Rainwater as an Alternative to Urban Clean Water Comparison between Bangladesh and Indonesia
Downloads
How to Cite
Urban water security is increasingly challenged by rapid urbanization, groundwater depletion, climate change, and rising water demand. Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) has been recognized as a sustainable approach to diversify water sources and enhance urban water resilience, particularly in tropical countries with high rainfall potential. However, previous studies have primarily focused on the technical feasibility, water-saving performance, and water-quality aspects of RWH, while limited attention has been given to comparative analyses of policy frameworks, institutional arrangements, and implementation mechanisms. This study aims to compare RWH policies and governance in Bangladesh and Indonesia and to formulate policy recommendations for strengthening RWH implementation in Indonesia. This study employed a comparative policy review based on a systematic literature review and policy-document analysis. Relevant scientific publications and policy documents published between 2010 and 2024 were collected from Scopus, Google Scholar, and Mendeley Search. The selected documents were analyzed using four comparative dimensions: technical implementation, funding mechanisms, regulatory–institutional frameworks, and scope of technology application. The findings indicate that Bangladesh has integrated RWH into national development plans, water-supply strategies, and institutional programs supported by government agencies, financial incentives, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. In contrast, Indonesia already possesses regulations related to water resources and rainwater management, but RWH implementation remains fragmented due to limited institutional coordination, insufficient funding mechanisms, and the absence of an integrated national implementation framework. The study concludes that effective RWH implementation depends not only on rainfall availability but also on governance capacity, regulatory support, financing mechanisms, and institutional coordination. The novelty of this study lies in synthesizing RWH governance experiences in Bangladesh and Indonesia to generate policy recommendations for improving urban water security in Indonesia.
Badan Pusat Statistik. (2020). Sistem Pengkodean Wilkerstat. Badan Pusat Statistik. https://sig.bps.go.id/home/sistempengkodean
Bañas, K., Robles, M. E., & Maniquiz-Redillas, M. (2023). Stormwater Harvesting from Roof Catchments: A Review of Design, Efficiency, and Sustainability. Water (Switzerland), 15(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/w15091774
Beker, B. A., & Kansal, M. L. (2023). Complexities of the urban drinking water systems in Ethiopia and possible interventions for sustainability. In Environment, Development and Sustainability. Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02901-7
Burning Compass. (2023). Bangladesh Map. https://www.burningcompass.com/countries/bangladesh/bangladesh-map.html
Dao, D. A., Tran, S. H., Dang, H. T. T., Nguyen, V.-A., Nguyen, V. A., Do, C. V., & Han, M. (2021). Assessment of rainwater harvesting and maintenance practice for better drinking water quality in rural areas. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua, 70(2), 202–216. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2021.076
Garcia, M., Koebele, E., Deslatte, A., Ernst, K., Manago, K. F., & Treuer, G. (2019). Towards urban water sustainability: Analyzing management transitions in Miami, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Global Environmental Change, 58(June). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101967
Ghosh, S., & Ahmed, T. (2023). Factors affecting the performance of household rainwater harvesting systems in the south-western coastal region of Bangladesh. Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 13(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2023.123
Hargianintya, A., Hasibuan, H., & Moersidik, S. (2020). People Acceptance of Rainwater Harvesting In Fisheries Settlement Coastal Area, North Jakarta. January. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.22-10-2019.2291492
Hasan, M. A., & Irfanullah, H. M. (2022). Exploring the potential for rainwater use for the urban poor in Bangladesh. Water Policy, 24(4), 645–666. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.290
Huwaina, A., Hasibuan, H. S., & Fatimah, E. (2022). Pemanenan Air Hujan untuk Meningkatkan Aksesibilitas Air di Permukiman Pesisir , Kasus Jakarta , Indonesia. Jurnal Wilayah Dan Lingkungan, 10(2), 182–198. https://doi.org/10.14710/jwl.10.2.182-198.
Inna Puspita. (2016). Evaluasi Program Penyediaan Fasilitas Air Bersih Berbasis Pengelolaan Masyarakat Di Desa Sendangharjo Kecamatan Ngasem Kabupaten Bojonegoro. 1204067401, 1–12.
Islam, M. R. (2018). Rainwater Harvesting to Reduce Water and Economic Poverty in Coastal Bangladesh. Politikon: IAPSS Journal of Political Science, 37(July), 39–59. https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.37.3
Jamal, A. H. M. S. I. M., Ahmed, S., Akter, S., Nahar, A., Sultana, R., Uddin, M. R., Jahan, T., Sultana, S., & Hasan, M. (2020). Spatial Variation of Rainwater Quality Parameters at Khulna City of Bangladesh. Journal of Environment Pollution and Human Health, 6(2), 49–54. https://doi.org/10.12691/jephh-8-2-2
Karim, M. R., Sadman Sakib, B. M., Sakib, S. S., & Imteaz, M. A. (2021). Rainwater harvesting potentials in commercial buildings in dhaka: Reliability and economic analysis. Hydrology, 8(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology8010009
Montiel-Campos, H. (2023). An overview of the empirical research on entrepreneurial alertness using a systematic literature review method. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 19(1), 141–173. https://doi.org/10.7341/20231915
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., ... Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Ramos Filho, R. da S., Barros Filho, M. N. M., Rufino, I. A. A., da Costa, F. F., & de Sousa Cordão, M. J. (2023). Urban water insecurity drivers in the Brazilian semi arid region. Water Supply, 23(2), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.2166/WS.2023.015
Santos, M. M., Ferreira, A. V., & Lanzinha, J. C. G. (2023). The Possibilities of Capturing Rainwater and Reducing the Impact of Floods: A Proposal for the City of Beira, Mozambique. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032276
Silvia, C. S., Ikhsan, M., Safriani, M., & Gusmilia, T. P. (2021). Efficiency Rainwater Harvesting at the Roof Campus Buildings. International Journal of Engineering, Science and Information Technology, 1(3), 17–22. https://doi.org/10.52088/ijesty.v1i3.80
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Sulistyiorini, R. (2020). Alternatif Penanganan Permasalahan Infrastruktur Kebutuhan Air Bersih di Kota Bandar Lampung Melalui Rain Water Harvesting. Jurnal Sinergi, 1(1), 18–24. https://doi.org/10.23960/jsi.v1i1.3
Susilo, G. (2018). Rainwater Harvesting as Alternative Source for Wudlu Water in Indonesia. Civil and Environmental Science, 001(02), 062–069. https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.civense.2018.00102.3
Susilo, G. E., & Prayogo, T. B. (2019). Rainwater Harvesting As an Alternative Source of Domestic Water in Lampung Province - Indonesia. Tataloka, 21(2), 305. https://doi.org/10.14710/tataloka.21.2.305-313
Tsanov, E., Valchev, D., Ribarova, I., & Dimova, G. (2023). Discussion on the Need for Harvested Rainwater Quality Standards Tailored to the Reuse Purpose. Processes, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11030665
Wigati, R., Mina, E., Kusuma, R. I., Kuncoro, H. B. B., Fathonah, W., & Ruyani, N. R. (2022). Implementasi Pemanenan Air Hujan (Rainwater Harvesting) Pada Masa Pandemi Covid-19 Di Kota Serang. Dharmakarya, 11(1), 78. https://doi.org/10.24198/dharmakarya.v11i1.37903
Ziafati Bafarasat, A. (2021). Is our urban water system still sustainable? A simple statistical test with complexity science insight. Journal of Environmental Management, 280(December 2020), 111748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111748
Copyright (c) 2026 Annisa Fitri Mustafa, Raldi Hendro Koestoer, Djoko Mulyo Hartono, Hayati Sari Hasibuan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Empiricism Journal agree to the following terms:
- For all articles published in Empiricism Journal, copyright is retained by the authors. Authors give permission to the publisher to announce the work with conditions. When the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors agrees to implement a non-exclusive transfer of publishing rights to the journals.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
