Taking collaboration to the next level
"In Chile, I had the opportunity to give the keynote speech during the annual meeting at Acción Empresas, the counterpart of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development. Climate change adaptation was the central theme. There, I once again clearly conveyed the Dutch message: water connects, but only if you do it together. During lunch, we wasted no time talking to a few of the largest companies about what they can do and what they need to be able to do it. I showed them that water can threaten their continuity as a business and that they can change from a water user to a water supplier."
"In Chile, the main idea that we shared back and forth was that one must implement changes fast: set up pilots, see what happens in reality, learn and then scale up. Because, if you first work everything out to the last detail, you'll be too late. And, when you test, do it in a flexible and adaptive way, so you can fine-tune along the way. I think the mission has contributed to the possibility of taking the Dutch-Chilean collaboration to the next level. The political commitment is serious, and they have given us the green light."
After his mission to Chile, Henk Ovink flew to Lima, Peru, at the government's request, to follow up on his visit last year and to provide advice for the rebuilding after the flooding. He also discussed the collaboration in the High Level Panel on Water with a Valuing Water-pilot.