Workshop on unlocking rainwater harvesting practises in Bangladesh
Dutch-based non-governmental organization RAIN, in cooperation with Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (ITN-BUET), facilitated an expert consultation workshop in Dhaka in January.
In the workshop the results of the research on the potential of rain water harvesting practises were discussed.
This workshop was scheduled after completing a desk study and field visits in the coastal regions of Bangladesh.
Too much, too little
In Bangladesh coastal region rainfall in the monsoon season is abundant, but almost absent during the dry season, leading to water scarcity for households and farmers.
Due to high salinity in surface and groundwater and natural arsenic pollution, people in the coastal region of Bangladesh, are facing water crisis in many areas and are looking for alternatives.
Benefits of 3R practices
Rain water harvesting practices, such as 3R (recharge, retention and reuse) are often thought as a potential solution to enhance the availability of water.
RAIN, with funding of the WASH Alliance International, initiated an in-country study to understand the context of current water supply in the coastal region, to identify main challenges in implementation of the 3R practices, the benefits of such practices and the potential for scaling up of successful practises.
Feedback
The workshop was participated by partners of WASH Alliance International as well as other organizations implementing WASH in coastal areas.
Academicians, researchers and experts having experience of working on RWH practises in the coastal region also attended the workshop and shared their feedback on the research findings.
In a presentation existing local 3R practices and the results of a FIETS sustainability assessment of these practises were shared. The recommendations of the participants will be addressed in the final version of the research report.
About Rain and 3R
RAIN has extensive experience in programme and project management in the field of rainwater harvesting, collection and buffering. With local and international partners it has implemented rainwater programmes and projects in various countries in East and West Africa and Southeast Asia.
RAIN actively promotes the 3R (recharge, retention and reuse) and MUS (Multiple Use Services) approaches in which rainwater harvesting and collection plays a key role.
3R is an initiative of four Dutch entities (RAIN, Acacia Water, MetaMeta and Aqua for all). The concept is about cheap, decentralized storing of water in the soil profile that, when applied at scale, it does not disrupt the local environment. The measures contribute to diminish the risk of crop failures in rain-fed agriculture.
About Dutch Wash Alliance and FIETS
Six Dutch NGO's work together in the Dutch Wash Alliance with dozens of local partners in eight low-income countries in Africa and Asia, to build and to strengthen an environment in which local people can assert and realise their right to sufficient quantities of safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygienic living conditions, in order to improve their health, nutritional status and economic living standard.
The programme is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign affairs, started in 2011.
The alliance follows the FIETS strategy, pursuing Financial, Institutional, Environmental, Technical and Social sustainability.
This news item was originally published on the website of RAIN.
Read also on this website
● 3R partners to introduce water buffering measures in eco-village project in Igunga, Tanzania, 24 June 2015
● Tahmo and MetaMeta selected to further develop their solutions on rainwater prediction and road water harvesting, 23 February 2015
● Stockholm Water Week 2014: Rainwater management crucial for eradication global poverty, 4 September 2014
● Country: Bangladesh
More information
RAIN Foundation Network
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
+31 20 581 8250
www.rainfoundation.org
Wash Alliance International
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
+31 883 13 15 91
www.wash-alliance.org
3R Bebuffered
program management
c/o Aqua for All
The Hague, The Netherlands
+31 70 351 97 25
www.bebuffered.com
and
Booklet Smart 3R Solutions (download as pdf)