February 2011 newsletter of International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance to focus on urban rainwater harvesting

This newsletter will look how rainwater harvesting can be used within cities to help face the duel problem of rapid population increase and climate change. One of the biggest problems in today’s cities is the rapid growth of urban populations in developing countries. The world’s urban population increased from around 200 million (15% of world population) in 1900 to 2.9 billion (50%) in 2000.

It is estimated that by 2030, nearly 5 billion people will be living in urban areas, with 75% of them located in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Urban development is already straining water resources and they are struggling to keep up with this rising demand. As a result, existing water sources are over-exploited and often polluted, and as the populations increase, this will only intensify. Added to this are the effects of climate change on cities; an increase in rainfall, often over a short period of time, causing floods or a reduction causing droughts

 

acrobat_icon IRHA Newsletter February 2011 (bRainstorming)