Water as Leverage for resilient cities
Cities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Worldwide, they face growing water-related challenges such as flooding, drought and pollution. Yet responses remain fragmented. Too often, projects operate in silos or never move beyond the planning stage. Water as Leverage (WaL) aims to change that.
Through design-driven collaboration, the programme uses water as a catalyst for inclusive and sustainable urban development, and supports cities in transforming water challenges into opportunities for resilience and social progress.
The WaL programme is executed under Partners for Water in collaboration with a network of Dutch and international partners.
How Water as Leverage works
The WaL programme is shaped by an integrated methodology built on eight guiding principles, aimed at addressing water- and climate change adaptation in an inclusive and design-driven way. The three pillars of the programme – the Academy, the Initiatives and the Global Programme – provide the operational structure, ensuring that knowledge feeds into practice, that practice is supported by institutional expertise, and that local action contributes to global impact.
Eight principles & six project stages
Eight core principles guide each initiative. These range from investing early in project development and being inclusive from start to finish, to ensuring projects are bankable and linking local actions to global goals. Additionally, six project stages structure the journey from idea to impact: initiation, ideation, (pre-)feasibility, implementation, operations and maintenance, and scaling.
Eight principles to advance urban water resilience.
Three pillars
The Academy – Knowledge and capacity
The WaL Academy is the programme’s platform for knowledge development, capacity building and research. It creates and shares the tools, methodologies and training that practitioners and decision-makers need to advance urban water resilience.
The Initiatives – Local action, global impact
Initiatives from the WaL programme are locally driven processes that identify urban water challenges, engage communities and develop tailored strategies and project proposals, aimed at implementation.
The Globale programme – Technical support and policy integration
The Global programme is a global and local network of urban water hubs providing the technical, planning and financial expertise to develop and scale initiatives. Coordinated by UN-Habitat, it also supports the integration of water priorities into national and international policy frameworks.
“One of the things I appreciate is the inclusivity aspect – bringing in all the voices, all the stakeholders within the city. We harness the knowledge within the city, leaving no one behind, and end up with a better solution that addresses the challenges we face on the ground.”
How it started
The WaL programme was created to bring a more integrated and inclusive approach to the early stages of urban water project development. Inspired by the Rebuild by Design competition held in New York after Hurricane Sandy, the Dutch Government launched The WaL programme in 2017 as a competition for innovative, integrated solutions for climate-vulnerable cities. Six multidisciplinary teams developed and piloted water resilience concepts in Semarang (Indonesia), Chennai (India) and Khulna (Bangladesh) – pioneering a transformative design approach built to scale. Since then, the approach has expanded across continents, supported by the Dutch Government’s commitment to scaling up the Water as Leverage programme globally.
Where we work
Since its start in Semarang (Indonesia), Chennai (India) and Khulna (Bangladesh), the WaL programme has expanded to other locations globally, including Latin America, Africa and Europe. New projects have been developed in Prayagraj (India), Bangkok (Thailand), Cartagena (Colombia), Nakuru (Kenya) and the Wadden Sea region spanning Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
The programme brings together a broad coalition of partners: national and local governments, communities, knowledge institutions, the private sector, development banks and civil society organisations. Vulnerable communities are at the heart of each initiative. They are involved from the very first stages of project development to ensure that solutions respond to real needs.
“Bangkok is the first city that the Water as Leverage Academy has helped. All the projects we are working on are shifting the mindset around water in the city. We try to bring back nature, so the canals can have value back to the people’s hearts once again.”
In practice
Chennai, India
The WaL programme brought together international design teams and local communities to address chronic flooding and water scarcity. The initiative resulted in the Water Balance Pilot at the Little Flower Convent School. This demonstration project was inaugurated in 2023. It showcases integrated water management at the neighbourhood level.
Learn more about WaL in ChennaiCartagena, Colombia
Through its “Construyendo con el Agua” initiative, The WaL programme is tackling climate adaptation in coastal and informal settlements. Working closely with local partners, the project applies lessons from The WaL programme Asia to develop inclusive, water-centred solutions for one of Latin America’s most climate-vulnerable cities.
Learn more about WaL in Cartagena
Latest Water as Leverage news
Designing for delivery: the next step of Water as Leverage Cartagena
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Water as Leverage: how a holistic approach is changing the way we deal with water
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Water can be used as a leverage for the broader development of Cartagena
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Inclusive workshops for co-designing water solutions in Colombia
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Two multidisciplinary teams have been selected to become part of Water as Leverage Cartagena
Full article“Water as Leverage is all about resilience. As citizens, we will feel the impact of climate change. If we want to have liveable cities, we have to leverage water through engaging communities.”
Get involved
Water as Leverage is built on partnership. Get in touch – contact us if you want to know more about the programme, or to discuss how The WaL programme can support your city or organisation. You can also follow us on LinkedIn for the latest updates on our initiatives.
Partners for Water is a Dutch government programme enhancing water security internationally in long-term cooperation with local partners and the Dutch water sector. By facilitating strategic planning and support in the early stages of innovation, the programme aims to contribute to systemic change for sustainable water management and infrastructure. This is how we initiate impactful changes for a better living environment.
