Day 2: Implementing change, a slippery fish

During the first hours of the symposium, they had quickly identified key-actions that would certainly bring sustainable development in the water sector a step further:

• Local actors’ participation as partners, not as “beneficiaries” to only “receive” pre-determined solutions;
• Local knowledge should be incorporated
• Education and training are crucial, at postgraduate level but also at primary as secondary level, as many children in developing countries don’t make it to tertiary education.
• Communicate better with policy makers and society is crucial
• Increase awareness about urgency of problems
• Involved everybody, ensure coordination and integration
• Appropriate solutions are best developed by the South.

  

These are a few recommendations, but, as many participants pointed out, it is not the first time they have heard them or discussed them. The key lies on how to really implement them. Change is a slippery fish. It is also paradoxical: wanted and/or needed, but also tremendously resisted. Mr. Konrad von Ritter, manager at the World’s Bank Department of Sustainable Development pointed during his presentation that development happens when there is enough pressure for change and this happens when there is a well-established institutional framework, leadership at the political and managerial level and a connection with economic growth.

This is a necessary foundation. Building up from here will face many other variables. Participants divided in discussion groups to assess and analyse how implementation should be brought down into the each of the sector players. M. Quassem, director general of Water resources planning at the Ministry of Water Resources of Indonesia, finds resistance as one of the most difficult issues he faces in his daily work. “Promoting people’s self initiative, breaking their dependence on Government subsidies and creating alternative incentives are our major challenges”, explained Quassem.

Networks where knowledge and information do flow were also found essential. Despite the countless networks and partnerships all over the world, it is still difficult to grab information on successful experiences and failed experiences to learn from, the latest providing even more useful information.

Building trust among various partners, who often have conflicting interests, is ardous, as well as overcoming recurrent lack of resources, be it financial or human. Creativity, an enabling integrated environment and developing capacity to develop solutions, arose as essential elements to swift people’s and institutions’ attitudes.