Name of case study
Rainwater Harvesting in the Marshall Islands
Location
Namu, Lib, and Kwajalein Atolls and Islands, Marshall Islands
Year
2023
Scale
Suburb/neighbourhood scale
Area / size
40 x 5680 ltr, 10 x 30300 ltr, and 39 x 56800 tanks.
NbS employed
Rainwater harvesting
Type of NbS
Engineered interventions (not using vegetation)
Initiator
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office in Fiji, through the Addressing Climate Vulnerability in the Water Sector (ACWA) Project
Funder
Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Government of The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI)
Budget
unknown
Design group
UNDP and ACWA
- Changes in rainfall
- Drought
- Flooding
- Increased temperatures
- Urban heat island effect
- Reduced fresh water availability / quality
- Increased wildfire
- Wind / storm damage
The Marshall Islands are 29 coral atolls and five islands across an island chain in the Te Moananui Oceania. The county is at extrem risk of sea level rise and regularly floods. As the climate continues to change, powerful storms, flooding, increased rainfall, and storm surges will batter the small island nation. Water scarcity is increasingly problematic, so the implementation of rainwater harvesting systems allows the communities of the Marshall Islands a more reliable water source that can help to sustain them into the future.
- Disaster risk reduction and resilience
- Empowerment / equality
- Food security
- Freshwater security and quality
- Waste management and hygiene
The people of the Marshall Islands have been adapting to climate change for millennia. Today and in the future, communities of the low-lying islands will be affected by droughts, rising temperatures, reduced freshwater availability, and sea level rise. The implementation of rainwater harvesting systems is a way to create empowerment over resources, managed by the community, at a time when so much is out of their control.
- Disturbance prevention
- Education and knowledge
Summary of case study
Over several weeks in July 2023, rainwater harvesting systems were delivered to three northern atolls in the Marshall Islands: Namu Atoll, Lib Island and Kwajalein Atoll.
Led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office in Fiji, through the Addressing Climate Vulnerability in the Water Sector (ACWA) Project, a team delivered 40 plastic tanks, and 59 flatpack modular tanks, along with 4,770 CMU (Concrete Masonry Unit) blocks, cement, gutters, downpipes, and rain harvesting fittings (UNDP, 2023).
The rainwater harvesting systems were distributed across 15 communities spread across the islands, to improve their water resilience and alleviate the strain on existing water sources.
The project was helped significantly by volunteers and members of the community, who helped the technical team transport the systems on a boat to the islands.
References
- World Bank PREP II Project, (2023). National Adaptation Plan. Marshall Islands: Report prepared for the Climate Change Directorate, Ministry of the Environment, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Available online: https://rmigov.com/RMI-NAP-2023.pdf. Date accessed: 13 May, 2024.
- UNDP, (2023). Empowering Marshall Islands Atolls: Rainwater Harvesting Materials Reach Atolls. Available online: https://www.undp.org/pacific/stories/empowering-marshall-islands-atolls-rainwater-harvesting-materials-reach-atolls. Date accessed: 13 May, 2024.