Water Retention Landscapes
A model for sustainable
water management
B.Sc. Christoph Ulbig
Ecological Department Tamera
Water Retention Landscapes are systems for the
restoration of the full water cycle by retaining the
water in the areas where it falls as rain.
A water retention landscape is fully realized
when no more rainwater leaves the land
but rather all water flowing away comes from springs.
The full hydrological cycle
Viktor Schauberger
Callum Coats
Symptoms of incorrect Water
and Landscape Management
• Drying out the landscape
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Droughts
Floods
Fires
Erosion & landslides
Desertification
Sea level rising
Ground water table decreasing
Sweet water shortage
Climate change
Poverty and rural exodus
Principles of Water Retention Landscapes
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Decentralized structures
Slow down (Retention),Reduce of water runoff
Allow the water to infiltrate
Aquifer recharge
Increase of soil moisture
Building of top soil & humus
Increase of biomass and diversity
Avoidance of hot spots (cities, parking lots…)
Methods & Tools
• Earth works
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Terraces
Swales
Lakes/Ponds
Subsoil loosening
Infiltration
Reduction of sealed surfaces (impervious surfaces)
• Soil building and shading
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Afforestation
Green Manure
Mulching
Animals
Irrigation
Benefits
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Restoration of rivers & aquifers
Decentral availability of sweat water
Decrease of infrastructure damage
Decline of energy use for pumping & cooling
Increase of agriculture security
Lowering of weather extremes (regional)
Tamera, Alentejo
2006
Vision of the completed waterlandscape
In 2007, the Peace Research Center Tamera started to build a
Water Retention Landscape on its property of 150 ha.
Two rivers in the same area, with the same soils
and rainfall, on the same day
Peter Donovan ManagingWholes
Rainwater Harvesting, Brad Lancaster
Third International Water Symposium
Tamera, Portugal
June 7th – 9th, 2013
“Water Retention Landscapes
as an Answer to
Desertification and Globalisation”
Sources & Links
• Sepp Holzer
• Buckminster Fuller Challenge
• Callum Coats (Viktor Schauberger)
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Peter Donovan
Allan Savory
Michal Kravčík
Brad Lancaster
John D. Liu
Millán Millán
Yadu N. Pokhrel
• Rajendra Singh
• Bernd Mueller
www.krameterhof.at
http://challenge.bfi.org
http://de.scribd.com/doc/50123307/ViktorSchauberger-Living-Energies-With-Callum-Coats
http://managingwholes.com
www.savoryinstitute.com
www.waterparadigm.org
www.harvestingrainwater.com
http://eempc.org
www.ceam.es
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/
vaop/ncurrent/abs/ngeo1476.html
www.tarunbharatsangh.org
www.tamera.org
Thank you…