‘My journey as Rijkstrainee started last September when I joined the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. There I coordinated the pre-financing of urgent programmes on topics such as water, nitrogen and nature. To learn more about the implementation side of such programmes, I joined the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and their Partners for Water (PfW) programme. A place where I feel at home because ever since I was young, I’ve been fascinated by climate change, nature and biodiversity.’

Scientific perspective

‘I have a bachelor’s degree in political sciences, but that didn’t feel substantial enough. I became aware that I wanted to gain more background knowledge on what interests me. That’s why I decided to study Governance of Sustainability for my masters. With this, you get a good combination of the scientific perspective on climate change as well as how to best address it. I specialised in nitrogen, a topic which connects everything together: economics, nature, farmers and all of the social implications.’

International field

‘I’ve always been fascinated by Dutch agriculture and I even did an internship with Rabobank, the “farmers bank”. Given how closely linked and intertwined the topics of water and the agricultural are, joining the PfW programme felt like a logical next step. What I’ve done up until now has always been nationally focused. So, I look forward to getting insights into how our national developments relate to the international political field and what factors to take into consideration when working internationally. How, for instance, to take into account cultural differences.’

Cohesion and interaction

‘In my first weeks at PfW I reviewed several subsidiary request applications, which I felt were well written and thought out. That means I can learn a lot from them which is great. It’s also fun to read about the innovative solutions the applicants have proposed. I’m honoured to be able to comment on them and the team’s guidance has been great. In the coming time, I hope to contribute to the programme with what I’ve learned in the first part of my traineeship: analysing the cohesion and interaction between the different actors operating in the field.’

Middle East

‘I’m originally from Zaandam, but I now live in Amsterdam. Taking the train to The Hague can sometimes be a bit of a nuisance, but it’s a sacrifice I happily make. My future plans? Part of my traineeship is being sent to another ministry, province embassy or consulate for half a year. A consulate would be my preference. I would love to be stationed abroad and work on a project related to climate change. I’ve always had a deep love and interest for the Middle East, so ultimately my dream is to do valuable work there.’

The event brought together a diverse group of participants, including NBS practitioners, institutional representatives and other stakeholders from around the world. Through panel discussions, they explored the obstacles and opportunities associated with implementing NBS and shared best practices and lessons learned from successful projects.

Nature-based Solutions

Nature-based Solutions refer to the use of natural systems and processes to address environmental challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and water management. NBS have gained recognition as sustainable alternatives to traditional infrastructure that use natural landscapes to improve water security.

The benefits of NBS for water management are numerous. For example, they can enhance water quality, regulate water flow, reduce the risk of floods and droughts and improve the resilience of water systems to climate change. Additionally, NBS can provide social and economic benefits and contribute to biodiversity protection. However, despite the inclusion of NBS in international agreements like the European Green Deal and the UN Global Biodiversity Framework, their implementation so far remains limited.

Partners for Water and Nature-Based Solutions

The Partners for Water programme places a strong emphasis on Nature-based Solutions (NBS) and encourages their implementation at scale through early-stage infrastructure projects. This approach has resulted in several successful projects, as well as many lessons learned. To shed light on this, Dennis van Peppen, Lead Water Programmes at RVO, joined the panel discussion where he shared insights into the challenges and solutions that the projects supported by the Partners for Water programme have faced.

Panel discussions

The panel discussions featured NBS practitioners and institutional representatives who shared their experiences and insights on implementing NBS, including representatives from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, World Wildlife Fund, the US army Corps of Engineers, Invest International, Partners for Water (part of RVO), Deltares, Van Oord and Arcadis. They covered a range of topics related to NBS implementation, including governance and institutional adoption, project management and monitoring and identifying barriers and enablers. Jane Madgwick, Wetlands International said: “We are in no doubt that if we are going to move quickly towards a safe and just world, it is necessary to put NBS first amongst the options for infrastructure. The best way to do that is in this kind of collaboration”. Thanks to the synergetic environment, the panelists were able share their successes and challenges with each other, enabling knowledge sharing and mutual learning.

Lifting the barriers for implementing Nature-based Solutions

André van Ommeren, from RVO: “As we learned this afternoon, it is all about commitment, working together over sectors, integration, and for that you need different partners, standing here on the stage…we are looking forward to the future and bringing NBS to the next stage.” Reflecting on an inspiring discussion, the key insights for implementing NBS are summarised below:

• Involve the multi-stakeholders throughout the whole process and bring them together around the table. From the private sector, financiers and investors, to contractors, locals and governments.
• Actively involve the community and local stakeholders by including them in the decision-making process, creating awareness of NBS’s valuable benefits, asking for their local knowledge and giving them ownership of the NBS. They will have to maintain the NBS in the future.
• Make the stakeholders aware of the different (in-)direct benefits coming from the implementation of NBS and bring forward the economic benefits of the case.
• Understand and take into account the different systems that are involved, like the biophysical, local and institutional systems.
• Aim for an iterative process: learn and improve through implementation, doing the work and evaluation. When there is no capacity for a large project, start with a small project and develop the bigger ones over time.
• Aim for long-term benefits and take into account the maintenance and monitoring of the NBS.
• Put time and effort into capacity building amongst governments and local stakeholders. Not only to create awareness and knowledge on what NBS can deliver and create an enabling political environment for embedding NBS, but also to train them to operate and maintain the NBS.
• Connect across different disciplines, sectors and partners. It is all about collaboration and working together.

Game changer for achieving SDGs

Lara Muller, from Invest International, described the collective thought of the panel discussions clearly: “If there is one thing that NBS also today proved is that it is all about collaboration and multi-disciplinary partnership in order to make it happen. On the ground but also on a higher institutional level. Having financiers, technical people, everybody with the heart in the right place in order to make this happen.” Maintaining this collaborative atmosphere, Nature-based Solutions might be the game-changer in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

During the ‘The Power of Nature-based Solutions’ event, a promising coalition was formed for mainstreaming NBS. Read more about the collaborating organisations and their promised commitments here.

By voluntarily committing to the UN Water Action Agenda, these organisations are taking action to create a breakthrough in the application and implementation of NBS for water-related challenges. With the ultimate goal of making NBS a widely accepted practice by 2030, this coalition aims to drive meaningful change in the way we approach water-related issues and environmental sustainability.

Promised commitments

The coalition members are taking ownership of their responsibilities to mainstream NBS by voluntarily committing to:

• Being an NBS ambassador;
• Promoting the inclusion of NBS as a potential solution for societal challenges in the water sector;
• Presenting examples of how NBS solutions act as an alternative to traditional infrastructure approaches;
• Joining, supporting or creating fundamental and applied research projects to further develop NBS as a standard option; and
• Promoting, supporting or co-investing in enablers for the development of NBS, such as a sound business case and technical, ecological, social and system knowledge

Partners for Water and NBS

The launch of the coalition was organised by Team International Organisations (TIO) at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) along with EcoShape. Being a part of the RVO and having a strong focus on the application of NBS, Partners for Water applauds this collaboration and is looking forward to impactful results.

Over the past few years, we have already been working closely together on a number of projects with coalition members Invest International, EcoShape and its consortium partners. A key focus within these collaborations has been on using and scaling up NBS to address water safety and water security.

Recent collaborations with Invest International and EcoShape

Both Invest International and EcoShape have been working together with Partners for Water on several initiatives in Indonesia. And some of EcoShape’s consortium partners have recently received funding from the Partners for Water subsidy scheme for various projects with local partners. These have included a study on using natural groundwater buffers in Colombia (Deltares) and a feasibility study for a flood prediction service in Malawi (RoyalHaskoningDHV).

Through these partnerships, the organisations have been able to leverage their expertise, for example on NBS, to address pressing water-related issues.

Action and follow-up

The coalition members will develop the details of their commitment to mainstream Nature-based Solutions further during and after the UN2023 Water Conference. The launch of the coalition is a starting point. Is your organization interested in contributing to mainstreaming NBS? Register your interest on the EcoShape website.

‘I’ve always worked in the field of water, for governments and international organizations. My first job was in Punjab, Pakistan. An interesting assignment for a research institute, on the influence of waterlogging and salinity on agricultural production. After working, amongst others, for the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Italy and the Environment Agency in England I’ve been with Rijkswaterstaat for the past fifteen years before joining RVO.’

Balanced relationship

‘My position in Bangladesh mainly focuses on supporting the Bengal government with executing their Delta Program by providing our support and expertise. After all, the Dutch have been working on our delta since – basically – the Middle Ages. Therefore, our governmental organizations, knowledge institutes and companies have a lot to offer. Now that Bangladesh is predicted to becoming a middle-income country in the next few years it means our relationship with Bangladesh will transform into a more balanced one based on working together in the ‘golden triangle’ of government, knowledge institutes and the private sector.’

Process and content

‘A large part of my time with Rijkswaterstaat I worked on the Dutch delta programme. That experience I’ll be able to use as DR in Bangladesh. When it comes to knowledge, policy, or implementation, process and content always go hand in hand. For example, when I read “It’s our goal to provide millions of people with clean drinking water”, I immediately think: who’s goal is this, how do you want to accomplish this, who gets to participate and who gets to take decisions? Content-based objectives raise process-based questions – and vice versa.

Action is needed

‘I’m a strategic thinker who likes to analyze complex playing fields. To have an overview, learn the rules, and get to know the players. And then decide which chess piece to move at which time to make sure good interventions are made. However, when I arrive in Dhaka I can’t sit around and only study. Action is also needed. For example, on how we’re going to continue with the currently ending SIDBP-program (Support to the Implementation of the Bangladesh Delta Programme).’

Discover together

‘Adaptive water management is crucial. Social-economic developments go fast, we’re dealing with a climate and ecological crisis: we’re investing in an unknown future. If you do this in adaptive way with short cycles, taking the latest insights and expected developments into account, you can make small but meaningful interventions towards a shared vision. How we can give this form in Bangladesh is something we’ll need to discover together.’