FREE AND OPEN Webinar: November 26th: Roads for Water

One way in which poor communities are marginalized is lack of access- to public services, markets and employment opportunities- due to a lack of good roads. Many a time, the problem is the frequent damage to existing roads (rather than absence of roads). 

A large part of the damage is water-related. (In Ethiopia, for example, runoff causes 35% of all road damage). At the same time, roads designed with disregard to local hydrology/water use are known to wreak havoc on agriculture and water security in communities they pass through. 

But roads and water are not natural enemies. Examples show that roads can be designed in ways that slow runoff, minimize erosion, and help groundwater recharge. And that water harvesting structures can help improve access by protecting roads and even adding to existing networks. 

In a webinar on November 26 (1400 GMT), Ian Neal (Excellent Development) and Frank van Steenbergen (MetaMeta) will present such examples and discuss what we could learn from them. 
The webinar is free and open to all. For details on how to attend, local timings, related resources, speakers and the organisers, go to www.thewaterchannel.tv/webinar. 

The webinar is being organised jointly by TheWaterChannel, RAIN and RWSN. It follows up from a previous webinar organised by RAIN and RWSN, which initiated a process of increased collaboration within the water (harvesting) sector and increased collaboration between the water sector and other sectors (such as infrastructure).