91types of systems may need technical assistance and financial support to meet the
capital investment cost. This could be supported through soft loans.
13 Conclusions and Future Research Thrusts
Water harvesting has been practiced successfully for millennia in parts of the world
and some recent interventions have also had significant local impact. Yet the poten-
tial of water harvesting remains largely unknown, unacknowledged or
unappreciated.
Rainwater harvesting can serve as an opportunity to enhance ecosystem produc-
tivity thereby improving livelihoods, human wellbeing and economies. Therefore,
ecosystem services are fundamental to human wellbeing and are the basis of rural
livelihoods in particular for the poor. Regarding the benefits of water harvesting, the
Stockholm Environment Institute (UNEP-SEI 2009 ) summarized the key findings
as:
- Water harvesting has increased synergies in landscape management and human
wellbeing. These synergies are particularly obvious when rainwater harvesting
improves rainfed agriculture, is applied in watershed management, and when
rainwater harvesting interventions address household water supply in urban and
rural areas. - Rainwater harvesting has often been a neglected opportunity in water resources
management, with only surface water and groundwater sources conventionally
considered. Managing rainfall also presents new management opportunities,
including rainwater harvesting. - Improved water supply enhanced agricultural production through the adoption of
rainwater harvesting can be attained with relatively low investments in fairly
short time spans (5–10 years). - Rainwater harvesting is a coping strategy for variable rainfall. In the future, cli-
mate change will increase rainfall variability and evaporation, and population
growth will increase the demand for ecosystem services, particularly water.
Rainwater harvesting will become a key intervention to cope with water
scarcity. - Awareness of ecosystem services must be increased by practitioners and policy
makers alike, to realize the potential of rainwater harvesting and ecosystem ben-
efits for human wellbeing.
Enabling policies for rainwater harvesting uptake and implementation are the
first step to increased adoption. To move from a centralized to a decentralized water
system, for example, is not an impossible task but one that needs sustained efforts
in the rationalization, planning, implementation and adjustment to the system. It is
recommended that responsible global bodies take on the task of assisting countries
to mainstream rainwater harvesting in their policy agendas. This effort should be
Water Harvesting in Dry Environments