Harvesting rain in island
Maldives Island vanishes
A tiny uninhabited island, one of the 1190 which constitute the republic of Maldives has reportedly disappeared into the sea, raising speculation among scientists about the onset of global warming.
Satellite pictures indicate the disappearance of a tiny island measuring a few kilometers in area, Western media said.
The islands constituting Maldives rise barely two to four meters above sea level. Various scientific studies had identified the Maldives and Bangladesh as the most prone to flooding due to predicted rise in sea –level caused by one or two degree Celsius increase in the earth means temperature.
Less than 12 of Maldives islands are inhabited by people. Appearance or disappearance of land masses in the sea is not an unusual phenomenon. Few years ago, there small islands appeared in the Bay of Bengal off Calcutta. Special interest: however, the Maldives case has aroused considerable curiosity among scientists due to the predicted vulnerability of the islands to minute changes in the global weather system.
Further, the Maldives already face serious environmental degradation, mainly because of the high population density on the few inhabited islands. Small islands (with areas less than 100 Sq. km.) with high population density of about 10,000 people per Sq. km. exist in the world. But the Maldives capital Male is an extreme case with a population density of more than 30,000 people per Sq. km.
Have you ever collected rain water?
My friends used to collect rain water in buckets and the water was put to good use. Collecting water during the June showers, especially after facing server water shortage especially after facing severe water shortage all summer, was a thrilling experience.
My adventure with rainwater never stopped there. While teaching at a camp in the Maldives I saw rainwater harvesting.
What is rainwater harvesting?
It is a method of collecting rainwater for domestic purposes.
The Maldives is an archipelago in southern Asia made up of group of 1190 islands. The islands receive rainfall from the North East Monsoon and the South West Monsoon. The rains are unpredictable and there is no fresh water available. It is difficult to get ground water and it is not fit for drink. The people have been taught to set up a good system of rainwater harvesting.
Each newly built house is fitted with slopping roofs made of corrugated iron. This is ideal for collecting rainwater. Gutters are nailed to the base of the roof and sealed off at one end. The other end of the gutter has a pipe that leads to a huge tank made of cement. The pipe is extended in such a way as to deliver the water into the tank. The tank has a tap at its base. Some houses have a system for locking the tap.
Once the tank in the house where I lived ran dry. I did not have worry. The camp rooms Shad plenty of water all through the year. Can you guess why?
The area of the camp room roof being extremely large, the amount of water collected is greater. After a long dry spell one night there was a heavy downpour. I was delighted because that meant that my tank was filling up.
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