Highlights 2020
Co-creating a water driven future for society as well as business
Despite the many challenges and changes we faced in 2020, the Netherlands Water Partnership and its network managed to quickly adapt and achieved some remarkable results together. A selection of the 2020 highlights.
Bespoke webinars unite Dutch and Latin American water experts
International water events have been cancelled since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was also the case in Latin America, even though water challenges in this region are more urgent than ever. From July to September 2020, the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) and a consortium of seven Dutch embassies in Latin America jointly hosted the ‘Tackling water challenges in Latin America together’ webinar series to dive into the most pressing water issues in Latin America and connect Dutch and Latin American experts. And the initiative worked perfectly: an average of 300 visitors joined each session and more than 1,400 stakeholders in 19 countries in the Americas registered.
The videos and audios of the ‘Tackling water challenges in Latin America together’ webinar series are still available on our website.
Opening the gateway between the Dutch water sector and West African Countries
On 29 June 2020, the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) and the World Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support West Africa’s efforts to build coastal resilience. Developed under the West Africa Coastal Areas (WACA) Program, this marks an important step towards making Dutch expertise in coastal and flood management available to West African countries. Bianca Nijhof, Managing Director at NWP, and Simeon Ehui, Regional Director for Sustainable Development for Africa at the World Bank, sealed the agreement and highlighted how effective coastal management and nature-based climate solutions are at the nexus of economic development and poverty reduction.
WTEX10 Programme: Accelerating Dutch Water Technology Export
Boosting Dutch water technology sector exports in the next decade. This ambitious goal of the Topsector Water & Maritime, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) and the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) was announced at the beginning of 2020. To bring this about, a special action programme was launched in April, headed by Steven van Rossum, CEO of World Waternet, who was appointed as the programme manager. In this interview, he tells us more about the programme and his assignment.
Read the full interview here.
This resulted in the official start of the WTEX10: Accelerating Dutch water technology Programme at the beginning of 2021 that focuses on increasing the export of the Dutch water technology sector worldwide. With a group of renowned Dutch water technology companies, and in cooperation with locally active Dutch consultancy firms and consultants, market opportunities in the United Kingdom and Spain will be mapped and consortia will be formed with smaller Dutch water technology supplier and drinking water companies.
Netherlands Water Partnership joins NDC Partnership
The NDC Partnership is a global coalition of countries and institutions collaborating to drive transformational climate action and sustainable development. Through the Partnership, members leverage their resources and expertise to provide countries with the tools they need to implement their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and combat climate change to build a better future.
NWP’s membership has been accepted due to its dedication towards pursuing ambitious climate action and enhancing sustainable development. By joining, NWP becomes part of a wider coalition of members and institutions committed to working together towards these shared goals.
NL COVID-19 Water Technology and Services Portfolio
The Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) noticed an increase in international requests for services and technologies for detection, disinfection and analysis of water sources and streams, as well as for services and or technologies to improve sanitation and hygiene due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NWP then took the initiative to create an online ‘NL Covid-19 water technology services portfolio’ to have an up-to-date overview of what the Dutch water sector has to offer and to be able to actively share this information with Dutch embassies and other relevant stakeholders abroad.
The Netherlands and Indonesia continue cooperation on coastal protection and urban resilience
Water safety, sustainable use of water resources, urban resilience and flood- and river basin management were high priority themes during the Dutch trade mission to Indonesia from 8 to 13 March 2020. The Netherlands and Indonesia have strong ties and similar water challenges which offers opportunities for both countries to work together on sustainable solutions. The Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) was actively involved in the mission and organised the 'water programme' which attracted over 30 Dutch water organisations.
Business platform Southeast Asia
Countries in Southeast Asia and the Netherlands have worked together on water solutions for years. Recently, this cooperation has been strengthened by the launch of the ASEAN-5 Business platform. This platform stimulates knowledge exchange and interaction on multiple themes, one of which is water.
Dutch Resilience Hub
The Dutch Resilience Hub, brings together Dutch organisations in the private, public, knowledge, and NGO sectors doing work that directly or indirectly contributes to building resilience in cities, coastal communities, rural areas, and more. It brings together the Dutch resilience sector and connects with the international resilience community.
Watch the Dutch Resilience Hub Launch on YouTube.
NWP launches new pay-off
NWP proudly launched their new pay-off with a trailer that emphasizes the renewed strategy of the Netherlands Water Partnership. Water calls for a sustainable future. A future that is water driven, for business as well as society. To create positive opportunities for the planet and future generations we need to invest in transformative, integrated and inclusive solutions. We need to collaborate to turn threats into opportunities, and to translate research and market insights into breakthroughs and innovations.
IHE Delft and NWP sign MoU on Water Financing
IHE Delft Institute for Water and Education (IHE Delft) and the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) started their collaboration in 1999, when IHE Delft became a member of NWP. After more than 20 years of water cooperation, IHE Delft and NWP entered a new phase, sealed with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that focuses on the topic of Water Financing. Both organisations identify ‘Finance for Water’ as a strategic theme that is needed to develop more water projects worldwide and in so doing, contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water and sanitation. In this new MoU, IHE Delft and NWP seek to jointly bridge the gap between financiers and the water sector.
Sector makes the International Water Ambition tangible
The NIWA (Dutch International Water Ambition) was submitted to the House of Representatives in 2019. It is the joint vision of four ministries, compiled in consultation with the wider water sector. The NIWA is now entering its next phase: to create an action plan that makes the water ambition tangible. Guus Schutjes has been appointed Interim Programme Manager on behalf of the four ministries. To him, collaboration is key, and certainly now that NIWA’s work is becoming more tangible. “Everyone has to give and take.”
Egypt and the Netherlands reaffirm their water cooperation
The Netherlands and Egypt. Two delta countries with many differences as well as similarities. There are good reasons that these countries have worked together intensively in the field of water. This cooperation dates back to the 1970s. Egypt is also one of the delta countries that is supported within the framework of the Partners for Water Programme. With the outbreak of the coronavirus, for a while it seemed as if the collaboration would slow down. But online, activities have continued unabated. And now that a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in November 2020, everything is in place to continue the successful water cooperation between the countries.
SDG’s a national master plan for a sustainable restart
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) gives us the ultimate master plan to prevent or be more resilient to shocks such as the corona outbreak, says the Director of SDG Nederland, Maresa Oosterman.
SDG Nederland is a foundation that brings individuals and organisations together, catalyses joint action and creates synergy around the SDGs. SDG Nederland works closely with national SDG Alliances and is the point of contact for anyone who contributes or would like to contribute to the SDGs. The Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) coordinates the SDG 6 Alliance, a group of entities representing the Dutch water sector that work to strengthen the sector’s contribution towards SDG 6 – clean water and sanitation.
Valuing natural and human capitals
Transforming the way decisions are made by including the value provided by nature, people and society. That is what Capitals Coalition is all about. Since water is a key component of natural capital, and valuing water is a core belief of the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), becoming a strategic partner of this new entity was a logical step for NWP in 2020. Deputy Director Martin Lok underlines what added value the Capitals Coalition offers and how the Dutch Water Sector can benefit.
YEP: Young Expert Programmes
Adaptability appeared to be the key aspect in 2020 for participants of YEP Programmes as well as for the YEP programme bureau. Despite all the challenges and (unexpected) measures that came our way due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we still managed to turn 2020 into a great year for YEP: The new Programme (YEP Phase II) started, next to YEP Water and YEP Agrofood YEP Energy was launched as well to complete the nexus. A large number of Young Experts could start or continue their international career via YEP Programmes and the COVID-19 pandemic has been used as a catalyst for a lot of new (online) initiatives and improvements.