International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance

Newsletter n° 15 - February 2006
"A promise is a cloud; fulfilment is rain"
Arabian proverb

Dear Rainwater Harvesters, the IRHA newsletter is a little late this month, but it has been quite a short & busy one for the secretariat! This edition contains information on:

• IRHA at the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico in March
• IRHA lobbying in Geneva in preparation for the 4th World Water Forum
• Exploratory mission by IRHA in Ethiopia in the frame of the UN Habitat
• Meeting on Rainwater Friendly Cities in Kathmandu
• Rainwater Harvesting in the News around the World
• Rainwater Harvesting as a Disaster Reduction Strategy
• And also…
• Training Courses
• New Publications
• Commercial Site of the Month
• Dates for your Diaries
• IRHA Membership

IRHA at the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico

The 4th World Water Forum takes place in Mexico City from the 16th to 22nd March. On Saturday 18th, as part of Framework Theme 2: Implementing Integrated Water Resources Management, IRHA is convening Topic Session FT2.39 on:

"Rainwater, Watershed Management & Food Sovereignty"

Co-convenors are CIDECALLI (International Centre for Demonstration & Training in Utilising Rainwater, a part of the Post-Graduate College of Texcoco, Mexico. Contact: anayam@colpos.mx ) & UNEP Latin America & the Caribbean (contact: julio.calderon@pnuma.org )

This session from 16:30 to 18:30 will give recommendations for strengthening local actions & implementation with a focus on:

• How to encourage the inclusion of RWH with the water & development agendas at national & local levels & in national legislation/regulations;
• How to facilitate knowledge transfer & capacity building to ensure self-reliant means to access fresh water & food;
• How to build a critical mass of RWH experience from different regions of the world to convince decision makers that an ongoing movement is in need of support both in urban & rural areas;
• How an International Rainwater Harvesting Fund could facilitate the implementation of local RWH actions & how this could realistically be created after the forum.

Speakers & panellists will include: Margarita Pacheco & Vessela Monta of IRHA; Ricardo Sanchez of PNUMA/UNEP; Manuel Anaya of CIDECALLI & IRCSA; David Kuria of Practical Action, Kenya; Marcela D'Souza of Watershed Organisation Trust, India; David Molden of the International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka; Johan Rockstrom of the Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden; Dan Offermans of Rainwater Implementation Network, the Netherlands; Maimbo Malesu of the Southern & Eastern Africa Rainwater Network, Kenya; Sybille Vermont, of Swiss Ministry of the Environment; & Adelia Branco, IRHA Brazil.

See: www.worldwaterforum4.org & look out for IRHA's rainwater harvesting buckets!

On Monday 20th, from 15:30 to 19:00 come & visit IRHA on the "Swiss Fountain of Experience" stand at the World Water Expo - Centro Banamex - Stand 916.

The Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation stand: "Swiss Fountain of Experience", show-cases Swiss water expertise & knowledge. You will be able to enjoy a drink of purified rainwater & listen to a series of presentations from the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands; the Southern & Eastern Africa Rainwater Network; the NGO Forum for Water & Sanitation, Nepal; Watershed Organisation Trust, India; the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Association; the UNEP Finance Initiative; the World Meteorological Organisation; the International Renewable Resources Institute, Mexico; the University of Guadalajara, Mexico; & CIDECALLI.

IRHA is delighted & proud to have gathered together such a diverse, interesting & committed range of rainwater harvesters & organisations in both the sessions; on the 18th & the 20th. Find the stand by looking for the Swiss stand's logo below, or look out for IRHA's buckets!

IRHA lobbying in Geneva in preparation for the 4th World Water Forum

In recent weeks IRHA has been lobbying hard as a part of the negotiation process among government delegations in Geneva that are preparing the Ministerial Declaration of 4th World Water Forum. IRHA looks forward to governments from developing & industrialised countries recognising the importance of rainwater management. Including rainwater harvesting & management in the Ministerial Declaration will facilitate the implementation of national & local policies & programmes which work towards reducing poverty & contributing concretely to the Millennium Development Goals.

See: http://www.worldwaterforum4.org.mx/home/ministerial.asp?lan=

Hopefully this will follow IRHA's success in maintaining RWH in the Committee for Sustainable Development 13 (CSD 13) final recommendations in New York last year & will augur well for its lobbying of CSD 14.


Exploratory mission by IRHA in Ethiopia in the frame of the UN Habitat
"Water for African cities" Programme

IRHA Associate Executive Director Vessela Monta was in Ethiopia from 13 to 23 February. This was the first phase of the engagement of IRHA to launch & help adapt UN Habitat's RWH manuals, the "Blue Drop Series", to the local conditions. It was also a step towards promoting & defining a strong national RWH policy, giving this way a hand to the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Association (ERHA).

ERHA is working on an agreement with UN Habitat to introduce RWH in three Ethiopian cities: Addis Ababa, Harrar & Dire Dawa. On the 16 February our Ethiopian colleagues organised a workshop in Harrar, addressed to local civil society organisations, representatives of the water authorities & water managers. ERHA has prepared a very well elaborated programme, explaining the critical issues of water & sanitation in these districts & showing the advantages which RWH actions will bring to them. Vessela Monta presented the general & international scope of RWH & launched "Blue Drop Series".

In the following days Vessela met a number of high Ethiopian government officials, officers from UN agencies working on water projects & civil society representatives. She had the honour of being received by the President of Ethiopia himself, His Excellency Girma Welde Giorgis, as well as by the Minister of Water, Asfaw Dingamo. Vessela presented the President with the first book of "Blue Drop Series" & he expressed his wish that RWH be introduced in the palace gardens, thus reducing the current high water bills. Currently piped water is used for this.

This exploratory mission showed the progress which has been made by the national RWH association, but also confirmed the necessity for IRHA to continue lobbing at every political level, till the formulation of a sound RWH strategy in Ethiopia.


Meeting on Rainwater Friendly Cities in Kathmandu

A two-day national workshop on "Rainwater Friendly Cities" at the initiation of Water for Asian Cities Programme of UNHABITAT was jointly organized by the Department of Urban Development & Building Construction, the NGO Forum for Urban Water Supply & Sanitation, the Municipal Association of Nepal & the WaterAid Nepal. This first ever meeting on RWH promotion in Nepal was attended by participants from different government departments, NGOs, professional & financial institutions & international agencies such as the International Rainwater Harvesting Alliances.

The main focus of the programme was related to the formulation of a strategy to promote RWH in Nepal. Different NGOs involved in the RWH Promotion Programme shared their experiences. Policy makers were briefed on the potential & viability of RWH as a decentralized approach to Nepal's water scarcity problems.

Launching the Call to Action to mitigate the current water crisis in the Kathmandu Valley Lajana Manandhar, President of NGO Forum for Urban Water & Sanitation stressed the need to make adding RWH technology on newly built structures a legal obligation.

In his keynote speech Dr. Roshan Raj Shrestha, Chief Technical Advisor of UNHABITAT said that if only 25% of the total residents of the Kathmandu Valley harvested rain, it would generate as much as 44.5m litres of water per day. Rainwater, though the primary source of water on earth, is being neglected, he emphasized. Over-extraction of groundwater has led to a depleted of water table beyond its recharging capacity in many areas leading to water quality degradation, land subsidence & receding of river beds.

Participants admitted that the government has not been able to put adequate emphasis on forming a legal provision for making harvesting compulsory on new buildings. They urged the authorities to take step in this regard. Janak Raj Joshi, Secretary of the Ministry of Planning & Works expressed a commitment to include rooftop RWH in urban development policy. Honb'le Dr. Rajendra Suwal, member of the national planning commission, said it would incorporate RWH into urban sector development plans. Purna Kadariya, Director General of Urban Development & Building Construction stated that all government buildings to be constructed henceforth will incorporate RWH systems. Government officials, policy makers and non-government organization made joint a commitment to promote rainwater technology in Nepal.

Other key speakers were Dr. Kulwant Singh Chief Technical Advisor UNHABITAT; Margarita Pacheco, Associate Executive Director of IRHA; & Dr. Suresh Das Shrestha, hydro geologist from Tribhuvan University. Guest speakers Sanjaya Adhikari, country representative of WaterAid Nepal, Deputy Director General of Department of Water Supply & Sewage, Ishwor Man Tamarakar, Deputy General Manager Madan Sanker Shrestha from Nepal Water Supply Corporation, Hans Heijen Regional Advisor for WHO & Bidur Mainali Secretary General of Municipal Association of Nepal also shed light on the importance of rainwater utilization.

Ishwor Pokhrael from Ministry of Physical Planning & Works, Babu Ram Gautam from Ministry of Local Development, Naresh Thapa from Department of Water Supply & Sewage, Rajiv Joshi from Nepal Water Supply Corporation, Kalanidihi Devkota from Municipal Association of Nepal, Prakash Amatya from NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation, Santosh Basnet from Nepal Water for Health & Ram Prasad Khanal from Mountain Resources Management Group presented the papers concentrating on their experiences in promoting RWH.


Rainwater Harvesting in the News

Pages from the United Kingdom's Environment Agency on RWH. RWH equipment is the latest addition to the Water Technology List, giving businesses in the UK the opportunity to claim 100% capital allowance on the purchase & installation costs of specific RWH components. Also contains long-loading pdf of Rainwater Uses for Domestic Use. See:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/waterres/286587/511050/?lang=_e

Experts give the Welsh assembly's new debating chamber top marks for its care of the environment. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4658190.stm

A green thumbs-up for Melbourne's Commonwealth Games in for 2006. RWH is to be used from toilet flushes to garden & pitch watering for lawn bowls, hockey and cricket, etc. See:
http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/newsroom/news_item.asp?id=752

Sydney community united against desalination. Sydney has the capacity to generate twice its current consumption of water from recycling, stormwater & RWH. Get more information on:
http://www.ecovoice.com.au/evonline/evo-27/scud-evo27.html

If you harvest rainwater in the USA or you plan to, then I think that you really ought to check out the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Their new Precipitation Analysis product graphically shows the short-term observed & climatic trends of precipitation across the lower 48 states of the USA & Puerto Rico. See:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/rfcshare/precip_about.php

And that is such an interesting site that we have to say we found out about it on Davis Instruments Weather Club. Davis Instruments make weather monitoring stations for use in homes, schools, industry, and agriculture. See: http://www.davisnet.com/news/e_news_archive/0601.asp#9

An article to remind everyone that water should always be properly treated before drinking from a study by Massey University in New Zealand. More information at:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3531009a7144,00.html

Summary of a paper from the 14th Conference on the Interaction of the Sea & the Atmosphere, "Local monsoon variability & rainwater harvesting" by Raghu Murtugudde.
http://ams.confex.com/ams/Annual2006/techprogram/paper_99531.htm

Hundreds of thousands of pounds saved by food giant, Brakes, through simple measures. It slashed its water bill by using rainwater (collected on the roof & stored underground) rather than mains water in its refrigeration plants' evaporative condensers. See: http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/2050/New_green_audit_of_the_food_chain_saves_firms_a_packet.html


Rainwater Harvesting as a Disaster Reduction Strategy

New grasses could cut flood risk. Scientists attempt to develop new varieties of grass which could soak up more water and reduce flooding. Get more information on:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/wales/mid_/4620254.stm

Flood prevention system for homes. Thirty-five affordable homes built at Cambourne in the United Kingdom include innovative flood prevention techniques. Get more information on:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/cambridgeshire/4531474.stm

Rain gardens "cut city pollution". Simple "rain gardens" can drastically cuts pollution levels in urban storm water, say US researchers. Get more information on:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4654362.stm

Huge Japanese company, Mitsubishi Plastics, introduces plastic rainwater storage & infiltration units especially to catch & store rainwater temporarily to prevent an excessive influx of water into rivers which causes floods. See: http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=9268


And also…

In Africa, what appear as isolated disasters brought about by drought or conflict are - in reality - systemic problems. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4662232.stm
Millennium Development Goals: Down the Pan? What with Aids & education grabbing the headlines, some MDGs, like clean toilets, are being neglected. See:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4248082.stm


Training Courses

" Green Roofs & Cisterns: A Practical Design Workshop " will take place from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm on 15 March, 2006, at the NHS Hall, Center for Urban Horticulture, Seattle, USA. Fee: $50 per person includes lunch. The workshop will focus on stormwater strategies for residential & small commercial buildings. Participants will walk through the design & construction process on several green roof examples from the region, exploring materials, techniques, design, permitting, & construction challenges of building green roof systems in the Pacific Northwest. It will examine projects around the region that have used cisterns for RWH & stormwater detention, & walk through the basic engineering & novel construction issues for these systems. This workshop is designed to help architects, builders, & engineers start using these techniques, & to share practical experience on the design and construction process. See: www.uwbotanicgardens.org or call UW Botanic Gardens on (206) 685-8033
A Hands-on course on "Urban Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia" (MSMA) will take place Tuesday 21 to Thursday 23 March, 2006 at the Institute for Competency Development, DID, Ampang, Malaysia. Organised by the Water Resources Technical Division, Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM), fees are RM600.00 for IEM Members & Govt. Officers, RM700.00 for non-IEM members - (limited to 40 participants). See : http://www.iem.org.my/wapi/mctxwapi.dll/getObject?mid=IEMWEB-MAIN2&ObjID=154


New Publications

Rainwater Harvesting - "Catch it before it slips". We welcome the first online edition of the Southern & Eastern Africa Rainwater Network (SearNet) monthly newsletter. It is now available at: http://www.searnet.org/enewsletter/enewsletter1.html
SearNet is a part of the GWP Programme for "green" water harvesting in Southern & Eastern Africa.

"A Development Dialogue: Rainwater Harvesting in Turkana" describes the Turkana RWH project, a water-conservation technology based on priorities identified by local people, adapted by them & in which local pastoralists & gardeners took full responsibility for control and administration. By Adrian Cullis & Arnold Pacey, you should be able to find this book on www.amazon.com for USD 50. See: http://www.sciencedaily.com/cgi-bin/apf4/amazon_products_feed.cgi?Operation=ItemSearch&SearchIndex=Books&Author=Adrian+Cullis


Dates for your Diaries

On 17-18 June, 2006, the India Development Coalition of America (IDCA) is organising a conference in Lisle, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) on "Water". Among the distinguished speakers is Jeffery Sachs - Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York. On 17 June there will be 4 parallel sessions on: Industrial & Municipal Applications;
Government role in Water Management; Agricultural & Community applications (this session is moderated by Jay Sehgal & the subtitle is Rainwater Harvesting & other methodologies to conserve & manage water for these applications); & Water Quality Issues. If you are currently involved in any field applications in these areas and would like to share your methodology and successful results, the organisers invite you to make a presentation.
You can download full details of the programme as a PowerPoint file from:
http://akash-ganga-rwh.com/WaterSummit-IDCA-2006.pps

IRC together with UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education is organising a Symposium on Sustainable Water Supply & Sanitation: Strengthening Capacity for Local Governance, which will take place from 26-28 September 2006 in Delft, The Netherlands. Deadline for abstracts: 1 April 2006. Decentralisation has shifted roles & responsibilities from national government to local government & other intermediate level bodies. Many of the actors who have emerged at this level struggle with their new responsibilities & with roles for which they are not fully equipped in terms of financial resources, knowledge, methodologies, tools & experience.
See: http://www.irc.nl/symposium/capacitydevelopment or contact: symposium@irc.nl


IRHA Membership

For 3 years IRHA has been increasingly acknowledged as a unifying & influential voice in the field of RWH. It has established relationships with many RWH organisations, NGOs, CSOs, UN agencies, international & government agencies, companies & individuals worldwide.

Please go to http://www.irha-h2o.org & click on the link to membership. With your help IRHA will continue to put RWH on the sustainable development agenda; to exchange ideas & experience; to influence policy at the international, national & local levels; to provide a vehicle for creating partnerships & to promote a globally representative approach, allowing regional & other variety.


This newsletter has been sent to:

• over 2,250 individuals & organisations of the IRHA network;
• over 3,500 readers of the International Institute for Sustainable Development - IISD Reporting Services Water-L list (www.iisd.ca);
• over 3,000 readers of International Association Trade Policy IATP (www.itap.org);
• over 500 members of Nepal's NGO Forum (www.ngoforum.np);
• and two very activeYahoo.com rainwater discussion groups

Thank you for the continuing positive comments and feedback on the newsletter.
Please do not hesitate to send us news and articles.
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Best regards from the IRHA Secretariat staff