Potential of Rainwater Harvesting in a Thirsty World: A Survey of Ancient and Traditional Rainwater Harvesting Applications

Abstract

This paper provides a survey of ancient and traditional rainwater harvesting applications as effective climate adaptation strategies. Rainwater harvesting has a more significant past than a present. The fifteen identified ancient and traditional rainwater harvesting practices and the societies that practiced them may provide a key water conservation strategy for the future in vulnerable regions found in the dry‐wet, semi‐arid, and arid climatic regions. In the past several decades, there has been a call from scientific and non‐governmental organization communities to combine modern water systems and old rainwater harvesting methods or to modernize the existing rainwater harvesting knowledge to benefit human settlements facing water scarcity.

Cap. 23. Caribe estadounidense. En: La Quinta Evaluación del Clima

“…Por ejemplo, la recogida doméstica de agua de lluvia protege contra las interrupciones prolongadas del sistema público de abastecimiento de agua 237 , la gestión sostenible de materiales reduce la presión sobre los vertederos 238 y las microrredes y los sistemas solares comunitarios y domésticos brindan energía durante las interrupciones del servicio público centralizado (Figura 23.11). Estos tipos de sistemas descentralizados pueden ayudar a alcanzar los objetivos de mitigación 239,240,241,242 , al tiempo que reducen los impactos negativos sobre la salud de las centrales de combustibles fósiles 243 .…”

Investigation of the Current Situation and Prospects for the Development of Rainwater Harvesting as a Tool to Confront Water Scarcity Worldwide

“…In China, the history of RWH dates back 4000 years. Some of the early techniques that were used in the country included cisterns, roof open spaces, soil or rock pits, ditches, and micro-dams, among others [9]. Moreover, several archaeological findings suggest that RWH was common in many areas of the world, including Egypt, Thailand, Mexico, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Jordan, Korea, Sardinia, and so on.…”