Special Water Envoy: Key Projects
In addition to many different activities, the Water Envoy, together with partners, also works on the following keyprojects.
Water as Leverage for resiliant Cities Asia
On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Special Envoy for International Water Affairs and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency have taken on the challenge of addressing water crises in urban areas. The Water as Leverage for Resilient Cities Asia programme is collaborating with the cities of Chennai (India), Khulna (Bangladesh) and Semarang (Indonesia) to tackle urban water-related challenges in an innovative and inclusive way. The programme invited international multidisciplinary teams to develop innovative, bankable and implementable design proposals in close collaboration with local and regional partners, IFI’s, NGOs and UN Agencies. The ultimate goal is implementation. Together with international partners, it is currently being explored whether WaL 2.0 can be implemented in other regions and cities of the world.
The Geography of Future Water Challenges
With the support of the three Dutch Ministries — the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Special Envoy for International Water Affairs also initiated The geography of future water challenges which involves research led by PBL, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The aim was to use the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to produce a global overview of development scenarios and pathways forward. The report (book and website) highlights the urgent need for an integrated approach to limiting climate and water related risks. Follow-up research in the next few years, supported by the Water Envoy, will demonstrate how these challenges can be translated into concrete changes and actions, and how these will progress the SDGs’ sustainability agenda.
The World Water Atlas
The World Water Atlas is an initiative of the Special Water Envoy and is part of the action plan of the UN/World Bank High Level Panel on Water. It has created a platform where states can share and exchange lessons and good practice in addressing water-related disasters and translate them into solutions that can be promoted globally. The first version of the World Water Atlas was launched at a meeting of the UN/World Bank High Level Panel on Water on International World Water Day on 22 March 2018 in New York. The second edition of the WWA will be launched at the Shenzhen Design Week in the summer of 2020.