The region is characterized for its aridity and vast deserts making water to evaporate very fast while at the same time permeating into the soil rapidly before it could be properly used or contained. The sourcebook provides a comprehensive description of the existing technologies available in West Asia so that decision makers, government and non-governmental organizations can use as a reference to promote the sound planning and management of freshwater resources in this particular region.

The countries of Asia have seen growing pressure on water resources, with increasing demand and costs, for agricultural, domestic and industrial consumption. This source book provides water resource managers and planners, especially in developing countries and in countries with economies in transition, with information on the range of technologies that have been developed and used in the various countries throughout the world.

Water is a precious natural resource, which is crucial to our survival. It needs to be used judiciously in the context of an increasing population not only to sustain essential requirements such as those for drinking and domestic usage, but also for increased food production, industrial usage, power generation, navigational requirements, piscicultu

This book offers key resource materials developed for an international training course on Rainwater Harvesting and Utilization hosted annually by the Gansu Research Institute for Water Conservancy in Lanzhou, China since 2003. Topics cover the design, construction and management of rainwater harvesting systems for domestic water supply and supplementary irrigation, rainwater quality issues and runoff farming. It presents case studies from successful rainwater-harvesting projects both in China and around the globe, and provides readers with essential information and inspiration alike. It is a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners and students in the area of water management, agriculture and sustainable development. Qiang Zhu is a research professor at Gansu Research Institute for Water Conservancy, Lanzhou, China; John Gould is a rainwater harvesting consultant based in Christchurch, New Zealand; Yuanhong Li is a research professor at Gansu Research Institute for Water Conservancy, Lanzhou, China; Chengxiang Ma is an engineer at Gansu Research Institute for Water Conservancy, Lanzhou, China.

Water use efficiency within the context of sustainable water balance in the urban and domestic sector means optimising safe and sufficient supply and water demand while also closing the life cycle. As environmentally sound technologies play a crucial role in this process technologies and best practices for storage, supply and distribution as well as water related policies need to be identified. The source book provides a comprehensive overview about Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs) for water use efficiency in the urban and domestic environment.

Floods and droughts are climate extremes that account for more than 80% of people affected by natural disasters worldwide. Both catastrophes co-exist in many river basins, for example, the Mun River Basin in Thailand, which is selected as the study area. Approximately 90% of rice cultivation here is rain-fed, and that results in the lowest yields in the country, making many farmers persist in poverty. This study aims to assess floods and droughts and their impacts on agriculture at the basin scale. For flooding, the hydrologic and hydraulic models were developed to produce the first completed flood hazard maps at the Mun River Basin. Droughts in the basin were determined by the proposed drought risk assessment scheme that combines all three key components (hazard, exposure, and vulnerability). Subsequently, the study attempts to tackle both floods and droughts simultaneously and sustainably by using integrated measures and strategies. If the problems caused by flood and drought climate extremes are solved, this will ensure adequate food availability and alleviate poverty in the basin. Furthermore, the study shows that a holistic approach to simultaneously solving both problems is efficient as most water will be utilized to benefit agriculture, the primary sector that feeds a growing population.