On 10 December, over 60 water professionals from both countries gathered in The Hague for the Indonesian Platform meeting to reflect on and discuss the future of Dutch-Indonesian water cooperation. The meeting assessed past achievements and explored opportunities for continued collaboration in water management, promising an exciting future for the partnership. See the outcomes below.
“The water sector plays a critical role in Indonesia’s well-being and is fundamental for development across multiple dimensions,” stated Royhan Wahab, Minister Counsellor for Economic Cooperation at the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague. Speaking about the longstanding Dutch-Indonesian water cooperation, he outlined key priorities for future collaboration: establishing a national roadmap for sustainable water management; building Indonesia’s giant seawall system; creating Centres of Excellence for Water Management; improving drinking water systems through lake and seawater conversion and strengthening existing partnerships.
“Sustainable management and investment in water resources are important for Indonesia in order to achieve our socio-economic goals and address challenges related to climate change and urbanization, including land subsidence issues”
The counsellors’ enthusiasm and ambitious words set the tone for the Platform Meeting, which reflected on past achievements and future opportunities and through focussed break-out sessions explored themes such as Nature-based Solutions (NBS), the BlueDeal, Lowland Development and Irrigation and the Welang River Basin Transformation Project.
Fruitful Dutch-Indonesian water collaboration
Starting with a 2015 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works, the two countries bilateral water collaboration spans decades. Following its renewal for 2022-2027, the collaboration is structured through three Dutch-Indonesian working groups focussing on:
- Integrated water resilience for North Java: from mountain to coast
- Lowland development and irrigation
- Capacity building, knowledge exchange and youth engagement
For more insights about past achievements and future plans, read our interview with Simon van Meijeren, Project Advisor Indonesia and Ivo van der Linden, Partners for Water Delegated Representative for Indonesia.
Deep dive sessions
Nature-based Solutions: Turning theory into practice
“Indonesia has demonstrated a strong commitment to implementing NbS, incorporating them into their national midterm development plan for 2025-2029 and is one of the focuses under for the Dutch-Indonesian water collaboration,” begins Tom Wilms from Witteveen + Bos during his breakout session on NbS implementation guidelines for the Indonesian government. “Despite this enthusiasm and political backing, the Indonesian government faces challenges in practical implementation of NbS.”
To bridge this gap between theory and practice, Dutch and Indonesian experts will support the Indonesian Ministries of National Development Planning (Bappenas) and Public Works (PU) by integrating NbS into two guideline documents: a strategic guideline for flood risk management and a technical guideline for establishing river planning criteria. The support is the result of an ongoing fruitful collaboration between the Asian Development Bank and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and will be provided by experts from Witteveen + Bos, Deltares and Royal Haskoning DHV.
NbS require true institutional collaboration—bringing together engineers, provincial agencies, environmental departments and other stakeholders. The key is creating win-win situations. If you don’t aim for mutual benefits, it will remain a marginal effort,” said one participant.
However, translating these guidelines from theory into practice remains a challenge. During the plenary discussion, several key points emerged to support implementation:
- Create synergies with existing local NbS projects to benefit from their experiences and avoid reinventing the wheel.
- Recognise that whilst government guidelines provide the framework, local communities, farmers and the private sector have been implementing NbS for generations.
- This requires rethinking traditional partnership models to better support small-scale, community-driven initiatives alongside larger governmental programmes.
Invest time in building strong political relationships, as these connections often prove crucial for turning plans into reality.
While technical expertise is crucial, political will is often the deciding factor. If you want to make things happen, you need to cultivate strong political connections. That’s where the real work begins.
Welang River Basin Transformation
In East Java, the Welang River serves as a vital water source for local communities. However, urban growth has introduced significant challenges, including flooding, erosion, pollution and water distribution issues. Maarten Onneweer, from AidEnvironment, spoke about the Welang River Basin Transformation Project: an Indonesian-Dutch collaborative project demonstrating how grassroots participation can effectively address these water management challenges. “By uniting local residents, government officials, the private sector and environmental specialists, we have successfully implemented NbS through an integrated, participatory approach,” shared Onneweer. “Now it’s time to scale up to other watersheds in Java. Opportunities for follow-up were discussed with the local authorities, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.”
During the plenary discussion, a common dilemma for scaling up such projects was identified: quantifying the impact of NbS. Whilst these small-scale interventions collectively appear to significantly improve catchment water management, the evidence often remains anecdotal. To justify similar approaches elsewhere, it’s crucial to turn practice into theory and learn from implemented examples, incorporating these lessons into a scaling-up strategy for other watersheds across Indonesia.
A key success has been raising awareness about landscape interventions to prevent soil degradation and excessive runoff. This has led to widespread community commitment to implement numerous small-scale NbS in the upstream watershed.
Blue Deal Indonesia
The Blue Deal, running from 2018 to 2030, brings together Dutch Water Authorities with local governments around the world in providing 20 million people access to clean, safe water. “Since 2023, the Blue Deal has officially become part of the water cooperation between the Netherlands and Indonesia,” explains Robin Bos from Dutch Water Board Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier. “We currently focus on flood risk, coastal zone and wastewater management in Tangerang, Pekalongan and Semarang, but we’re also open to collaborations in other regions connected to our projects,”
The programme operates across three layers of water governance— knowledge, institutional and relational—whilst providing advice, training and facilitating the implementation of practical solutions. One example is a demonstration project in the Batik industry to address water pollution. “Drawing from past experiences, we observed that local governments often struggle to manage large-scale wastewater treatment facilities,” notes Bos. “In response, we’re initiating a small-scale and low-tech pilot project using NbS to treat Batik industry wastewater.” This initiative complements a recently funded Partners for Water subsidy scheme project, which also tackles water pollution in the Batik industry.
A key factor to their success? Bos emphasizes the importance of working simultaneously at different scales, combining top-down and bottom-up approaches. “Strong relationships with relevant officials and stakeholders are essential. If they don’t know your project, if they don’t know you, it can be very difficult to take steps with the local government.”
With the Dutch approach, we’re very straightforward, but we’ve learned that this approach sometimes doesn’t work. Building trust and relationships takes time, but it is essential before moving on to larger objectives.
Lowland development and irrigation: knowledge exchange
Irrigated lowland areas play a crucial role in Indonesia’s journey towards the national priority of food independence. The Netherlands, with its historical expertise in water management, has been a key partner in this quest. However, valuable knowledge of lowland development resides primarily with experienced older professionals both countries. To prevent this expertise from being lost, it is critical to actively transfer it to the next generation of water managers.
During this breakout session, Sur Suryadi from IHE Delft shared historical initiatives in lowland development, providing insights into the ongoing collaboration in Dadahup, Kalimantan and discussed knowledge exchange strategies. A lively discussion took place among the participants on strategies for effectively transferring essential lowland expertise to future water managers. This topic will be further developed in the coming year with the Ministry of Public Works and local knowledge institutions.
What we’re seeing now is genuine parallel work across different scales – working top-down and bottom-up at the same time. And crucially, it’s not just about water and environment—it’s also about social and economic capital.
Building relationships for the future
The day’s deep dive into Dutch-Indonesian water collaborations concluded with networking and drinks, underscoring a key insight: sustainable water management is achieved through genuine relationship-building across all levels. Success requires bringing together diverse voices—from local communities to government officials. While this inclusive approach may be more complex, it yields more sustainable and far-reaching results, creating the foundation for lasting impact.
The Welang River in East Java, Indonesia, is a crucial lifeline for nearby communities, providing water for daily use and supporting local agriculture. However, as cities expand and populations grow, the river has faced increasing challenges such as flooding, erosion, and pollution. to address these issues, the Governments of Indonesia and the Netherlands, through its Partners for Water program invest in the Welang River Basin Transformation Project to tackle these challenges and protect both the river and the people who depend on it. This is the third article in the miniseries on the Welang River Basin project, highlighting the role of nature-based solutions for integrated water management.
Nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognized as an essential strategy to address water and erosion challenges in watersheds. These solutions harness natural resources to tackle various water and soil issues. In areas where traditional infrastructure may be expensive, NbS offers a sustainable and cost-effective alternative that is easily replicable by local governments and communities.
In the upstream area of Welang Watershed, East Java, Indonesia, the NbS approach was applied through co-construction with the local community by employing a 3R methodology (retention, recharge, and reuse of water) through creation of simple gully plugs. These structures made from locally available materials like bamboo, stones and branches, serve to collect and temporarily store water during high rainfall flows, retain sediments and materials washed into the channel, and slow down small, concentrated flows.
Utilizing natural materials available in the area as gully plugs (left: bamboo, right: stone)
Implementation at two sites
- In Surorowo, the upstream area of Welang on the side of Mount Bromo, the project marked the communities’ first experience participating in an international project. Village officials played an important role in encouraging broad community participation. Two Focus Group Discussions involving various stakeholders were held to explain the value of the project and the interventions, to build trust and gain commitment of the community. Over two months of activities, at least 28 different gully plugs and gabions were installed on community land and initiated directly by the community.
- The project location in Wonosari, the upstream area of Welang on the side of Mount Arjuno, is directly managed by the Wonosari Tea Plantation, making it easier to mobilize and cooperate with the workers. In just 12 working days, a total of 145 simple gully plugs made of stones, tree branches, and bamboo of various sizes were constructed.
Stakeholders involvement in demonstration activities
Institutional support
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on sustainable water resources management in East Java was signed between the East Java Provincial Natural Resources and Public Works Agency (PUSDA), the government implementing agency of the project, and Perhutani, a state-owned enterprise managing the implementation site. This ensured stakeholder alignment and paved the way for replicating NbS across the province.
Monitoring and evaluation
Once implemented, effective monitoring becomes essential for tracking the progress of the installed structures and demonstrating their effectiveness. Field observations conducted by the State University of Malang assess the condition of the gully plug installations, their impact on sediment capture, erosion control, and soil stability. These insights help identify the most effective structure types, ensuring informed recommendations for future implementations.
The monitoring showed that series of gully plugs made sequentially following the channel from upstream to downstream are effective in retaining heavy water discharge and capturing sediment. On average, a 10-20 cm thick layer of sediment was found behind the installed gully plug structures, with the greatest accumulation of sediment occurring behind gully plugs with bamboo barricades filled with soil or grass and dense shrubs.
The other type of gully plug made of branches, was observed to have grown densely, providing a natural barrier to the heavy water discharge and sediment flowing along the channel.
Recommendation for replication
For replication, bamboo gully plugs and branch-made gully plugs are identified as the most effective, affordable, and easy-to-implement structures. These options are chosen based on their proven ability to capture sediment, ease of installation, support for vegetation growth, and the accessibility of materials, making them suitable for small-scale community implementation across diverse land uses.
On the other hand, gully plugs made from stone or even gabions tend to be more difficult for communities to implement without assistance from the government or third parties in procuring materials, but are structurally more robust and durable.
The Welang River in East Java, Indonesia, is a lifeline for the people who live nearby, providing water for daily use and supporting local agriculture. However, as cities expand and populations grow, the river has faced increasing problems such as flooding, erosion, and pollution. In response, the Governments of Indonesia and the Netherlands invest in the Welang River Basin Transformation Project to tackle these challenges and protect both the river and the people who depend on it.
The project is built around a central idea: collaboration. Local communities, government officials, and environmental experts are all working together to develop smart water management solutions that address the river’s problems. What makes this project unique is its focus on local ownership by involving everyone in the process, ensuring that solutions are created by listening to the needs and ideas of the people who live near the river.
The Welang River Project adopts a collaborative, step-by-step approach to co-create practical and sustainable solutions that meet community needs. It begins by engaging with local residents to understand their issues, such as flooding or limited access to clean water. With these insights, local residents, government officials, and experts work together to develop solutions. After initial testing, community feedback is used to refine these ideas, enhancing their effectiveness. The final, improved solutions are then implemented in coordination with government plans to ensure they can be scaled for broader impact.
The role of Trusted Advisors
A key element of the project’s success is the involvement of Trusted Advisors. These are local experts who know the area well and play an essential role in guiding the project. Their job is to make sure the solutions are not only smart but also long-lasting and beneficial for the community in the long run.
For instance, Pak Eko Setyawan, a soil expert from Malang University, provided evidence-based support by monitoring the riverbanks to see how stable the soil is before and after implementation of demo plots to prevent erosion. His measurements help the project and stakeholders understand whether these interventions are working and provide valuable data for future projects.
Similarly, Pak Syukur Sugeng Apriwiyanto, an expert in waste management, has developed a recycling and composting program for an elementary school near the river. The students have embraced this program, and many have even started teaching their families about recycling. The program has been so successful that other schools in East Java are considering adopting it, showing how small, practical steps can lead to wider change.
One of the standout features of the project has been its close collaboration with academic institutions like Malang University, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), and Brawijaya University. These partnerships have provided students – the future water managers – with hands-on experience in field research and given the project valuable insights into flood behavior, community perceptions, and the effectiveness of flood defenses. By involving universities, the project has been able to combine cutting-edge research with practical solutions.
The Welang Project: A model for future water management
The success of the Welang River Project so far is a testament to the power of collaboration. The Trusted Advisors, with their diverse expertise, have played a vital role in shaping the project’s strategies, ensuring that the solutions are grounded in local knowledge and research. As the project prepares to wrap up, the contributions of these advisors will continue to make a lasting impact, demonstrating how local involvement and expert guidance can foster sustainable development and positive change.
By working together, the Welang River Project is not just solving today’s problems – it is building a model for how communities can protect their natural resources for future generations.
This week, Holland House Colombia, the Netherlands Enterprise agency (RVO) and the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), joined forces at the 67th ACODAL Water, Waste and Energy Congress took place in Cartagena, Colombia.
In anticipation of the Dutch presence at the congress, Jan Willem van Bokhoven – director of Holland House in Colombia – gives his perspective on the long-term ongoing partnership of 50 years between the two countries that are committed to addressing environmental challenges.
A receptive market for European expertise
As Colombia is lacking a strong industrial base for advanced technologies, it often relies on foreign expertise. Traditionally dominated by the United States, nowadays European companies are finding a much more receptive market in Colombia. Of course there are still challenges. Last year Dutch expertise was showcased in capacity building, water management and sustainable water purification. The emphasis now lies on the Water as Leverage programme and coastal protection, especially in the face of climate change, rapid urbanisation, and environmental degradation.
Success stories and economic growth
Van Bokhoven has significantly contributed to the success of Dutch entrepreneurs in Colombia. The number of companies with branches in Colombia increased from 35 to 300 over the past seven years, and over 800 Dutch entrepreneurs began exporting to Colombia, the third-largest economy in Latin America, during the same period. Since he set up Holland House ten years ago, Bokhoven has fallen in love with the Latin American country that has hosted him. ‘A beautiful country with beautiful people and also a typical emerging market.’ The aftereffects of the financial crisis leading to budget cuts abroad pushed Dutch entrepreneurs to look beyond Europe for growth opportunities. Bokhovens’ goal was to support not only existing businesses but also guide entrepreneurs taking their first steps in new markets such as Colombia. Today, that number has grown to nearly 400 member companies.
Colombia’s agricultural potential
Colombia offers a lot of potential as a major global food producer. The country has 26 million hectares of agricultural land, with only 6 million currently in use, indicating a vast potential for growth. This growth is further supported by the peace process, which is gradually making more land accessible. ‘We do a lot with agro-logistics and the use of water in the agricultural sector. Due to the El Niño and La Niña weather phenomena, we have periods of extreme drought and periods of huge rainfall. Both drought and excessive rain require the efficient use of water.
Even in regions traditionally abundant in water, the drought leading to historic lows in reservoir levels demanded immediate action. In Bogotá, a major city with millions of residents, authorities have implemented a one-day water outage every ten days.
Importance of effective water management
In Colombia, effective water management is becoming increasingly critical across all sectors, highlighted by the ongoing drought and heightened sense of urgency. This issue is key at the ACODAL Congress. This year marks the largest delegation of Dutch companies ever, with familiar names like Nijhuis and Paques reflecting a growing interest in the Colombian market, Van Bokhoven points out. Dutch companies operate in Columbia via the Blue Deal InspirAgua initiative; a holistic approach to problem-solving that integrates public, private, academic, and community sectors where 21 water boards work together with the Dutch ministries of Foreign Affairs and Infrastructure and Water Management. The goal: to give 20 million people around the world access to sufficient, clean and safe water.
Focus on filtration technology
A significant focus is on filtration technology, essential for transforming wastewater and various water sources into potable water. This technology is crucial for treating groundwater and mountain water to ensure safe drinking water supplies. The Dutch delegation’s mix of expertise and cutting-edge technology aims to address Colombia’s pressing water management needs effectively.
The expanding group of participants includes firms specialising in water use for agriculture and decentralised water supply systems for rural and remote areas, such as the Amazon. These companies bring advanced technologies for water purification and drinking water provision and try to find solutions for Colombia’s vast and diverse geography. ‘Trade and development are not two opposites in this country,’ says Van Bokhoven, ‘they reinforce each other.’
Integrating water, energy, and waste solutions
Additionally, there’s a notable trend of integrating water management with energy and waste solutions, leveraging Dutch expertise to create comprehensive and sustainable approaches. The collaboration at ACODAL underscores the importance of innovative, cross-sector solutions to Colombia’s water challenges. ‘But’, says Van Bokhoven, ‘significant strides are being made by providing comprehensive, turnkey water management solutions. Bluecon, for instance, offers complete plug-and-play systems tailored for small municipalities, covering everything from filtration technology to infrastructure. Similarly, LIC provides fully integrated water technology solutions.’
Beyond turnkey projects: Dutch expertise in larger systems
However, the Dutch role in Colombia extends beyond turnkey projects. Often, Dutch expertise and technology are integrated into larger systems managed by other international firms. While Colombia has strong educational institutions, the country lacks a robust industrial base, making it unlikely for advanced technologies like pumps or nanofilters to be manufactured locally. Instead, local installation work remains prevalent.
Overall, while Dutch firms contribute significantly to Colombia’s water sector and create job opportunities, most high-tech production remains abroad. The mutual benefit is clear, emphasises Van Bokhoven: Colombia gains access to advanced water technologies, and Dutch companies find a receptive market for their solutions.
If you are also interested in doing business in Colombia, for example by participating in the activities mentioned above, or you want to consult someone, please contact RVO. There are various ways to support you, and we can also put you in contact with the Dutch embassy in Bogota.
See below for an impression of the Netherlands Pavilion at Acodal, Cartagena Colombia, 2024.
Both actively engaged in supporting the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP2100), we spoke with Neeltje Kielen and Richard Jorissen about the Support Implementation Bangladesh Delta Plan (SIBDP) mission in March
From their respective offices in Dhaka and the Netherlands, they elaborated on the significant collaboration and knowledge sharing between the Netherlands and Bangladesh and explored plans to continue this valuable partnership
As the Delegated Representative for Water on behalf of the Partners for Water Programme, Neeltje is part of the Netherlands Embassy team in Dhaka where she shapes the water agenda and oversees the transition away from official development aid. As a programme director at Rijkswaterstaat and equipped with extensive expertise in water safety and flood defenses, Richard provides guidance and shares his knowledge for the implementation of the Bangladesh Delta Plan.
Support Implementation Bangladesh Delta Plan
The Bangladesh Delta Plan (BDP) is aimed at creating a resilient and prosperous delta region and both Neeltje and Richard are deeply involved with its implementation. Neeltje explains: “Through the SIBDP-programme, the embassy provides support to the Bangladesh government in implementing the BDP. This includes direct budget support and technical assistance from a consortium of Dutch and Bangladeshi consultancies. The support and shared expertise of Rijkswaterstaat is funded through the Partners for Water programme and linked to the SIBDP-programme.”
Mission March
After four years, the completion of the SIDBP-programme is on the horizon. That’s why Richard traveled to Bangladesh last March to address the various aspects necessary for a successful continuation of the collaboration. This visit was the follow up of a visit in December 2022. Richard explains: “With the programme ending in June, our focus this time was on the post-SIBDP phase and building relationships with our Bangladeshi counterpart, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), who are ultimately responsible for implementing the BDP.”
He enthusiastically highlights their joint exploration on coastal and river management. Two major themes from which the Netherlands already learned valuable lessons. Richard asks: “How do we prevent Bangladesh from encountering the same pitfalls as the Netherlands? Nature cannot always be constrained. We are now paying a costly price to learn that”. He advocates for maintaining such knowledge exchanges in the coming years. In fact, during the mission, two concrete future collaboration proposals emerged: infrastructure rationalization and knowledge sharing in the field of ‘Adaptive Delta Management’.
Adaptive Delta Management
“What is Adaptive Delta Management (ADM)? Well, it’s all about long-term strategies that provide flexibility for future decision-making, but also about recognizing the importance of nature as a key pillar in future water engineering projects”, explains Richard. He goes on: “Within ADM, we employ the concept of Adaptive Delta Design (ADD). This is the bridge to implement a long-term strategy in such a way that you still have choices available in the future.” These approaches haven’t always been the norm. “In the Netherlands, we are currently addressing the negative consequences of our last 200 years of river management. Now, we’re sharing these experiences with Bangladesh”, says Richard.
Different Pathways
An integral part of ADM is exploring and developing different pathways for future interventions. Neeltje explains that the debate in this field is gaining momentum in Bangladesh. And the discussion amongst academia goes beyond just focusing on floods and riverbed subsidence, it also considers the implications for biodiversity conservation.
Neeltje emphasises the importance of translating these discussions into practical implementation: “There are still many practitioners who prefer steel and concrete over a natural meandering river. While the Netherlands already made its choices in the past, they are still largely open for Bangladesh. But how do you translate current knowledge into action? This question is relevant for both Bangladesh and the Netherlands, making the knowledge exchange so intriguing”.
Planning the future
Thanks to sedimentation from the rivers, Bangladesh is not only losing land, but it also regenerates explains Richard. “There are numerous developments and choices that the country is currently facing”, Neeltje adds. She continues: “The decisions being made now will determine whether the coastal growth through natural sedimentation remains a viable pathway or if this pathway will be cut off. We have learned that the ‘adaptivity’ is not only important in design but also in planning. That’s why we always strive to incorporate the principles of ADM into the various projects and programmes in which the Netherlands provides support.”
Lessons learned
When asked about the lessons learned during the government-to-government (G2G) partnership, Richard easily responds: “It’s truly learning by doing. The strength of the Bangladesh Delta Plan lies in its comprehensive and top-level integration. However, this also means that its implementation requires a significant effort. It demands challenging horizontal and vertical coordination. We can contribute to that, but at the same time, this scope is unprecedented for us.” Neeltje continues: “Indeed, when it comes to horizontal and vertical coordination, the journey is still in its early stages. It is crucial to take these steps collaborative.”
Richard emphasizes that this G2G collaboration is also incredibly instructive for the Netherlands: “The scale and challenges of the BDP go beyond what we have experienced. What can we learn from it for the major transitions we will face in the Netherlands?” he ponders. After two months in Bangladesh, Neeltje has also learned that patience is a virtue: “We are sometimes accustomed to impatience, but it is truly important to adapt to the pace and allow these complex matters the time they need.”
What’s next?
“We are currently working on a one-and-a-half-year extension to continue the current phase of the SIBDP. During this time, the Delta Wing will formulate what they need in terms of knowledge and skills to lead the Delta Program after this period”, says Neeltje. As Bangladesh transitions into a middle-income country, the relationship between the Netherlands and Bangladesh is shifting from traditional development cooperation to a partnership focused on sustainable trade, investments and knowledge exchange. This also presents opportunities for the Dutch water sector.
Richard adds: “While construction companies in the Dutch water sector may not see immediate opportunities, this transition will definitely bring new possibilities for consultancy, advisory services and research”. Embracing shared expertise and fostering a resilient partnership, the Netherlands and Bangladesh are creating a pathway towards a prosperous and sustainable future.
On March 23, 2023, an important coalition was formed for mainstreaming Nature-based Solutions (NBS) at the New York Water House
This powerful alliance was launched during the UN2023 Water Conference and brought together a diverse range of organisations dedicated to creating a more sustainable future. These include the Asian Development Bank, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Invest International, Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Wetlands International and EcoShape.
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.
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.
