Speech minister Schultz op het 10 Internationale congres van Wetsus ‘Value of Knowledge’

Toespraak | 30-09-2013

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome. It’s wonderful to see so many people from different countries here today. It shows that Wetsus has not only built up considerable knowledge over the past ten years, but also an extensive international knowledge network.

Your tenth anniversary means something personal to me. It was ten years ago that I took charge of water policy in the Netherlands, initially as state secretary.

It’s fascinating to look back on those ten years.

To me, one of the most striking changes is the Netherlands’ new attitude towards water.

Until around ten years ago, we focused a lot more on building against nature. We wanted to keep water out, contain it and drive it away.

But now we’re building a lot more with nature.

In the ‘Room for the River’ programme, we’re giving rivers more space at thirty locations in the Netherlands in order to protect five million people.

As nature intended, but in a carefully managed way. This brings down water levels and ensures that water flows to the sea more quickly.

Giving water the space it needs: that was a very difficult message to sell ten years ago. After all, we’d spent eight centuries fighting it.

The idea has now become more accepted at home, and other countries are showing interest too. Like the United States, where we’re working closely with the authorities in New York City to make the region more resistant to hurricanes like Sandy.

So, looking back on the past ten years, we can safely say that water is a dynamic resource.

And that means we need a constant supply of fresh knowledge. Not only technical knowledge, but also the ability to work together with other disciplines. The ability to welcome different solutions and combine diverse issues. Like spatial planning with flood protection, or water treatment with raw material recovery and power generation.

We really need institutes like Wetsus. Institutes that foster new knowledge and innovation.

Because, like me, you know that water still causes many problems for many people on a daily basis.

783 million people around the world have no access to clean drinking water.

2 billion people only have access to water from dubious sources.

But even in European countries clean water cannot be taken for granted.

Every day, new substances are being developed – substances that end up in our water system. And that means we need to use the latest methods for treating waste water and drinking water.

In my own low-lying country, too, flood protection and fresh water supplies are certainly not something we can take for granted.

That’s why we set up the Delta Programme.

Not only to protect us from flooding, but also to ensure we have enough fresh water and use it efficiently.

This demands serious investment. In these times of shrinking budgets, we need effective, affordable solutions. And for that I need your help.

My message to you, as representatives of international water technology, is that we are looking to you. The time is ripe for smarter and more innovative water policy.

We need people out there on the dykes and at the drawing board, but also in laboratories and classrooms.

We need people who can translate social issues into knowledge issues and innovative products.

And people who are prepared to look beyond the bounds of their own discipline. So I call on the water and delta technology sectors to join forces, and involve small and medium-sized enterprises in solutions as much as possible.

Looking back is easier than making predictions. But when I look around at all the advances in technology, I can see that the new age is only just dawning.

There are many promising initiatives that provide a glimpse of that new age.

Let me give you a few examples:

Like blue energy, where seawater is mixed with river water to generate power. A promising concept, in which Wetsus is also involved. This afternoon I’m visiting one of our major dams, the Barrier Dam, to look at a pilot project we’re going to carry out there.

There are also new concepts for treating domestic waste water, which brings me to another fine Wetsus project.

We currently use an awful lot of clean water to flush our toilets. But Wetsus has now developed a waterless model.

This will help us not only save water but also generate energy and recover phosphorous.

In fact, it’s such an interesting concept that we’re going to use this technology in our Ministry’s renovated office building on Rijnstraat in The Hague. I believe it’s our duty to set an example.

We want to work out a green deal to give this concept a push in the right direction.

Of course, ideas like these do not come out of the blue.

And I don’t believe you can buy them with subsidies either.

Government can steer things in the right direction. By consistently building good infrastructure, by bringing parties together and by conveying a sense of urgency.

Looking ahead, I see two things that are essential in this respect.

First, public-private partnerships, where government bodies, knowledge institutions and businesses join forces. In the Netherlands, we have designated a number of leading sectors for this purpose – water being one of them, of course.

I see Wetsus as a role model, with its network of 18 knowledge institutions – including eight based outside the Netherlands – and 95 companies – 17 of which are based abroad.

Wetsus also functions as a launch pad for new business. So far, it has given rise to 20 companies, like Capilix, Redstack and Dutch Rainmaker.

Also essential is international cooperation.

I travel abroad on a regular basis, but never without representatives from the business community. I know that our expertise is in great demand.

Seventy-seven per cent of all our water technology companies are active in other countries. And over a quarter of those generate 50 to 100 per cent of their revenues abroad.

It may seem like a contradiction, but selling our knowledge actually makes us smarter.

For example, Americans are learning from our knowledge of flood protection and spatial planning. And we can learn from their expertise in evacuation systems.

There’s still a lot to be gained from international cooperation. Other countries are increasingly looking for turnkey solutions: design – build – operate packages.

But on their own, Dutch companies are usually too small to meet this need. So let’s work together more. At European level too. Together we can gain a strong foothold in the global market.

Wetsus is the perfect example of an organisation that knows how to unite regional, national and European ambitions by uniting different disciplines.

So, we’re now ten years down the road.

I would like to congratulate Wetsus on everything it has achieved in that time.

An extensive network.

Best practices for applied scientific research.

A launch pad for young talent in the water industry.

Your ambition is clear: Wetsus wants to help Leeuwarden become the European capital of water technology by 2020.

And that’s an ambition I applaud.

You’ve got seven years to go! I wish you every success!

If you’ll permit me, there are a few things I’d like to add.

I said that new ideas and new knowledge don’t come out of the blue. But I haven’t yet mentioned the most important factor, and that is the human factor.

We need innovators. Trailblazers. The true pioneers at Wetsus are commercial director Johannes Boonstra and scientific director Cees Buisman.

Without them, Wetsus would not be where it is today.

I’d like in this scientific congress to shine a light on the work of scientific pioneer Cees Buisman.

He was the driving force behind the founding and expansion of Wetsus.

It was he who helped set up the Leeuwarden Water Campus.

Cees is the perfect ambassador, nationally and internationally, for the water industry as a leading sector.

He has injected new knowledge into water technology, with his ideas on blue energy and generating power from plants and urine.

And he knows exactly how to build bridges between knowledge and practice.

What’s more – and to me this is essential – as a professor he knows how to inspire young talent. Leeuwarden is attracting smart people from around the world. The figures speak for themselves: 25 PhD researchers so far and another 60 on the way.

Cees Buisman, for your many years of dedication and your vital contribution in all these areas, His Majesty the King delights in bestowing upon you the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands.

On behalf of the King, I’m honoured to pin on the insignia that symbolise this honour. May I ask you to come forward?