Toespraak van minister Schultz van Haegen bij de UNSGAB Meeting (Ministerial Dialogue)

Toespraak | 02-06-2014

Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It’s a great pleasure to take part in today’s conversation.

And it’s an even greater pleasure to be part of UNSGAB today.
UNSGAB has a history of Dutch involvement:
When he was still Crown Prince, our King chaired your board with great enthusiasm.
We have always held your work in very high regard.

Right now, the American state of California experiences its third driest year on record. And right now, the European countries of Bosnia and Serbia are recovering from extreme rainfall and terrible floods. We know others will follow. So we cannot let this moment pass.

I would like to share with you our focus, when it comes to the global water agenda.
A focus that some call ‘The Dutch Approach’.

It starts with the view that everywhere on Earth, water is a complex system.
Its proper management requires prevention, partnership and good governance.
And we look at the world from that perspective.

First, we focus on prevention.
By making water an increasingly important element of spatial and urban development.
So where necessary we give water more space.

Then our focus turns to partnership and good governance:
partnership between government, the private sector and citizens.

But also between different levels of government: cities, provinces, our regional water boards and the national government.

We’re currently working on a new Delta Programme, aiming to make our country safe for generations to come.
It’s financed from a special government fund.
And it’s led by a special government commissioner, ensuring cooperation between all the parties involved.
This autumn I will be deciding on our new water policy for the next fifty years.

Thanks to our history, water is ingrained in our national consciousness.
And it is very much a nationwide priority.
But we need to keep it that way.
Thanks to an excellent advisory report by the OECD we are currently improving three aspects of our water policy:
First, public awareness and support;
Second, transparency about water-related expenses;
Third, optimising our systems of organisation and funding.

We are eager to share both our challenges and our knowledge with others.
For example, The Netherlands has a long had ties with Singapore in the field of innovative water technology and land use, because we face the same challenges.

Dutch water expertise is in demand.
Dutch experts are involved in the rebuilding effort after hurricane Sandy in the New York region (in the United States).
They were the first to be flown in when the United Kingdom suffered from floods last winter.
And in the coming days I will be visiting Myanmar, with which we’re also working closely on delta issues.

We know we can only make a difference by working together.
That is why we are actively taking part in international organisations, from UNSGAB and UN Water to projects run by the OECD and the World Bank.
And from collaboration within the European Union to involvement in projects with the Asian Development Bank.

It’s my personal mission to make Dutch knowledge available as quickly and as widely as possible.
So we’re currently working on two new international initiatives.

The first is the Dutch Risk Reduction Team.
This is a team of Dutch water experts who stand ready to advise governments on urgent water issues like flood risks, water pollution and water supply, to prevent disasters or to rebuild after disasters.

I see this team as a Dutch contribution to a worldwide effort.
And I hope it can play a role in the coming UN framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
So I look forward to cooperating with Secretary General’s Special Envoy on this issue, Dr. Han Seung-soo.
Who is of course also our chairman at HELP.

The second initiative is a global platform on Water Security and Resilience.
Our aim is a strong coalition of partners sharing a worldwide responsibility.
We invite countries, international organisations, cities and other stakeholders to join in a global effort.
An effort which focuses on preventive action, long-term solutions, good governance and innovative financing.

And we hope that it will be instrumental in helping us both set and achieve a Sustainable Development Goal on Water in the future.
In this way The Netherlands seeks to be a leader in the world of water and sustainability.

Because we can never take our safety, security and prosperity for granted.
We can never afford to relax our efforts.
What’s more, we strongly believe that safety, security and prosperity shouldn’t just be a national affair.
It is our responsibility to join hands and to actively work towards a world where water works for us and not against us.
A world that is safer and more prosperous, not despite water, but of because of it.

That is why I was honoured to chair last week’s HELP meeting in Rotterdam.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We know that the world will face more floods, droughts and storms in the future.
We don’t know exactly when or where.
But we know they’ll come.

Right now, the American state of California experiences its third driest year on record.
And right now, the European countries of Bosnia and Serbia are recovering from extreme rainfall and terrible floods.

We know others will follow.
So we cannot let this moment pass.
We need to act now.

Thank you very much.