this book offers key resource materials for an international training course on Rain-water Harvesting and Utilization supported by China Ministry of Commerce and hosted by Gansu Research Institute for Water Conservancy annually in Lanzhou,China since 2003 Topics cover the design.construction and management ofrainwater harvesting systems for domestic water supply and supplementary irrigation,rainwater quality issues and runoff farming It presents case studies from successful rainwater-harvesting projects both in China and around the to be. and provi desreaders with essential information and inspiration alike It is a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners and students in the area of water manaement, aricultureand sustainable development. Qiang Zhu is a research professor at Gansu ResearchInstitute for Water Conservancy.Lanzhou, China; john Gouldis a rainwater harvestin consultant based in Christchurch, New Zealand; Yuanhong Li is a research professor at Gansu Research Institute for Water Conservancy, Lanzhou, China;Chengxiang Ma is an engineer at Gansu Research Institute for Water Conservancy,Lanzhou, China.