Website review: www.rainwaterharvesting.org
http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org
Summer is here and with it water wars at neighbourhood taps and tanker stops. To find a way out of scarcity, visit the Centre for Science and Environment's (CSE) rainwater harvesting website which encompasses the organisation's extensive research on water over the years.
The neatly designed site offers plenty for both the layperson as well as the expert. The potential of water as a source of crisis and conflict is first dwelt upon, highlighting the increasingly dominant role of the state in (mis)managing ever-decreasing water resources. Solutions are then offered to solve water scarcity both in urban and rural areas.
The web site stresses that rainwater harvesting is the best and optimal response to scarcity, especially in India with its copious but brief monsoons. Simple arithmetic makes this clear. Every year, India receives only about 100 hours of rain, making it imperative that this bounty is harvested to last the rest of the annum.
The website provides ideas for those keen on trying out rainwater harvesting in their homes, offices or village communities. Comprehensive harvesting techniques are delineated, catering to both urban and rural locales. Those who find the task too daunting can seek inspiration from the deeds of the jal yodhas (water warriors).
CSE's water campaign has been relentlessly promoting water harvesting as the ideal sustainable solution to eradicating ecological poverty. But the organisation's dream of Jal Swaraj can only come true if individuals, communities and governments take the cause of rainwater harvesting to their hearts.