The Nepal Weekly 
December 19, 2023A
national conference with the theme of ‘Rainwater harvesting for conserving water and addressing the impacts of climate change’ is taking place in Kathmandu on March 19-20, 2024.
The two-day conference will be co-organized on the occasion of World Water Day by SmartWash Solutions and WaterAid Nepal in coordination with the Ministry of Water Supply and in collaboration with various organizations.
All preparations have been over for the conference, the organizing committee stated at a press conference recently.
The conference aims to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of rainwater harvesting, and reduce the impacts of climate change and water crisis, RamdipSah, chairperson of SmartWash said. Sahalso leads the organizing committee.
Creating awareness about the importance of water, advocating for an appropriate related policy, and providing water-related knowledge and appropriate new technology are the agenda on the table, he mentioned.
For the conference to conduct at the best, an organizing committee under Sah comprising representatives of the organizers and supporting organizations has been formed.
Similarly, a technical committee led by former Vice-Chancellor of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology Sunil Babu Shrestha has also been constituted.
The conference will carry out 16 working papers will be presented by thematic experts on the occasion. Participants from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and other South Asian countries will take part in the conference. Around 200 water and sanitation experts, professionals and students from Nepal, 25 experts from other countries will attend the conference. Thus, nearly 250 including observers and journalists will also take part in the event.
On the occasion, former Minister for Environment Er Ganesh Shah said that 5.7 billion people in the planet will be compelled to face water scarcity by the year 2050. That can be lowered if appropriate measures are taken from now. Rainwater harvest is one sustainable solution, he elaborated.
SmartWash Solution states that both anthropogenic and climatic drivers are resulting water scarcity in many countries across the region. Climate-induced impacts such as more erratic nature of precipitation, high intensity low duration rainfall and delays in the onset of monsoon are further compounding water stresses on the farm lands. By 2050, 5.7 billion people are expected to experience water scarcity for at least one month in a year.
Enhancing access to water at households and farmlands by means of diverting water from rivers are hindered by economic challenges. In this context, rainwater harvesting (RWH) and safe storage offers a solution to up to 6% of the world population as a regular supply or as a supplement. Schools and healthcare centers similarly face water shortages and could benefit from rainwater collection and safe storage. RWH and management is a critical aspect of rural development, for farmers to collect and store water for the next crop and to ensure that sufficient water remains available in local ecosystems. In urban settings, management of rainwater is an essential component of water resources management through infiltration and open storage opportunities to buffer water and reduce flooding and to keep water available during dry periods. Rainwater harvesting is an important measure for climate change adaptation, providing water for living and cooling homes and settlements. Therefore, RWH could be one of the solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (i.e., universal access to safely managed water supply) as well as in improving watershed health.
RWH is gradually mainstreaming in the last few decades. The experience in Australia and Germany have shown that RWH for domestic uses can be done very well, using clever water purification systems so that the stored water is safe to use for all domestic needs. In countries where households can pay for the systems, the RWH sector has become very respectable and vibrant. Adequate public awareness together with local knowledge and skills on water storage technologies will help increase the practice of RWH and raise water security and resilience.
In this context, Smart WASH Solutions in collaboration with government and other partners successfully completed two National Conferences on RWH in 2019 and 2023. Those conferences have impacted positively on rainwater harvesting and management in Nepal. As per 2023 Kathmandu conference declaration a “Regional Conference on Rainwater Harvesting and Management” is planned in collaboration with government, coordination with Nepal Rainwater Alliance, International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance (IRHA) and other partners with the goal to share regional experiences, knowledge, good practices and innovations about Rainwater Harvesting and Management within the region and to suggest appropriate solutions, policy interventions, models, technologies to address raised issues, intends to support the national efforts in sustainable water management. It is expected to stimulate research in RWH and its importance, institutional development and contribute to accelerate improvement in water service level throughout the country.
The conference will help bring together professionals, academicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, government and non-government institutions to discuss and deliberate on opportunities and strategies involved in RWH and management, provide interdisciplinary platform to exchange and share experiences, research, knowledge and technologies regarding RWH and management, and prepare a declaration covering the pertinent issues discussed in the conference for policy intervention as well as mass communication and dissemination. (By R. P. Narayan)
