Perception of coastal citizens on the prospect of community-based rainwater harvesting system for sustainable water resource management

Abstract

Predominant water scarcity and environmental degradation in Bangladesh's coastal communities arise due to extreme meteorological conditions, unrestrained water usage, and extensive saline intrusion into both surface and groundwater. This study leverages both quantitative data from a household survey and qualitative data from a Participatory Rural Appraisal to explore the perspectives of 150 official experts and 240 coastal public respondents regarding the implementation of a "Community-Based Rainwater Harvesting System" (CBRWHS) as a sustainable water supply technology in six major coastal districts of Bangladesh. Though CBRWHS surpasses the benefits of an individual harvesting system (IHS) due to its collective approach, high storage capacity, social cohesiveness, environmental benefits, and potential for scalability, findings suggest that the experts identify financial insolvency, lack of technical skills, and insufficient education as principal barriers against adopting CBRWHS. They propose that providing technical instructions, education, and establishing a CBRWHS pilot could serve as effective incentives. While expressing a sufficient understanding of IHS, respondents are willing to adopt CBRWHS only if financial support is provided. Given the residents' experience with IHS, they are cognizant of the financial and technical challenges intrinsic to such systems. CBRWHS, unlike IHS, operates as a shared system with collective property rights and regulations. Majority of respondents perceive CBRWHS as a potential significant mitigation tool against the water shortage situation since the challenges associated with harvesting, maintaining, and using rainwater could be addressed collectively by the user community. Similar to the official experts, public respondents identify a lack of technical expertise, financial constraints, and regulations as the most significant obstacles to IHS adoption. The findings of this study hold substantial implications not only for the local region but also for similar coastal regions worldwide, suggesting a crucial need for the prioritization of community-based solutions to water scarcity within the wider global discourse on sustainable water management.