Page 228 - Çevre Şehir ve İklim Dergisi İngilizce - Özel Sayı

RAINWATER HARVESTING STUDIES ACROSS
THE WORLD AND TÜRKİYE

Güler DEMİR

ABSTRACT
The water and energy crises that arise with increasing population, the negative
impacts of climate change on water resources and the uneven distribution
of water resources across the globe make the water problem increasingly
serious. Therefore, today, it is more important than ever to develop effective
strategies in the use and distribution of water and to manage resources
wisely and sustainably. In Turkey, measures and pro¬jects are being
implemented to increase water savings, especially in the agricultural sector.
Approximately 70% of the available water resources in our country are used
for agricultural purposes. In this context, the efficient use of irrigation water
in crop production and landscaping is a high priority. Water harvesting is a
technique that has been successfully practiced for centuries in arid and semi-
arid regions with traditional methods. This method has an important place
in both agricultural production and afforestation and plan¬tation works.
Thanks to water harvesting, rainwater is collected and utilized for domestic
use and land¬scape-permaculture applications in cities; in rural and forested
areas, micro-basins are created and water is accumulated in plant root zones.
In this study, water harvesting techniques that are widely practiced today
were examined and the effects of rainwater harvesting on the efficient and
sustainable management of water resources were evaluated both in Turkiye
and around the world.

Keywords: Water Harvesting, Rainwater Harvesting, Roof Top Rain Water
Harvesting, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and
Climate Change,

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Special Issue / 2024