News

Image Rainwater at COP16: Rainwater and Biodiversity: adaptation strategy to climate change

Hybrid-event: Rainwater management, biodiversity restoration and adaptation to climate change

Join us on October 22, 2024, from 8:00 to 10:00 AM (GMT-5) at Casa Humboldt, Cali, Colombia, for an insightful session on Rainwater and Biodiversity: Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change. This event, organized by IRHA (Geneva) and the Cinara Institute of the University of Valle (Cali, Colombia) will explore how effective rainwater management can mitigate the impacts of climate change and biodiversity...


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Image Webinar 2: 900 Students, 1 School, No Water

Webinar 2: 900 Students, 1 School, No Water – Ensuring water supply and improving hygiene through the Blue School concept

On September 26, 2024, the IRHA held its second webinar in a series designed to raise awareness among civil society organizations about the importance of rainwater management in their projects. Titled "900 Students, 1 School, No Water!", the event brought together around 30 online participants from countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malawi, and Tanzan...


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ABCMAC Conference

by Han Heijnen | 30 August 2024
Image  ABCMAC Conference

IRHA’s partner in Brasil, the Associação Brasileira de Captação e Manejo de Água de Chuva (ABCMAC) held its 13th symposium in Recife from 25 to 27 August in Recife in the state of Pernambuco. Pernambuco is part of the North East of Brazil, a semi-arid area where a successful one million rainwater harvesting programme has been executed by ASA, an umbrella organization of local NGOs. Some 100 people from government, universities and NGOs attended the sessions.

The presentations addressed ...


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Rainwater Harvesting in Guadalajara, Mexico

by José Arturo Gleason Espíndola, President of the Mexican Association of Rainwater Harvesting Systems (AMSCALL) | 29 July 2024
Image Rainwater Harvesting in Guadalajara, Mexico

Flooding Challenges in Guadalajara

For several decades, the city of Guadalajara has been facing increasing flooding problems. Ever more hard paving in the urban areas prevents the infiltration of rainwater into the subsoil. As a result, water rushes to the drains during a shower and exceeds the capacity of the existing, old drainage systems, causing flooding. The solutions applied so far have focused on the construction of larger drains that divert water towards the Barranca de Huentitán, a c...


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Following the knowledge-sharing workshop organized by IRHA in April 2024, aimed at raising awareness among FGC partner NGOs about rainwater management, Emile Badji, director of the Keur Yaakar hotel complex and partner of Tereo, decided to invest in a rainwater management solution to address the recurring potable water shortages at the site.

To enhance the supply of potable water to the rooms, he decided to install a water tarp, a well-shaped cistern capable of storing a significant amount of ...


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Image 2023 Annual report is OUT!!

New programmes on watershed management in Nepal, ecosystem restoration and climate resilient agriculture in Senegal and cultural activities with kids in Geneva. Enjoy readying our freshly edited 2023 Annual Report!

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Image Harvesting rain in Nepal - Regional conference on rainwater management

From March 18 to 19, the Regional Conference on "Rainwater Harvesting and Management: Harnessing Rainwater for Enhanced Water Security and Climate Resilience" took place in Kathmandu, Nepal. On the day preceding the conference, March 17, international participants were able to visit urban rainwater recharge and capture projects implemented in Kathmandu.

The event was aimed at regional players active in rainwater management. Participants came from the authorities (4 mayors and 3 current and for...


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In the context of our PartageÖ project, a knowledge-sharing initiative funded by the Geneva Federation of Cooperation, we are organizing a Rainwater Management Awareness Workshop in Djilor, Senegal, on April 15th and 16th.

This workshop is open to all partners of organizations affiliated with the FGC, particularly partners of the Food Sovereignty Platform (PSA), who are interested in issues related to water and rainwater management.

The main objective is to actively encourage participating NGO...


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Nestled within the bustling urban landscape of Medellín, Colombia, a transformative initiative is quietly taking root – the Green Corridors project. These verdant pathways represent a concerted effort by the city to promote sustainability, resilience, and community well-being. At the heart of this endeavor lies the strategic integration of rainwater harvesting systems, a crucial element in nurturing these green havens and mitigating environmental challenges.

Medellín's Green Corrid...


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In November, I had the honour of meeting with the Minister of Water Resource of Burkina Faso. The meeting was held at the Burkina Faso House in Geneva,

Following the oucomes of the IWRM review conducted in Burkina, we had the chance to discuss water issues and the obvious need to take into account rainwater management into the plans. Urban or rural settings, it is all about dealing with the too much and too little water.

Climate change is there and it is becoming an urgent matter for national...


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The 2nd SARNET International Conference on Rainwater Harvesting, a Sustainable Solution for Climate Change Resilience and Achieving SDGs, was successfully held on May 17th and 18th, 2023, at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The conference brought together 24 international participants and 27 presentations were done by the professionals, academics, researchers, government, and private sector officials from various countries, including Sri Lanka, Indi...


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An interesting blog on rainwater practice around the globe was recently written by Prof. Mooyoung Han as a contribution to the Rainwater Harvesting and Management Specialist Group of the International Water Association. Prof. Han is the CEO of a Korean NGO "Rain for All". The NGO is an alliance member of IRHA. IRHA is in turn a "Rain for All" member while we also contribute to the IWA RWHM Specialist Group


" As we seek to develop water practices fit for the future, we can look for lesson...


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SARNET conference 2023

by Han Heijnen | 25 May 2023

The South Asia Rainwater Network (SARNET) is hosted by Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum In Sri Lanka. SARNET was set up in late 2019 in order to promote best practices and experiences in rainwater harvesting in the South Asian region. It has grown from some 30 members in 2020 to well over a hundred in 2023. Most members are from South Asia, with some also from Africa. The broader objective of SARNET is to generate further knowledge and evidence on suitability of rainwater harvesting, suppor...


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Partnerships and cooperation for water

by Sima Haïrapetian | 21 April 2023

The UN Annual Report on the Water Development in the World with title “Partnerships and Cooperation for Water” published at the World
Water Conference today in New York, cites as a positive example the
catchment of rainwater in the Brazilian Northeast.


Box 4.3 Smart rainwater management and drought resilience in rural semi-arid communities: A case study of Northeast Brazil

The smart rainwater management in Northeast Brazil was triggered by a drought between 1979 and 1983, which killed near...


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Commitment to water action agenda

by Han Heijnen | 29 March 2023

On behalf of the rainwater harvesting community- the International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance has submitted a commitment to the UN Secretary General's Water Action Agenda.

The commitment states that we, as a global alliance [aim] to improve water security through promoting rainwater harvesting and storage for households, schools and health centres; for agriculture and ecosystems; and for urban climate resilience.

The initiative aims at promoting Rainwater Management in response to intern...


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Rainwater is recognized as directly related to the current climate crisis, especially the phenomena of flood and drought. It, however, has been receiving less attention among water management practices or even ignored or managed off-site instead of source-control. As people in the Monsoon region have traditionally suffered from droughts and floods each year, rainwater is either a blessing or a curse, depending on how they manage rainwater. They might also have cultivated site-specific ...


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Roman Cisterns in Cartagena de Murcia

by Margarita Pacheco | 26 January 2023

Murcia is a Province in the southeast of Spain with a long history of Mediterranean exchanges among sailors, religions, slavery and different occupations.

Since the Fenicians in the II century b.c indigenous settlements were exposed to other civilizations from the east and south of the Mediterranean.

Several occupations from the eastern Roman Empire in Bizance, Moors and Berbers from Northern Africa, jewish, Visigods, Catholics have lived together and struggled along history dominating the coas...


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Sumaj Punchay is a Bolivian NGO, with expertise in locally mitigating the effects of climate change, food security and sovereignty, sustainable family agriculture. They work in a country where 3 million people live in rural areas, where agricultural labour is the main source of employment. Approximately, 70 % of these people live below the poverty line. Accordingly, Sumaj Punchay plays a key role in ensuring the livelihood of these rural, farming populations. The NGO works to ensure children...


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Strengthening the Rainwater Alliance

by Han Heijnen | 7 January 2019

Brazil’s national rainwater harvesting association, the Associação Brasileira de Captação e Manejo de Água de Chuva (ABCMAC), held its eleventh conference in João Pessoa, Paraiba State this November. Delegates gathered to discuss the theme 'Rainwater: A Step toward Brazil’s Water Security and Resilience’.[1]

Presentations focused on the usage of rainwater in agriculture, in the home and within ecosystems, and the development of policies that can encourage rainwater harvesting ...


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The Sri Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum organizes its regular international conference every three years. In 2018 the Conference brings together some 70 participants from South Asian countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and India, as well as Ethiopia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Sri Lanka as the host country was well represented with the Minister of City Planning and Water Supply and Dinesh Gunawardhana, the Leader of the Parliament and a long-term proponent of rainwater harvestin...


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