A review of rainwater harvesting in South East Asia

Rainwater is considered globally as a sustainable and resilient source of water that can solve several issues such as increasing water demand, droughts, floods alongside contamination of groundwater and surface waters. Attention has been paid to rainwater harvesting (RWH) in the South East Asia (SEA) region, where the high potential of RWH can support livelihoods, food security and public health. This paper provides an overview of issues relating to the quality and quantity of harvested rainwater in SEA countries. It finds RWH could offer SEA countries various socio-economic and environmental benefits including agricultural irrigation, providing sustainable drinking water in rural areas and reducing stress on mains water supplies in urban areas. Besides providing evidence of the occurrence and implementation of RWH systems, future visions for studies on RWH in SEA are outlined in this review