Rainwater Harvesting Practices and Obstacles Addressed in Conference at Birzeit University

An analysis on the importance of rainwater harvesting to secure sufficient and safe water quantities to the Palestinians was addressed in “The Palestinian Conference on Rainwater Harvesting and Management”, convened at Birzeit University on April 4th, 2016.The first opening speech of the conference was by delivered Prof. Dr. Issam A. Al-Khatib, faculty member at Institute of Environmental and Water Studies and the chairman of the conference steering committee.  The conference sessions were facilitated by three associate professors at the Institute of Environmental and Water Studies, Birzeit University: Maher Abu Madi (Director of the Institute of  Environmental and Water Studies),  Nidal Mahmoud,  and Rashed Al Sae’d.  The conference focused on rainwater harvesting techniques and methods, in addition to the Palestinian experience and challenges in this field.Other sessions highlighted the best practices and lessons learned from the artificial recharge of rainwater to groundwater aquifers, the role of the Ministry of Health and the assessment of socio-economic and water related topics at community scale in Palestine.“Birzeit University seeks to establish a dynamic research platform which can articulate and exemplify the vital contribution of research in raising awareness about the water problems and provide smarter water management in Palestine, especially that we suffer from severe water shortages and acute water quality problems that are attributable to the discriminatory of water policies and practices that Israel has instituted across Palestine”, Vice president for Academic Affairs, Henry Giacman said.“The conference is designed to facilitate the sharing of experiences in rainwater harvesting and management through the presentation of papers on planning, research and development activities in harvesting rainwater”, Faculty member at the Institute of Environmental and Water Studies, Issam A. Al-Khatib. “The collection of rainwater for beneficial use is highly recommended. Rainwater harvesting has various constructive benefits to the agriculture sector. It is inexpensive and highly decentralized and leads to increase in food production which will bridge the supply-demand gap and enable Palestinian products to compete locally and internationally.” Mohammed Al Shahbari, Ministry of Agriculture said.“We strive to ensure water-quality standards and public health. We devote a considerable amount of attention to this issue, and will forward to enact rainwater harvesting policies”, director of the environmental health section at the Ministry of Health, Ibrahim Atiya assured.The conference was organized by the Institute of Environmental and Water Studies, in collaboration with The University of Toledo, the University of  Utah and National Science Foundation (NSF), USA.  As part of  the “Rainwater Harvesting Analysis using Water Harvesting Evaluation Tool (WHEAT) project. supported by USA- funded partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) program, implemented by the U.S National Academy of Sciences.