promoting rainwater harvesting eastern and southern africa
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Promoting rainwater harvestingeasternand southern Africa
The RELMA experience
Bancy M. Mati, Maimbo Malesu and Alex Oduor
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Promoting rainwater harvesting
in eastern and southern Africa
Bancy M. Mati, Maimbo Malesu and Alex Oduor
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LIMITED CIRCULATION
Mugo F and Ong C: 2006.Lessons from East Africas unsustainable charcoal business. ICRAF
Working Paper no 1. 24
Titles in the Working Paper Series aim to disseminate interim results on agroforestry research and
practices and stimulate feedback from the scientific community. Other publication series from the
World Agroforestry Centre include: Agroforestry Perspectives, Technical Manuals and Occasional
Papers.
Published by the World Agroforestry Centre
United Nations Avenue
PO Box 30677, GPO 00100
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254(0)20 7224000, via USA +1 650 833 6645
Fax: +254(0)20 7224001, via USA +1 650 833 6646
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.worldagroforestry.org
World Agroforestry Centre 2005
Working Paper nr 24
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the
World Agroforestry Centre.Articles appearing in this publication may be quoted or reproduced without charge, provided the source
is acknowledged.
All images remain the sole property of their source and may not be used for any purpose without
written permission of the source.
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About the authors
Bancy M. Mati, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Nairobi, Kenya
Maimbo Malesu, Regional Land Management Unit (RELMA), Nairobi, Kenya
Alex Oduor, Regional Land Management Unit (RELMA), Nairobi, Kenya ([email protected])
Keywords: Rainwater harvesting, land management
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Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
From Erosion Control to Rainwater Harvesting ........................................................5
Rationale for Rainwater harvesting ...........................................................................6
Rainwater harvesting technologies and approaches ......................................................8Rainwater harvesting and storage in above-surface tanks .........................................8
Pans and Ponds ..........................................................................................................9
Earth dams ...............................................................................................................10
Sand and sub-surface dams......................................................................................11
Runoff harvesting and storage underground............................................................12
Spateflow irrigation .................................................................................................12
Conservation Agriculture.........................................................................................13
Policy advocacy to promote rainwater harvesting.......................................................14Documentation and awareness creation.......................................................................19
Collaboration and Networking.................................................................................16
Capacity building .....................................................................................................17
Conclusions..............................................................................................................22
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Introduction
Early explorers to Africa reported finding serene countryside where people, their
livestock and wildlife co-existed in an almost untamed environment (Thomson, 1887;
Krapf, 1860). However, with colonization of nearly all the countries in eastern and
southern Africa, except Ethiopia, in the early 1900s, pressure on land resources
started to be experienced as indigenous populations were relocated to generally
poorer, more fragile farmlands and grazing areas, and ecosystem degradation was
reported (Tate, 1904; Hardinge, 1899; Herren 1987).In contrast, the land alienated for European settlements was usually had the highest
potential. For instance, in Swaziland and Zimbabwe, more than half of the land was
alienated. In Angola, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, the proportion alienated was not
so large, but it still tended to be on the cool, high-potential plateau where productivity
and population density were highest (Hunter, 1992).
As a result of compulsory acquisition of high-potential land, population densities on
poor quality or marginal lands throughout the region increased over a relatively short
time and traditional land management strategies became unviable. By the 1930s, soil
erosion and land degradation was being documented and raising concern (Maher,
1937; 1938). During this period (1930s-1960s), the colonial administration and its
extension system enforced compulsory conservation what has been referred to as the
Colonial Error in Soil Conservation (Admassie, 1992).
From the 1960s, many African countries were getting independent from colonial rule
and there were high expectations by poor smallholder farmers. In some cases, land
was reallocated and large farms were sub-divided, creating new smallholder
settlements, some of which spread from the wetter highlands to the drier rangelands
originally used for ranching (Huber and Opondo, 1995).
The incoming African settlers brought with them subsistence agriculture even on
fragile marginal lands. As the farm sizes were small, the farms were subjected to
intensive cultivation and overgrazing (Kohler 1987). The post-independence euphoria
(1960s-1970s), also brought with it a laissez faire attitude among the smallholder land
users, who felt free from colonial rules such as those on soil and water conservation,
resulting in a period of rejection, the so-called lost years (Admassie, 1992).
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The first world summit on the environment in Stockholm in 1972 raised concerns
about land degradation in Africa. Governments and the international community
turned their focus to controlling soil erosion, which was identified as a major cause of
land degradation in the region. Soil conservation initiatives were subsequently
reintroduced over the next two decades. This time round conservation efforts were
based land-users willingness to participate, with an on-farm focus and some
incentives (Admassie, 1992; Lundgren and Taylor 1993).
In was soon after the 1972 conference that the Swedish International Development
Agency (Sida) began to be involved in soil and water conservation in eastern and
southern Africa, starting with support to the newly established National Soil
Conservation Programme (NSWCP) in Kenya.
In 1982, the Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU) was established in Nairobi,Kenya, to facilitate diffusion of the experiences in to neighbouring countries through
training, information exchange and dissemination, funding for short-term studies,
technical backstopping by professionals, publications and establishment of training
and extension for soil conservation (Wolde-Aregay, 1996). The RSCU focused on six
countries Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia (Lundgren, 1993;
Lundgren and Taylor, 1993; Wolde-Aregay, 1996; Abebe, 1997).
RSCUs work led to the development of participatory approaches such as the
catchment approach and focal area approaches. The catchment approach to soilconservation (Admassie, 1992) is relatively long-term and involved farmers to plan
and implement conservation activities within water catchments.
However, the focus was still on individual farms and the approach did not lead to
conservation of the entire catchment. There was more emphasis on private on-farm
conservation at the expense of off-farm activities and public lands, reducing
community participation. At the same time, international attention was focusing on
more integrated approaches to dealing with land management, beyond soil
conservation. This culminated in the transformation of RSCU into the Regional LandManagement Unit (RELMA).
RELMAs mandate was to contribute towards improved livelihoods and enhanced
food security among small-scale land users in the region. Its objective was to
enhance quality, technical and institutional competence through improved contents of
Sida-supported activities and other programmes, projects and institutions involved in
land management.
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This objective would be achieved through support to environmentally sustainable,
socially and economically viable land management practices, aimed at improved
production and utilization of food and other commodities.
Based in Nairobi at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), RELMA operates
mainly in six countries in eastern and central Africa: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Small-scale farmers within these countries form
RELMAs ultimate target groups, whereas intermediary institutions of various types
(extension agents) are the direct target groups, or clients (RELMA 2002).
From Erosion Control to Rainwater Harvesting
From the 1980s, governments in the eastern and southern Africa were preoccupiedwith large-scale consequences of soil erosion such as sedimentation of dams and
desertification (Dunne, 1979). In contrast, local concerns centred on soil productivity
and access to water, with terracing, bunding, vegetative strips and other structural
measure being adopted by farmers (Thomas, 1997; Tiffen et al, 1994).
It was not long before stakeholders began to demand linkages between conservation
and productivity and to move from soil conservation to land husbandry. This meant
more holistic treatment of land, combining care and management of crops and
animals, so that land improvement comes first and the control of erosion follows as aresult of good land husbandry (Lundgren and Taylor 1993).
It was during this period that the RSCU was implementing the Hifadhi Ardhi Dodoma
(HADO) project in Kondoa, Tanzania (Christianson et al, 1993; Mbeu and Mlenge,
1983). The land in Kondoa had been severely degraded, with gullies, badlands,
floods, poor soils due to many years of overgrazing, charcoal burning and slash-and
burn and poor land husbandry.
The interventions the HADO project adopted included moving livestock to other
areas, terracing, grass trips, planting vegetative material in sand rivers (to trap sand),
use of crop residues as trash lines, tree nurseries, village forests, agroforestry, contour
bunds, stone bunds and gully control. Though large areas were conserved, the project
was criticized for relocating people. It was argued that it would be difficult to
replicate such as a drastic measure elsewhere in the region.
In a similar project in Eritrea, Negasi et al (2000) reports of soil conservation and
treatment of degraded hillsides at Teshalflam and Aditeclai-Adighebru, with terracing
(fanya chini fanya juu) and afforestation, as well as well as the the closure and
designation of Mt. Bizen as permanent woodland in 1992. [Fanya chini fanya juu are
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The need for rainwater has been growing in the region, not only for crop production
but also for livestock and household use. About 69% of the land in eastern and
southern Africa falls within arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid zones where permanent
rivers are few and far apart. Ground water exploration, development and abstraction is
expensive and beyond the reach of most farmers. There has therefore been growing
interest in alternative sources of water that are affordable and can be implemented
using local resources.
Why RWH? The reasons are many. The world is currently undergoing water crises and RWH
can augment water supply in all sectors. Rainwater harvesting increases food production and
hence forms the foundation of many development projects that promote agriculture and land
management (Reij et al., 1996; Lundgren, 1993; Hurni and Tato, 1992; WOCAT, 1997). For
instance, according to studies carried out, maize yield can be tripled with RWH through
Conservation agriculture. RWH minimizes the risk of crop failure during droughts, intra
seasonal droughts and floods (Baron and Rockstrom 2003); RWH reduces women's burden of
collecting water for domestic use, leaving time for other productive activities. RWH gives
opportunity for the girl child to attend school and provides a relatively safe and clean source
of drinking water, minimizing incidences of water borne diseases.
When applied at watershed level, it improves the environment and minimizes the effects of
drought and floods. RWH is a decentralized water supply system encouraging community
participation and self reliance. Local communities who have an enormous capacity to invest
labour and time can do it; the systems are varied and can therefore be built according to the
ecological characteristics of the particular region or locality (Oweis et al., 2001; SIWI, 2000).
Hatibu and Mahoo (2000) also demonstrated the importance of RWH to domestic
water supplies, livestock watering and crop production using examples and data from
Tanzania. The researchers described effective use of rainwater, noting that 98% ofcrop production in Tanzania is rain-fed. RWH is particularly necessary as 71% of all
disasters in Tanzania are caused by droughts (33%) and floods (38%). Drought occurs
once every four years in Tanzania, affecting mostly the central regions of Dodoma,
Singida and Tabora, Shinyanga, Mwanza and Mara, and some parts of the coast,
particularly Bagamoyo. Floods affect Tanga, Mbeya, Coast, Morogoro, Arusha,
Rukwa, Iringa, Lindi and Ruvuma. It is these areas where RWH also has the highest
impacts on improving livelihoods.
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Rainwater harvesting technologies and
approaches
In line with its goal of improving the livelihoods of small-scale land users, RELMA
was involved in the search for appropriate and affordable technologies for rainwater
harvesting. In the early years, emphasis was mostly on identification, research,
refinement and promotion of technologies that smallholder farmers could adapt.
Over the years, various RWH techniques have been proposed, tested and adopted by
land users across eastern and southern Africa. These can be grouped roughly into five
broad types:
(i) rooftop RWH and storages in either surface or underground tanks;
(ii) runoff harvesting from open surfaces and paths, roads, rocks, and its storage in
ponds, underground tanks or other structures;
(iii) flood flow harvesting from valleys, gullies, temporary streams and its storage in
ponds, weirs, small dams;
(iv) flood flow harvesting from ephemeral water courses and its storage within sand
formations as sub-surface or sand dams;
(v) runoff harvesting and its diversion from any other sources when stored within the
soil profile.
Rainwater harvesting and storage in above-surface tanks
In the ESA experience, harvesting roof runoff and storage in above ground tanks
proved to be one of the most popular technologies (Gould and Nissen-Peterssen
1999). Galvanized corrugated iron sheets, corrugated plastic and tiles all make good
roof catchment surfaces and are now widely available in much of the ESA region.
Tanks are built from a wide range of materials including metal, wood, plastic, fibre
glass, bricks, interlocking blocks, compressed-soil or rubble-stone blocks, ferro
cement, and concrete. Regardless of the material used to make them, good tanks share
common key features: They should be should be watertight, durable and affordable
cost is a key influence on tank choice and should not contaminate the water.
Surface tanks vary in size from 1 m3 to more than 40 m3 for households and 100 m3 or
bigger for schools, hospitals and other institutions. Tank size is also dependent on therainfall pattern and demand for water. Areas with seasonal rainfall will require larger
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tanks of 25 m3 35 m3 and a roof exceeding 100 m2 to satisfy the demand in an
average household in the dry season.
Another benefit of surface tanks over sun-surface ones, which are partly or
completely underground, is that water can be easily extracted through a tap just above
the tanks base. This has made surface tanks popular in rural households for water for
drinking water. This popularity was demonstrated in the Kusa area of Nyando
District, Kenya, where RELMA was involved in a project to promote rainwater
harvesting. In just six months, 113 above-ground tanks with capacities ranging from 3
m3 to 23 m3 for homes and 23 m3 to 30 m3 for institutions were constructed (Mati,
2001).
However, the cost of tanks is often beyond the reach of many poor households and
that is what most RWH projects of this nature are funded or subsidized bydevelopment agencies. In the Kusa project, for instance, RELMA gave subsidies in
form of materials and expertise that amounted up to 49% of the total cost of a tank
(Winberg, 2005).
Pans and PondsWhere the catchment is appropriate, pans and ponds are dug up to capture and store runoff
from surfaces such hillsides, roads, rocky areas and open rangelands. Pans have been used to
harvest rainwater in many parts of East Africa, especially for livestock. When well designed
and with good sedimentation basins, pans can collect significant amounts of water for
livestock and for irrigating crops to augment rainfall. But pans have their problems. These
include their relatively small capacities, high rates of silting, loss of water through seepage
and high evaporation losses.
To control seepage, ponds can be lined with a special dam-plastic (Cherogony 2000)
popularized by RELMA. However, the high cost of good-quality plastic lining, which often
needs to be factory-made to measure, is a major constraint for smallholder farmers. Cheaper
methods such as clay grouting should be encouraged.
In a recent study by RELMA (Sang et al 2006) in Lare division of Nakuru district, Kenya, a
25 square kilometre area was randomly selected and using GIS technique the number and
distribution of runoff ponds in the area were determined. A Quick bird image revealed that
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908 ponds (see Figure 1) been constructed by farmers in the location. This is the highest
adoption of ponds RELMA has ever observed in Africa.
The adoption of ponds has resulted in improved livelihoods of the communities
through increased food and water security. It was concluded and recommended that
ponds should be scaled up in areas of similar biophysical conditions.
Figure 1. Distribution of 908 ponds in Lare Division, Nakuru Kenya
Earth dams
Earth dams are perhaps the most widespread method of water harvesting, especially
from river valleys. A dam can be constructed to collect water from less than 20 km 2
for a steep catchment and 70 km2 for a flat one. In Tanzania, low earth dams called
malambo have been built, especially in Dodoma, Shinyanga and Pwani regions
(Hatibu and Mahoo, 2000). Some of these are medium-sized reservoirs for urban or
irrigation water supply.
Sometimes a regulating reservoir is designed to store flash floods from a single day's
rainfall. The water is then slowly released so that it does not endanger bunds
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constructed on farmlands on lower land. The stored water drains away continuously
until the reservoir is dry in a day or two, ready to receive the next flash floods.
An adequate spillway must be provided to guard against the dam collapsing. Should
the dam collapse, the resulting damage will be far greater than that which would have
been caused by the flash floods, underlining the importance of taking sufficient
precautions in the design. Qualified and experienced engineers should be in charge of
the design and construction of dams.
Due to the high costs of construction, earthen dams are usually built with support
from donor-funded projects. For instance, in Laikipia District, Kenya, the excavation
of an earth dam 15,000 m3 cost about US$5,000 (Mati 2002). However, there have
been cases of smallholder farmers building earthen dams manually by themselves in
Mwingi District (Mburu 2000).
Sand and sub-surface dams
In many semi-arid areas, rivers are temporary. The water can be seen flowing only a
few weeks in a year. Once the water subsides, the sandy riverbed is exposed. While
the river may appear dry, water normally continues flowing slowly under the sand. By
building a dam across the river channel, the slow-flowing water can be accumulated
upstream in a reservoir from where it is extracted by a pipe of shallow well. Suchdams can be made of earth or, where the sand is shallow, stone masonry (Nissen-
Peterssen 2000).
Sand river storage has a number of advantages. Firstly, it normally upgrades a
traditional water source that is already socially acceptable. (Traditionally, in the dry
season, people dig into the riverbed to reach the slow-flowing water). Because the
water is stored under the sand, it is protected from significant evaporation losses and
less likely to be contaminated.
The construction of river intakes and hand-dug wells with hand-pumps in the river
bank can further improve water quality. The amount of water available also increases
and up to 30% of the total reservoir volume can be tapped. Water yield from a sand
dam depends on the sand formation, particle size and good design of the reservoir to
prevent silting (Table 2).
RELMA facilitated the construction of several sand dams in East Africa (Mati, 2001;
Nissen Peterssen 2000). For instance, one such dam in Machakos, Kenya, supplied the
annual water requirements of a community of 3,000. the cost to the community was
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put at about US$0.20-0.30 for each cubic metre of water (Nissen-Peterssen 2000), but
these costs are easily recoverable in the long-run.
Table 2: Porosity and extractable volume of water from sand dams (Adapted from Nissen Peterssen
2000)
SiltFine
Sand
Medium
Sand
Coarse
Sand
Fine
Gravel
Coarse
Gravel
Diameter of
Particles (mm)
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irrigation has also been used successfully at Alaa, where annual rainfall ranges from
300 to 500 mm, to irrigate about 2,000 ha of fruit trees, food and fodder.
At Sheeb, where large-scale spate irrigation dates back 80 years, traditional systems
cover 100-4,000 ha. Farmers construct 1-3 m high embankments known as agum
across the river channel upstream of the primary intake canal to divert the low-spate
flows from the river bed. The primary canals (known as musqa), which guide water
from the river, have a large capacity in relation to the area irrigated because of the
short duration of the spateflows. The primary canals are divided into smaller canals
that take water into field of about 0.25 ha each. Some 10-12 fields are grouped into a
block.
Conservation Agriculture
Conservation agriculture is the most efficient way to harness green water. This is
because the water cycle loop is closed, shorter and thus more efficient. Rainwater is
caught in-situ, conveyed, stored and used within the same soil profile. This means that
all the components of rainwater harvesting occur at the same place.
Using the tenets of conservation agriculture -- which include minimum tillage, crop
rotations and cover cropping -- soil is conditioned to conserve moisture for ideal crop
growth. Water is only harvested elsewhere for irrigation only if the moisture is
insufficient from crops.
Conservation agriculture is now recognized as the missing link between sustainable
soil management and lower labour costs, especially during land preparation.
Conservation tillage in eastern and southern Africa holds the potential for increasing
crop production, and reduced erosion (Biamah et al, 2000; Kaumbutho, 2000).
RELMA has been promoting conservation agriculture in the region, achieving notable
successes in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania (Nyagumbo 2000). For instance,
Kaoma-Sprenkels et al (2000) describe the work of the organization IMAG-DLO in
Zambia between 1987 and 1999 that used a network of centres to diversify the used of
animal-drawn implements to achieve conservation tillage. These implements include
the Magoye ripper, Palabana ripper with planter, Palabana subsoiler, and ripper-ridger
attachment. In Zimbabwe, technologies such as no-till tied ridging are used. The
ridges, made using animal traction, are about 20-25 cm in height and laid across the
slope at 0.4-1% gradients.
Other technologies include no-till strip cropping, where crops are grown in rows 3-9
m wide (Nyagumbo, 2000), and pot-holing, infiltration pits (chimbatamvura) and
fanya juu chini terraces.
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Policy advocacy to promote rainwater
harvesting
Expensive conventional options to water supply usually fail to function as expected a
few months or years after construction. Dams are rendered ineffective due to siltation
resulting from heavy erosion of agricultural lands, while borehole pumps break down
and often cannot be repaired or lack of spare parts or become useless because of lower
water tables resulting from over exploitation of groundwater. It is well established
that centralized water supply systems in rural Africa fail.
Rainwater harvesting systems on the other hand are cheaper, decentralized and
participatory and benefit communities in rural and urban areas.
Besides the physical water supply structures, there are policy gaps in addressing
water-related diseases. An over-emphasis on treatment while neglecting water and
sanitation which cause the diseases and misplaced faith in the private sectors role
in supplying water to poor communities have all contributed to the worsening water
crises in Africa.
To address these and other policy constraints, RELMA undertook a wide range of
activities. These included policy research, seminars as well as workshops to create
awareness and stimulate debate about water harvesting. It also helped to organize
international conferences and study tours for policy makers within and outside the
region. All these activities contributed towards the goal of mainstreaming water
harvesting into all key policy frameworks at national, regional and international
levels.
RELMA worked closely with inter-governmental organizations, such as the United
Nations Environment programme (UNEP) and UN Habitat, and international
organizations, including the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) based in India
to lobby for policy change at global, regional and national level.
This work has produced positive results, especially at global and regional levels.
Through the Rainwater Partnership, an initiative began in the Hague in 2004 by
UNEP and key stakeholders such as SEARNET, IRHA, RAIN, IRCSA and CSE, a
series of policy advocacy activities were undertaken targeting international forums
such as the CSD 13 in New York, the African Ministerial Commission on Water
(AMCOW) and the annual Stockholm Water Symposium since 2003.
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As national economies declined and debt accumulated in most ESA countries in the
1980s-90s, investment in agriculture dwindled. With the consequent decline in
agricultural production, attention shifted to technologies and policies driving
decisions at national, regional and local levels. It was found that policies and
institutional arrangements in most countries were inherited from the colonial era, or
initiated after independence, and had become ineffective. Rather than stimulate
efficient economic activity and development, they were retarding it.
In general, the policies were driving mismatched resource use and exacerbating food
insecurity and environmental degradation. Studies in Lesotho and Zimbabwe (Hunter
1992) on the legal context of conservation revealed a pressing need for unified and
harmonized national legal frameworks to promote sustainable productive resource
management.
The need to review macro-economic policies was clear. This need was already being
felt more in the 1980s. Wrote Michanek(1989): The focus of African resource
management is beginning to change. From seeing farmers and other resource users
as the culprits of resource mismanagement, it is increasingly becoming evident that
the culprit is to be found elsewhere.
Moreover, most countries in the ESA were also developing Poverty Reduction
Strategy Papers (PRSP) and other policies to guide recovery and development in all
economic sectors, including water and agriculture.
The legal, policy oriented and institutional aspects of RELMAs work aim to
strengthen the role of small-scale land users in efforts to improve food security and
reduce poverty.
RELMA worked with both high-level policy makers and communities at the
grassroots. The aim was to link policy makers in the region including through
exchange visits, seminars and conferences and influence policy from a practical
land management point of view. Indeed enhancing policy support for RWH and
natural resource management has been one of RELMAs strengths.
In general, policies in the ESA play a crucial role in the success or failure of RWH
initiatives. Wolde-Aregay (1996) observed that land policies had a big influence on
rainwater harvesting, especially those relating to tenure, collective use of land, tree
ownership, the role of peasant associations, quota setting, top-down approaches, and
mass mobilization.
Since RWH usually addresses problems of dry areas, Hatibu and Mahoo (2000) noted
that a good policy framework is necessary in dealing with arid and semi-arid lands
(ASALs). In the past, these problems were simply seen as drought and erosion.
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Policies, strategies and programmes therefore put a lot of emphasis, efforts and funds
into droughtresistant crops and erosion control. Over-emphasis on erosion control
led to strategies and programmes that focused more on land rather than land users.
The programmes were designed to stop erosion without considering the benefits
gained from it.
A good example is the destocking of the Kondoa eroded area in Tanzania
implemented by HADO as a conservation initiative (Mbeu and Mlenge, 1983) to
control erosion and which focused on the amount of soil lost rather than the loss in
productivity (Stocking, 1988). This led to strategies such as cut-off drains, which
were designed to dispose runoff but decreased the amount of water available to crops.
Such approaches are inappropriate for the semi-arid areas where plants suffer more
from water stress that soil loss. This realization has led to reforms such as thosecontained in the Tanzanian Agricultural and Livestock Policy of 1997 (URT, 2001),
which aims to to promote integrated and sustainable use and management of natural
resources such as land, soil, water and vegetation.
Collaboration and Networking
Soon after its inception in 1998, RELMA started setting up an elaborate system ofnetworks and information-sharing platforms. The Africa Water Network (1998)
reports of a regional workshop attended by participants from Eastern and Southern
Africa region (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) to discuss
the formation of a regional RWH network. This was the foundation of the present-day
Southern and eastern Africa Rainwater Network (SEARNET).
It was agreed that SEARNETs goals would be to ensure sustainable access to water,
enhance household food security, improve health and raise household incomes.
The networks main activities would be to organize regional rainwater harvesting
workshops and mobilise resources as well as networking and information
management.
With RELMA support, SEARNET was registered two years later as an association of
rainwater harvesting networks from 12 countries in the region. It was to have an
information-sharing link with South Asia (SEARNET 2003).
Today, SEARNET, which is hosted by RELMA, is a vibrant network and the link to
Asia has strengthened into a partnership, through the Centre for Science and
Engineering (CSE) of India.
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RELMA has also been working closely with national rainwater associations. For
example, RELMA supported various Kenya Rainwater Association projects,
including an annual exhibition held in the capital Nairobi. The Uganda Rainwater
harvesting Association has received similar support.
Internationally, RELMAs partners include the Global Water Partnership, which
supports SEARNET and CSE of India. The GWP Associated Programme (GWP-AP)
project at SEARNET has three key aims: Building the capacity of national
associations to promote rainwater harvesting, coordinating network activities and
linking the network to CSE.
RELMA has also partnered with World Overview of Conservation Technologies
(WOCAT). In one project (Mutunga et al, 2001), RELMA supported the making of a
video and production of print information materials on the Promoting FarmerInnovation initiative in collaboration with the the United Nations Development
programme (UNDP) and WOCAT. The full list of networks supported is long and can
be obtained from RELMAs annual reports (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
Capacity building
Capacity building has been an important component of RELMAs approach and that of its
predecessor, the Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU). In the RSCU era (1980s-90s), the
initial focus of capacity building was on residential training of newly employed and in-service
officers involved in land management, water harvesting and tree nursery establishment.
Training of trainers in these areas was also emphasized and several training manuals were
developed (Wenner, 1981; Muturi, 1992; 1999).
Other than direct training, RSCU supported agricultural extension programmes such as he
catchment approach to soil conservation (Admassie, 1992), and the National Agricultural and
Livestock Extension Project (NALEP; 2001). The ultimate objective of the capacity building
initiatives was to establish a regional forum for building competence among extension
workers, researchers and farmers.
The content of the training courses was regularly updated. For instance, Muturi, (1992)
reviewed the curricula and content of agroforestry training courses offered through
workshops, field days for farmers and extension workers. Although soil and water
conservation was included in some of the courses, rainwater harvesting was lacking.
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In a separate study, Abebe (1997) assessed the status of education in agroforestry and soil and
water conservation in six colleges in eastern Africa -- Egerton University, Kenya; Jimma
College of Agriculture, Ethiopia; Ministry of Agriculture Training Institute (MATI-U)
Ukiringu, Tanzania; Bukalasa Agricultural College (BAC), Uganda; and Natural Resources
Development College (NRDC), Zambia. The study reviewed Bachelor of Science degree,
diploma and certificate courses. Only NRDC offered a diploma course in water engineering.
The Zambian college also a diploma course in agricultural engineering, which was taught at
undergraduate level in Egerton. All the courses covered soil erosion and conservation well,
but not all included topics on RWH.
Besides formal education, RELMAs activities included practical training in the field. For
instance, in Uganda, 26 women groups in Rakai were given hands-on training in
construction of water tanks (Rugasira, 2002). In Kusa, western Kenya, RELMA
trained members of Common Interest Groups (Winberg 2005) to make them stronger
and more effective in addressing the concerns of members.
Publications supported the hands on training conducted in all of RELMAs rainwater
harvesting projects. For instance, a training manual by Nissen-Petersen (2000) describes with
good illustrations the procedures in the site selection, survey methods, and construction and
management of sand and sub-surface dams. Local knowledge and skills is incorporated in the
procedures.
RELMAs training materials are easy-to-read, presenting sound technical information
to a broad audience. The handy design includes clear descriptions and illustrations.
For instance, in the handbook on the catchment approach Admassie (1992) captures
the principles of water conservation, rainwater harvesting systems in the field and
basic requirements -- soil types, slope, crop choice -- for smallholder agriculture.
Techniques presented include contour bunds for trees, tree micro-catchments
(negarims), broad bed and furrow, matengo pits, ridging and tied ridging, semi-
circular bunds, conservation benches, as well as water harvesting from external
catchments, runoff farming in level basins and contour stone bunds.
Sometimes, training materials were prepared in vernacular languages. A good
example is the training manual written in Dholuo language (Ouko and Oduor, 1999)
on construction of tanks based on RELMAs experience promoting rainwater
harvesting in Kusa.
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Establishment of the GWP at SEARNET in 2002 enhanced training in rainwater
harvesting. Since 2003, participants from various rainwater harvesting associations in
the region have been supported they share costs with RELMA to attend an annual
course in China. Others have attended training courses organized by the International
Rainwater Harvesting Alliance (IRHA) in collaboration with other institutions.
RELMA-in-ICRAF is now considering offering regular courses for the region
following the success of one it organized on water for food self-sufficiency. The
course demonstrated not only the home-grown capacity within RELMA, but also the
willingness by other agencies to finance such courses.
Documentation and awareness creationIn a region where rainwater harvesting is not widespread, information is vital to create
awareness, influence policy and encourage adoption of various technologies.
Documentation and information dissemination were central to RELMAs strategy.
Although aspects rainwater harvesting information was captured in various
publications since the 1990s, it was under the domains of soil and water conservation
and water and sanitation advisors. It was not until January 2003, when a distinct
rainwater harvesting programme was set up and a special unit formed to documentrainwater harvesting in ESA.
The unit used multiple channels to create a network movement for influencing policy
debate in the region. The main channels were newsletters, video, the internet and
technical publications all managed by a team at the Southern and Eastern Africa
Rainwater Harvesting Network (SearNET), the umbrella association that bring
together 12 national RWH networks on the continent.
Numerous posters, brochures, reports and 3-D models were printed and disseminated
in international forums.
Brochures
The GWP-AP used brochures to present an overview of its objectives, activities set up
and operations. More than 6,000 brochures have been distributed by the end of the
projects phase in June 2006. National association are now developing their own
brochures to reach local publics. The Zambia Rainwater Harvesting Association
(ZARHA) has developed one.
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SEARNET briefs
The SEARNET Briefs provides a forum for exchange of information, opinions and
experiences amongst practitioners. The free publication has raised the visibility and
profile of RELMA in general and SEARNET in particular. It has attracted readers
from organizations such as the GWP in Stockholm and the regional offices in
Entebbe, the African Ministerial Conference on Water, UN-Habitat, UNEP,
International Water Management Institute, World Vision International, local and
foreign Universities and various ICRAF programmes.
For instance, a recent issue had contributions from as far as India, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Bulgaria, Brazil, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Some 32,000 copies had been
circulated by mid-2006.
Owing to the visibility created by the SEARNET Briefs, the International RainwaterCatchment Systems Association (IRCSA) requested the SEARNET Secretariat to be
its focal point and key representative for Africa.
Posters
Posters are a powerful way to summarise approaches and research findings. That SEARNET
has won two awards in three years for scientific posters presented at the Stockholm Water
Symposium in Sweden is testimony to the high quality of the posters it produces. Having
recognized this, UNEP and the UN-Habitat have collaborated with the secretariat to jointly
produce posters.
SEARNET and its national affiliates have used the posters to present RWH technology and
policy issues at in exhibitions, workshops and seminars. Copies have been distributed to
government offices and other interest groups to raise awareness and for policy advocacy. For
instance, the Rwanda Government requested and got six sets of the technology and policy
posters that were distributed to relevant ministries.
Case studies of the Lare ponds, Machakos runoff schemes and Kusa integrated RWH works,
all in Kenya, have been summarized in posters for continuous awareness creation.
Technical publications
Technical publications inform and educate the public on principles and practices of
rainwater harvesting. The first such publication, a handbook, was produced by
volunteer authors from SEARNET members who met at a regional workshop inMachakos in 2003. Initially, the manual was to cover rainwater harvesting for
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domestic and agricultural use, but the household component was hived off to a
separate book on urban rainwater harvesting in collaboration with UN-Habitat.
SEARNET also collaborated with UNEP to publish and distribute 2000 copies of a technical
booklet on rainwater harvesting and the Millennium Development Goals.
Another publication by the SEARNET secretariat documented the impacts of rainwater
harvesting at a RELMA project site in Kusa, on the shoreline of Kavirondo gulf of Lake
Victoria.
Two more drafts are ready for publishing under the technical report and handbook series in
RELMA. One maps rainwater harvesting domains, while the other covers rainwater
harvesting for agriculture.
The publications provide a rich information base that could be used to develop a
curriculum for training in the proposed second phase of the GWP-AP programme.
The books could then be used as key references.
Stakeholders directory
The development and publishing of SEARNETs rainwater harvesting stakeholders
directory aims to enhance regional stakeholder collaboration, coordination and
networking. Given that changes occur all the time, SEARNET will also produce an
online version that can easily be updated.
Radio and television
A 27-minute video documentary -- Seeking solutions in Rainwater harvesting -- was
produced in various formats for broadcast and home viewing. A five-minute version
was produced alongside two similarly short ones on RELMAs work in Machakos and
Kajiado.
The short programmes were aired on Kenyas national television. The broadcasts had
a big impact because the programmes were aired when the region was in the grip of
serious famine following prolonged drought. Since then the number of requests for
information and technical advice has gone up.
Given its effectiveness, video documentation will continue to be an important component of
SEARNETs programme in future.
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Websites
With Internet access improving all the time across Africa and other developing
nations, the importance of electronic communication is increasing. To access a wider
and enhance communication with member networks SEARNET launched its
www.searnet.org website in 2003. The site has links to key online resources such as
RELMAs www.rainwaterharvesting.org, UNEPs www.rainwaterpartnership.org and
www.cseindia.org, run by SEARNETs partner in South Asia.
Nation association are also coming up with their own sites to reflect country realities
and better address information needs in their areas. So far, the Eastern Africa region,
through the Great Horn of Africa Rainwater Project (GHARP), and the Rainwater
Harvesting Association of Zimbabwe (RHAZ), have established their own websites,
which are linked to SEARNETs.
.
Conclusions
Emphasis on soil alone cannot be remedial to solve farm productivity. Land husbandry, which
encompassed soil fertility and crop marketing was thus adopted. With time, it emerged that
one of the crucial issues to tackle is water scarcity. Todate RWH which has been identified as
a simple cost effective method is gaining popularity as more and more stakeholders adopt it.
RSCU had a rigorous capacity building programme for a wide array of stakeholders. The
knowledge gained by the trainees was immense. Their strategy could be used in phase two of
the GWP-AP programme.
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WORKING PAPERS IN THIS SERIES
1. Agroforestry in the drylands of eastern Africa: a call to action
2. Biodiversity conservation through agroforestry: managing tree species
diversity within a network of community-based, nongovernmental,governmental and research organizations in western Kenya.
3. Invasion of prosopis julifloraand local livelihoods: Case study from the Lake
Baringo area of Kenya
4. Leadership for change in Farmers Organizations: Training report: Ridar Hotel,
Kampala, 29th March to 2nd April 2005
5. Domestication des espces agroforestires au Sahel : situation actuelle et
perspectives
6. Relev des donnes de biodiversit ligneuse: Manuel du projet biodiversit
des parcs agroforestiers au Sahel
7. Improved Land Management in the Lake Victoria Basin: TransVic Projects
Draft Report
8. Livelihood capital, strategies and outcomes in the Taita hills of Kenya
9. Les espces ligneuses et leurs usages: Les prfrences des paysans dans le
Cercle de Sgou, au Mali
10. La biodiversit des espces ligneuses: Diversit arbore et units de gestion
du terroir dans le Cercle de Sgou, au Mali
11. Bird diversity and land use on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the adjacent
plains, Tanzania
12. Water, women and local social organization in the Western Kenya Highlands
13. Highlights of ongoing research of the World Agroforestry Centre in Indonesia
14. Prospects of adoption of tree-based systems in a rural landscape and itslikely impacts on carbon stocks and farmers welfare: the FALLOW Model
Application in Muara Sungkai, Lampung, Sumatra, in a Clean Development
Mechanism context
15. Equipping Integrated Natural Resource Managers for Healthy Agroforestry
Landscapes.
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16. Are they competing or compensating on farm? Status of indigenous and
exotic tree species in a wide range of agro-ecological zones of Eastern and
Central Kenya, surrounding Mt. Kenya.
17. Agro-biodiversity and CGIAR tree and forest science: approaches and
examples from Sumatra
18. Improving land management in eastern and southern Africa: A review ofpolices.
19. Farm and Household Economic Study of Kecamatan Nanggung, KabupatenBogor, Indonesia: A Socio-economic base line study of AgroforestryInnovations and Livelihood Enhancement
20. Lessons from eastern Africas unsustainable charcoal business.
21. Evolution of RELMAs approaches to land management: Lessons from two
decades of research and development in eastern and southern Africa
22. Participatory watershed management: Lessons from RELMAs work withfarmers in eastern Africa.
23. Strengthening farmers organizations: The experience of RELMA andULAMP.
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