These small islands voice have all one thing in common-water harvesting.
However whenever i read them all they talk about how traditional methods of
water harvesting are now being used but never go into the resources used,
how it was started, the materials used, etc-is there any one place where one
can access this information? or where all these projects which have started
the methods have pooled in their information so that once can access how
different geographical settings, climate, terrain etc things have worked
differently for diifernt people having one single need.
Information on the net is so diversified for a single need. Sometimes
having such a databse on the net for such instances seems like a good
idea-if it exists can someone give such directions?
Regards
Aletha

On 6/1/05, kvriksh <kvriksh@...> wrote:
>
> For information...
> Pankaj
>
> > SMALL ISLANDS VOICE
> >
> > Do you live in a small island?
> > Tell us what you think.
> >
> >
>
> ***************************************************************************
> >
> > From planting trees to seeding clouds, water supply is a concern for
> everyone
> > living in small islands.
> >
> > Vikash Tatayah writes: I come from Mauritius (Indian Ocean), where we
> have
> > lots of rain annually, except for the drought months of September to
> November.
> > This is when we are urged to conserve water, but never at other times,
> except
> > a few years ago when we had a very prolonged drought which sent our
> water
> > resources institutions into panic mode. I was washing the dishes the
> other
> > day, trying to use as little water as possible. I saw very amused looks
> from
> > my guests. I think that it is important to conserve water both during
> times of
> > drought and abundance. I also liked the bathroom note in a 5-star hotel
> in
> > South Africa ('Water is Africa's most precious resource. Use it
> sparingly').
> > We should also do the same in Mauritius and elsewhere. It shows the
> value
> of
> > water, and the fact that tourists should conserve water as much as
> locals
> do.
> >
> > Focusing on the importance of the media in water conservation, Arnaldo
> Coro
> > Antich from Cuba (Caribbean) says: During the past five years the
> eastern
> part
> > of the island of Cuba has gone through a severe drought that has caused
> great
> > problems to the people living there, as the water reservoirs have gone
> dry
> in
> > many places, and the underground water resources become saline. The
> Cuban
> > National Institute of Water Resources, which is in charge of water
> supply
> and
> > conservation, is now involved in a very comprehensive effort to help
> those
> > people in need of water due to the drought, using many different
> approaches...
> > For example the city of Holguin, with about 300,000 people, is now
> receiving a
> > 'supply train' of water tankers from a remote water source... and the
> city
> of
> > Las Tunas is getting water through a new 50 km pipeline, a very
> expensive
> > solution for the Cuban economy. One of the aspects that I believe is
> very
> > important is our water conservation media campaign that is using all
> resources
> > including radio, TV, the print mass media and the distribution of
> leaflets
> and
> > pamphlets to encourage rational use and conservation of water. The
> drought
> is
> > so bad that plans are being made to use, once again, an aircraft
> overflying
> > the cumulus clouds to seed them with sodium iodide crystals or frozen
> carbon
> > dioxide in order to enhance their chances of becoming rain clouds. Last
> but
> > not least, a national programme for the reforestation of the eight most
> > important river basins is in progress, with the hope that when these
> newly
> > planted trees grow up, they will help bring in more clouds and
> consequently
> > more water.
> >
> > Elizabeth Taylor from the island of San Andres (Caribbean) provides news
> about
> > a new water supply programme, which combines traditional methods and new
> > technology: Despite an annual average rainfall of 1800 mm the San Andres
> > islanders suffer from severe water shortages. Traditionally rainwater
> was
> the
> > main source of water, but over the years 'modernization' has meant that
> > traditional water supply methods were pushed to one side in favour of
> > groundwater. The regional environmental management agency, CORALINA,
> monitors
> > groundwater quality and has found that 70% of groundwater is polluted.
> Saline
> > intrusion from over-extraction and rising sea-levels pose serious
> threats
> that
> > need further study. CORALINA is starting a pilot project with village
> > households to improve rainwater harvesting and maximize benefits from
> > rainwater. Clusters of homes will share rainwater collection and
> distribution
> > systems. It is hoped that low-cost, appropriate rainwater harvesting
> > technology can be used across San Andres to provide more good quality
> water.
> >
> > And finally Solomoni Biumaiono from Fiji (Pacific) writes: Good news for
> > everyone! The United Nation had just opened a new Water Virtual Learning
> > Centre in Fiji (May 19, 2005) and it is an honour to be finally able to
> > announce this news. For all small islanders out there and who are
> directly
> > involved in any water resource related activity, this is something that
> can
> > contribute positively to our water management. The centre will be based
> at
> the
> > University of the South Pacific and will target scientists, policy
> makers,
> > working professionals and managers with courses on the management of
> water
> > resources. This is one positive step towards having sustainable water
> supplies
> > and I think we should at least try and benefit from it, for while the
> guy
> from
> > Niue and the guy from Cyprus may be a world apart, they still have a
> common
> > ground on which to talk.
> >
> > Title: From planting trees to seeding clouds - saving precious water
> > Author: S. Biumaiono, A. Coro Antich, V. Tatayah, E. Taylor
> > Date: Tuesday, 31 May 2005
> >
> >
>
> ***************************************************************************
> >
> > Please send your comments to <mailto:smallislandsvoice@...>
> >
> > To see all the messages in this global forum, visit
> > <http://www.sivglobal.org/>
> >
> > To find out more about Small Islands Voice, go to
> > <http://www.smallislandsvoice.org/>
> >
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> > <mailto:smallislandsvoice@...>
>
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