Rainwater harvesting: a lifeline to human well-being
Ecosystem services are fundamental for human well-being, and are the basis of rural livelihoods, in particular for the poor. Rainwater harvesting can serve as an opportunity to enhance ecosystem productivity, thereby improving livelihoods, human well-being and economies. Rainwater harvesting has been shown to create synergies in landscape management and human well-being. 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 resource management: only water in surface and groundwater sources are conventionally considered. Managing rainfall also presents new management opportunities, including rainwater harvesting.