Promoting Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

A sustainable development path is critical to most small island developing states, which are often environmentally fragile and have little natural resources. For decades, the small Grenadine islands in the Eastern Caribbean have depended on rainwater harvesting (RWH) for water supply. The RWH systems have improved from the use of household drums and communal cisterns to individual cisterns such that water per capita use at some households is at a similar level to that of developed countries. This improvement was brought about through self-financed projects and the use of local construction know-how. A small project to promote RWH in Green St. Vincent was reviewed to procure an appreciation of the diffusion process. The RWH experiences in these islands as they relate to quality, design, and cost can be relevant to the regional efforts of promoting RWH. The chapter proposes a framework for enhancing the promotion of RWH. The chapter recognizes the importance of RWH in disaster management in the islands.