Water Track during Virtual Mission Southeast Asia
With a market of almost half a billion inhabitants combined, the ASEAN-5 is, after China and India, the biggest consumer market of the world. Dutch investments in this market are growing rapidly and exports are worth almost € 10 billion per year. The organisers of the virtual mission identified several sectors that could benefit from a more intensified cooperation. Water being one of them, including cross overs with agrifood and waste management. The mission was focused on Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
NWP organised a full virtual Water Track programme featuring Dutch water expertise relevant for the ASEAN region as part of the Virtual Mission to Southeast Asia from 12 October till 11 December 2020. The programme consisted of a kick-off and in-depth sessions on land subsidence and digital water. Over 30 Dutch organisations joined the Water Track. NWP Managing Director Bianca Nijhof was mission leader and moderated the kick-off.
Land subsidence
The kick-off of the Water Track was dedicated to land subsidence, a challenge both countries in Southeast Asia and the Netherlands face. Together with Dutch and international experts, this session looked at Nature Based Solutions and how this can offer relief. Gualbert Oude Essink of Deltares, one of the speakers, underlined the importance of the subject during the roundtable discussions. "If you stop ground water extraction now, you still have land subsidence. It can take 20 to 30 years to see subsidence slow down. That is why we have to act now. The decisions of today will determine the status of the delta tomorrow."
More inspiration was delivered by contributions of Cora van Nieuwenhuizen - Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management; Reinier Oost - Sensar projects; Dr. Tussanee Nettasana - Dept. of Groundwater Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand; Fokko van der Goot - EcoShape; Weny Sihombing – Witteveen+Bos and Isao Endo, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Bank. [ link naar opname]