiltration & retention.

Three bottles of rainwater hung next to the poster of the International Centre for Demonstration & Training in Utilising Rainwater (CIDECALL), of Texcoco University, Mexico (www.cidecall.org.mx). It has a fascinating new pilot project bottling purified rainwater & is producing ½ litre recyclable PET bottles branded "Lluviatl". The aim is for poor communities to provide themselves with water & generate income selling it too (Mexico is the world's second biggest consumer of bottled water). Prof. Manuel Anaya Garduno, IRSCA Vice President for Latin America, is the project leader.

Migros, Switzerland's largest supermarket chain (www.migros.ch), displayed a poster of its sustainable renovation of the Zugerland shopping centre in Lucerne. It is an excellent example of private sector sustainable development & the RWH component of the project involves more than simple rooftop collection. Rainwater potentially polluted by oil & petrol from the car parks and serving passes through the permeable surface & then pollutants are removed before the water is recharged into the ground.

During S-DEV, IRHA launched UN-Habitat's Blue Drop Series of rainwater harvesting guides for policy makers, implementers & beneficiaries, for which IRHA did a peer review.

IRHA presented its project with the Colombian National Apprenticeship Service (www.sena.edu.co/) to make rainwater harvesting a recognised trade skill.

An enormous SEARNET poster also graced the walls of the stand demonstrating a rooftop catchment system on Nairobi University.

A poster sent by Dr. Makato Murase of Japanese NGO, People for Promoting Rainwater Utilisation, displayed its project on using RWH in areas of Bangladesh where groundwater is affected by natural arsenic pollution (www.skywater.jp)

IRHA also shared a part of the large Canton of Geneva exhibition stand where it had the opportunity to show off its successful RWH pilot project in an orphanage in Bulgaria. The orphanage's water bill has been cut by 90% as rain is used to flush toilets, & to water the gardens & green houses.


Creating a State-wide movement for RWH & Water Conservation in Kerala

The Indian state of Kerala receives an annual average rainfall of 3,300 mm, yet amazingly it is facing water shortages simply because of weak management. Only an estimated 8% of the rainwater is used during a rainy season. Floods during this period are followed by drought, & water scarcity is a reality. Also, most of the State's water sources are polluted in some way. However with a 1,000 sq. foot roof it is possible to collect up to 300,000 litres of relatively clean rainwater. The State Government has realised that a potential solution to its water resources problems has been there all along.

On 2nd October the Chief Minister inaugurated a 3 day training programme for 650 volunteers & 14 district coordinators to popularise RWH & promote it to all households in the state over the next year. The participants visited houses already equipped for RWH & the training covered water literacy, water harvesting, ferrocement technology & the recharging of groundwater reserves.

The Government of Kerala also proposes to turn RWH & water conservation into a state-wide movement. The movement will campaign for & carry out RWH, environmental protection & the conservation of lakes and other bodies of water. Five conventions have been planned to raise awareness about the importance of water, RWH & the environment. They will be held in the sand beds of five major rivers in the state. Popular marches will also be organized through social & cultural leaders to spread the message of RWH & to popularize it to hundreds of thousands of people, including youth & students. This will be followed by a campaign across the length & breadth of the State.

Committees will be constituted down to the district & village levels. At the village level, committees will form groups of about 50 families each to carry forward the campaign & many voluntary agencies have already come forward to participate in the programme, such as Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Jaycees, Junior Chambers of Commerce & residents associations. A project to clean up the State's wells is also being planned. There is a need for a high level of awareness that water is critical to sustainable development. It can make the difference between being a rich country or a poor one. Watersheds should be protected to ensure water availability.

The State Government is also planning to fund a project to distribute about one hundred thousand ferrocement tanks capable of storing 500,000,000 litres of rainwater. Special programmes are also planned for the rain shadow areas of the state.


IRHA Secretariat in Strasbourg for the European Solidarity Week for Water

IRHA participated in the first European Solidarity Week for Water in Strasbourg (a politically important city of the European Union), 15-21 October, as a guest of the International Water Secretariat (www.i-s-w.org). The event was coordinated by Solidarity Water Europe (www.s-e-e.org) & brought together representatives of European water & sanitation authorities, civil society & the political world. The objectives were to improve exchanges & solidarity between the different partners in the field of water resources management & to raise the awareness of the general public as to the "reality" of Europe's water situation & the investments needed.

IRHA participated in workshop 3: "Access to drinking water & sanitation for all: mobilisation of various partners & stakeholders, decentralization of decision-making power & the use of appropriate, low-cost technologies." Vessela Monta spoke about an IRHA secretariat project carried out in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, which demonstrated the multiple benefits of rainwater management.

The week ended with the presentation of the participants' and organisers' recommendations to the Council of Europe. These will be used in the preparations for the 4th World Water Forum to be held in Mexico next year.


RAIN Foundation gets funding from the Dutch Government

In October the Rainwater Harvesting Implementation Network (RAIN) Foundation, based in Amsterdam, received a EUR 3.3m grant from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a five year programme in Mali, Burkina Faso & Senegal to start in 2006.

The RAIN West Africa programme has three main objectives:
1. The development of a Rainwater Harvesting Capacity Centre (RHCC) in each country. Capacity centres are strong existing local NGOs, trained & supported by RAIN, that will coordinate the national RAIN programme, aimed at implementation & influencing policy.
2. Construction of at least 20,000m3 of rainwater storage capacity. The construction will be carried out by local communities & a wide range of executive local NGOs, accompanied & supported by the RHCCs & RAIN.
3. Communication & lobbying governments & the private sector. The RHCCs, in close collaboration with RAIN, will actively communicate the results of activities & seek efficient ways to involve governments & the private sector in order to achieve large-scale & on-going implementation of RWH structures.


IRHA & Partners at the UNCCD COP-7

Rushing from Nanyuki to Nairobi, Margarita Pacheco & Ximena Puentes of IRHA Secretariat attended the 7th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Drought and/or Desertification, so that they could be on IRHA's well positioned stand in the hallway of the United Nations headquarters.

Under IRHA's umbrella, its Kenya-based partners SEARNET, CETRAD & UN-Habitat shared the stand, as did WOCAT. The five organisations together worked to promote & position RWH in the policy agenda. COP 7 participants showed great interest in the use of RWH & management in the struggle against desertification.

Several new contacts were made for potential collaboration in the future, thus helping the Alliance's federative RWH platform to continue growing.


World Bank - Innovative Rainwater Harvesters Apply Now!

The World Bank has issued a Call for Proposals for the 2006 Global Development Marketplace. The theme, "Innovations in Water, Sanitation, & Energy Services for Poor People", builds on the ongoing efforts of the World Bank, the Water & Sanitation Program (WSP) & the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) to increase access to water supply, sanitation & energy services to poor communities developing countries. The 2006 Marketplace is particularly focused on innovative & sustainable local-level solutions that have a credible potential for replication & scaling-up.

Proposals are welcome from a range of development innovators, civil society groups, social entrepreneurs, private foundations, government agencies, academia, the private sector, as well as staff from the World Bank Group & other donor organizations. A total of USD 4m in awards is available, with a maximum award size of USD 200,000. Proposals should be submitted by 30th November, 2005 on one of the following sub-themes:

Service Delivery: Sustainable delivery of water supply, sanitation, &/or energy services to poor households.
Environment: Renewable energy, clean water technologies, energy efficiency, &/or environmentally sustainable sanitation solutions to poor households & to small enterprises.
Health: Protecting health from environmental risk factors (indoor air pollution, contaminated drinking water, unsafe sanitation), including innovative programmes for hygiene promotion & behavioural change.
Natural Resources: Sustainable management of natural resources (land, water, forest) specifically for the provision of water supply, sanitation & energy to the poor.

www.developmentmarketplace.org contains competition guidelines, the online proposal form, & instructions in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian & Spanish.


Google Commits USD 1 billion to Charity & Supports Water Research

Over the next 20 years Google plans to spend 1% of its equity & profits, together around USD 1 billion (EUR 833m), on philanthropic activities focusing on world poverty & the environment. The money will be managed by Google.org which includes the work of the Google Foundation, some of Google's own projects, & partnerships & contributions to for-profit & non-profit entities. Google is endowing the Google Foundation with USD 90m (EUR 75m) & budgeting another USD 175m (EUR 146m) to invest outside the foundation

Google plans to support research in western Kenya to identify ways to prevent child deaths caused by poor water quality & to better understand what works in rural water supply. The research is being conducted by Alix Zwane (zwane@are.berkeley.edu ) & Edward Miguel (emiguel@econ.berkeley.edu ) of UC Berkeley & Michael Kremer of Harvard University.
Kenyan rainwater harvesters; why not contact them & explain your rural water supply solutions? Or visit http://www.google.org/ .


Identifying Clouds

Is it going to rain today? Here are a couple of links to sites on identifying different cloud formations and deciding whether you should

http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/canwarn/clouds-e.html This site belonging to Environment Canada is available in English & French.

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/home.rxml is a site developed by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. WW2010 (the weather world 2010 project) is a WWW framework for integrating current & archived weather data with multimedia instructional resources using new & innovative technologies. There are good pages on the hydrological cycle too.


New Publications

India's Centre for Alternative Agricultural Media (CAAM) has released a 24-page booklet in Kannada, "Teredabaavi Marupoorana - Kakolada Yashogathe" (Open Well Recharging - Kakol's Success Story). Written by development journalist Mr. Poornaprajna Belur, the book details the work done to overcome water scarcity in Kakol village, in the Haveri District of Karnataka. In 4 years 93 of 165 open wells have been recharged. A village Natural Resources Development Association was set up, concentrating on soil & water conservation & reforestation. Depending on the response to this first book, CAAM intends to publish more booklets on constructive work done in farm & rural areas in Karnataka. At Rs.15 (USD 0.35), the booklets are certainly affordable, making dissemination easier. For more information contact Anitha Pailoor on caam@sify.com or visit www.farmedia.org .


Dates for your Diaries

Indian NGO, Tarun Bharat Sangh, is organising a National Water Conference at the Tarun Ashram, Bhikampura, 11-12 November, in Rajasthan. The main topic is stopping the privatisation of water & promoting community management of water resources, especially groundwater. Step one is local water literacy. Step two is developing water conservation structures such as Johads, ponds, check dams, Anicuts & small dams. If you wish to ask society to conserve water you have to prove that you are making an effort yourself. Step three is Satyagraha or insistence on truth & justice. Welfare for all & enough water for livelihoods will come via legislation & policy. Visit: http://www.tarunbharatsangh.org or call: (+91)01465-225043.

The 8th International Conference on Dry Lands Development will take place 25-28 February 2006, in Beijing, China. Organisers are: the International Dry Lands Development Commission; Chinese Academy of Sciences; FAO; International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas; UNESCO. Topics will include: soil & water conservation & degradation; biodiversity conservation & utilization; stress physiology: drought, heat, cold & salinity; indigenous/traditional knowledge & heritage; sustainable development of oases; & application of new technologies & technology transfer. See http://www.8icdd.org/ .

An International Symposium on Water & Land Management for Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture will take place in Adana, Turkey, 4-8 April 2006. It is organised by the Irrigation & Agricultural Structures Department at Cukurova University. The aims are to identify best management practices that will harmonize the sustainable use of water for agricultural production & livelihoods with well-functioning ecosystems. Topics include: irrigation for poverty alleviation & food security improvement; water management in the irrigation sector; water valuation in the irrigation sector, cost coverage & tariff systems; water scarcity & water harvesting; policy options for saving water in irrigation; and impacts of climate change on hydrological regimes & water resources. Contact Dr. Attila Yazar at symp2006@cu.edu.tr or visit: http://symp2006.cu.edu.tr/ .

A conference on "Environmentally Sound Technology in Water Resources Management" will be held in Gaborone, Botswana, 11-13 September 2006, organised by the International Association of Science & Technology for Development. This is an interdisciplinary forum for decision-makers, academics & professionals interested in the development & application of technology by ensuring the sustainable use & management of water resources. This is consistent with the goals of the UN International Decade for Action, 'Water for Life'. The forum will cover both hard & soft technology & will serve to promote the use of appropriate technologies. The conference will cover: water supply & sustainable use; wastewater & storm water management; integrated watershed management; & pollution prevention & reduction in industry. See: www.unesco.org/water/water_events/Detailed/1079.shtml .

The 3rd International Symposium on Integrated Water Resources Management will be held from 26-28 September 2006, in Bochum, Germany, as a platform for the exchange of research. The main organiser is the International Association of Hydrological Sciences.
The main topics are: from headwaters to the mouth - vulnerable interactions between landscapes, water & societies; flood risk, vulnerability & protection (a contribution to the International Flood Initiative); water management as a problem; water management as a solution. See: http://www.conventus.de/water/ or e-mail IWRM2006@rub.de .


This newsletter has been sent to 2,167 individuals & organisations in 150 countries.

Thank you for the continuing positive comments and feedback on the newsletter.
Please do not hesitate to send us news and articles.
If you would like your newsletter in French next month then just send us an e-mail.

Sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation


Best regards from the IRHA Secretariat staff