Waterproof Podcast launch 21 November 2024

The Waterproof Podcast

Waterproof is the six-part Partners for Water podcast that travels the globe sharing uplifting stories about how today’s water crises are being tackled through smart ideas, local knowledge and international partnerships. Hosted by water expert Tracy Metz, Waterproof delves into six crucial water themes with local and international experts, researchers, practitioners and other water professionals. Following each episode, listeners can participate in live meetups with other water professionals to go deeper into the themes.

Discover what the “Waterproof” podcast is all about with a sneak peek below

How to listen: Starting 21 November, you can listen to the Waterproof podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and on this page. Be the first to know when the podcast launches! Enter your email address here and we’ll notify you when the first episode goes live.

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Episode 1: Let Nature Do It!

Water, climate and biodiversity are the foundations of our natural ecosystems and with that, our entire way of living. These vital elements are under enormous pressure as a result of climate change and biodiversity loss, making Nature-based Solutions (NbS) increasingly critical in addressing our global water challenges. NbS are solutions that address societal challenges while incorporating, protecting and restoring natural ecosystems. Partners for Water encourages the global uptake of NbS with a focus on biodiversity within water projects and it supports water projects that use NbS, such as those, in Ghana.

In this episode, Bregje van Weesenbeeck from Deltares, Emanuel Nii Attrem Taye from Ghana, and Alex Hekman from NL2120 will explore financially, technically and sustainably sound NbS as an alternative to traditional infrastructure.

• Meet-up: 28 November 2024, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam
  

Episode 2: The Salty Intruder

Currently, 1 billion hectares of the world’s arable land is salt-affected and projections suggest that 50% of all land used to grow food will be affected by 2050. In many regions, salinisation is already severely impacting soil quality and food production. Many farmers are facing the decision to abandon their farming practices, fight against the salinity, or learn to live with it. Resilient water-soil management practices are therefore key. From the Nile in Egypt to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and the salty coastlines in the Netherlands, farmers are testing adaptable crops, adopting both traditional and innovative water management techniques and introducing new products.

In ‘The Salty Intruder’ episode, you will explore innovative approaches and strategies for adapting to increasing soil salinity, led by experts Kate Negacz from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Peter Prins from Salta and farmers from Vietnam, Egypt and the Netherlands.

• Airs on: 5 December 2024
• Meet up: 12 December 2024, location to be announced

Episode 3: Locals in the Lead

Too often, water management and infrastructure solutions are developed based on assumptions about local communities’ needs, rather than through active listening to their concerns. This results in solutions that fail to foster local ownership and overlook valuable community knowledge, ultimately leading to unsustainable water projects. Working closely with local people and partners, incorporating both their needs and expertise,  is critical to the success of long-term water projects. Partners for Water encourages this approach through multidisciplinary methods and collaborative efforts with local communities and stakeholders.

In the episode on locally led development, you will explore various approaches and examples of locally led water projects, with Shahnoor Hasan from Deltares, Chris Zevenbergen from the TU Delft, Professor Kwasi Appeaning Addo from the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies in Ghana, Marieke van Nood from World Waternet and Floris Boogaard from Hanze Hogeschool and Deltares

• Airs on: 9 January 2025 
• Meet up: 16 January 2025, Social Impact Factory, Vredenburg 40, Utrecht

Episode 4: Build-Neglect-Repair-Repeat

Water management and infrastructure are essential for society as their operational durability directly impacts the resilience of livelihoods and economies. Despite their crucial role, proper operation and long-term maintenance are often overlooked, leading to the costly ‘Build-Neglect-Repair’ (BNR) cycle prevalent in the international water sector. Partners for Water recognises the urgent need to shift toward sustainable design, financing and management practices in water infrastructure and is committed to understanding the root causes of the BNR cycle and collaborating with partners to implement more sustainable practices.

In this ‘Build-Neglect-Repair-Repeat’ episode, you will explore various approaches and hear about international examples that promote lasting operation and maintenance of water management and infrastructure projects.

• Airs on: 30 January 2025
• Meetup: 6 February 2025, location to be announced

Episode 5: Water-Biodiversity-Food

Biodiversity is the cornerstone of all life on Earth. However, conventional water management and food production practices are leading to a rapid decline in global biodiversity, with our food production systems causing 70% of land-based biodiversity loss. Incorporating biodiversity as an integral part of water and food decision-making not only improves local and global ecosystems, but also strengthens the resilience of our food production systems, water infrastructure and economies. That’s why Partners for Water promotes biodiversity not as a ‘nice-to-have’ but as a core component in food and water decision-making.

In this ‘Water-Biodiversity-Food’ episode, you will learn various approaches and examples of incorporating biodiversity into water and food projects, together with Coen van Iwaarden from Nature’s Pride and others to be announced.

• Airs on: 20 February 2025
• Meetup: 27 February 2025, location to be announced