October 2024 - Water as Leverage Academy, pt. II

Image: © Embassy of the Netherlands Bangkok

In october 2024, we organized a two-day interactive “Water as Leverage” workshop as a follow-up to our first edition in July. Here are some highlights:

The first day consisted of interactive sessions jointly organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Thailand and Netherlands Enterprise Agency , in collaboration with the Office of National Water Resources of Thailand and the Royal Irrigation Department (RID). Water management projects in the lower Chaopraya River basin were used as a case study. The participants were welcomed by Remco Van Wijngaarden, the Netherlands Ambassador to Thailand and Mrs. Victoria Elema, Team Lead International Water Affairs of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands. The sessions were co-moderated by Kotchakorn Voraakhom, Naim Laeni and Stephanie Janssen. The interactive workshop underscored the importance of inclusivity in the early stages of project planning.

The second day was organized at the RID Training Center, elaborating on co-creation of adaptive pathways using Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Local and international financiers such as the The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Climate Finance Network Thailand (CFNT) were enthusiastically sharing their perspectives and experiences of NbS project financing. 

Stay tuned for the next Water as Leverage Academy where technology and scientific studies will be matched with potential design solutions. If you are interested in exploring the WaL approach, please contact the Netherlands Embassy.

Thank you to all contributors for the inspiring sessions:

Robert Proos, Monica Velasco B., Stephanie Janssen, Kotchakorn Voraakhom, Naim Laeni, Sanjay Pahuja, Geoffrey Wilson, the Office of National Water Resources (ONWR), Royal Irrigation Department (RID), Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE), Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), Phitsanulok Municipality, Department of Public Works Town and Country Planning (DPT), Alwin Commandeur - Royal HaskoningDHV, Harrie Laborie - Delta Context B.V., Thom Bogaard – Delft University of Technology, Rijkswaterstaat, Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) | Partner in Sustainable Development, Deltares, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Sucharit Koontanakulvong and Pongsak Suttinon.