Water for Climate Action: The Government of the Netherlands at World Water Week 2025

From 24–28 August 2025, Stockholm hosted World Water Week. During this leading annual gathering of the international water community, thousands of experts, policymakers, businesses and civil society came together to exchange knowledge and shape action. Under the theme Water for Climate Action, discussions highlighted water as the foundation of climate resilience. For the Government of the Netherlands, a strategic partner of World Water Week, it was a key moment to share expertise, build partnerships and shape the global agenda.

During this week, the focus was on local and international water and climate management. But before speaking about systems, policies and progress, it’s important to pause and recognise water itself. Not merely as a resource, but as a presence that sustains every being. As Taylor Galvin, member of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation in Canada, reminded us during the opening of World Water Week 2025: “Science offers us statistics, data and charts, but we must also humble ourselves, carry the rhythms and heart of Mother Earth, and honour the water.”

The Netherlands at World Water Week

World Water Week (WWW) 2025 provided the Netherlands with a key platform to showcase its expertise in water management and security, while strengthening international cooperation. The Dutch delegation contributed through high-level panels, the Water & Business programme and multiple partner sessions.

At the core of this presence were three key themes: the hydrological cycle and global governance, the water–food–energy–biodiversity nexus, and business stewardship. Together, these messages aimed to accelerate progress on the Water Action Agenda launched at the 2023 UN Water Conference, and to prepare for COP30 in 2025 and the UN Water Conference in 2026.

“I am proud to see how the Dutch water sector is contributing to a water-secure world, and to witness how our expertise is valued worldwide,” reflected Dutch Water Envoy Meike van Ginneken. “Sharing this knowhow is part of our soft power in bilateral relations. Equally, by working abroad, Dutch organisations learn, grow and innovate.”

The international water agenda

“Global water governance is not an end in itself, but a means to provide people with clean drinking water, food security and protection against floods,” explained van Ginneken during the High-Level Panel Water’s Pathway in Global Processes, organised by the Netherlands and Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). Throughout the week, participants emphasised that water forms the foundation of our collective future. Not as a separate theme, but as a global common good.

The true strength of the week was rooted in the presence of so many international stakeholders collectively looking ahead. As van Ginneken emphasised: “Now is the time not only to talk about global governance, but to put it into practice by linking knowledge, convening power and concrete action.”

Hydrological cycle

Henk Ovink, former Dutch Water Envoy and founding commissioner of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, highlighted how the hydrological cycle has become disrupted. In several sessions, he and other Dutch speakers stressed that the entire system – blue, white and green water – must be recognised and valued as a global common good.

“More than half of our precipitation comes from plants and trees through transpiration. When you take those away, you take away the very source of rain.” He added: “We have to understand the full picture of the hydrological cycle, or we will never provide solutions that really work.”

Water–biodiversity–food–energy nexus

In a session about the interconnection between water, biodiversity, food and energy, Ovink underlined: “Without a stable water cycle, food security is impossible. Biodiversity loss increases the vulnerability of agriculture and energy supply.”

In order to find holistic solutions, we must integrate water management, land use and ecosystem restoration. The Netherlands contributed by hosting sessions that focused on these approaches. As Liliane Geerling from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency reflected: “This week saw valuable conversations and collaboration between knowledge institutes, landscape architects, NGOs and Indigenous representatives, mainstreaming biodiversity and advancing integrated, landscape-based approaches.”

Yet participants stressed that engaging beyond the water sector is vital in order to drive change across the nexus. “COP30 offers an important opportunity to take this forward.”

Water and business stewardship

“Water stewardship is not just about managing risk. It is about taking responsibility across the value chain,” said Joana Barata Correia of IKEA during the Water & Business programme. Together with other multinationals, she showed how companies are making water use more transparent and setting ambitious targets. Organised by the Dutch government and SIWI, the programme made clear that water has shifted from being an environmental issue to a critical business risk.

For the Netherlands, it was an opportunity to demonstrate how public–private cooperation can drive systems change. Inge de Boer from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs underlined a shared consensus: “Business cases must be broader. Not just financially, but also socially and ecologically. At the same time, investors need predictable frameworks. Without stable policies, sustainable choices are impossible.”

Voices of Indigenous communities

“I may be a student, but I carry knowledge that is thousands of years old. Knowledge that predates science as a discipline itself,” said Taylor Galvin (Brokenhead Ojibway Nation) during the opening session of WWW. Her words captured the urgency of including Indigenous voices. “I don’t want to be here as just a measurable outcome. I’m not a box to check. Our knowledge is what will protect the water, because we’ve been doing it far longer.”

This call echoed in Dutch contributions, with sessions on landscape-based and Nature-based Solutions showing how biocultural values can shape water management. As Geerling reflected: “Indigenous sessions reminded me that water governance is not only about models, infrastructure, or finance. It is also about values, respect, and rights.”

Future perspectives

It is evident that climate and water resilience go hand in hand. “The climate has already changed. Now we need adaptation,” stressed van Ginneken, “And Dutch water expertise can support recovery and climate adaptation”.

Looking ahead to COP30 and the UN Water Conference in 2026, it’s clear that water can no longer be treated as a separate theme. For the Netherlands, this means building cross-sectoral and cross-boundary bridges in diplomacy and policy, scaling up innovative approaches such as Nature-based Solutions, and creating space for more inclusive voices. To repeat van Ginneken’s words: “Let’s not talk about water governance – let’s do it.”