ihe delft and the sustainable development goals · 2017-09-04 · a leadership role in local...

IHE Delft and the Sustainable Development Goals

IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (formerly UNESCO-IHE) is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world and is based in Delft, The Netherlands. The Institute confers fully accredited MSc degrees and PhD degrees in collaboration with partners. Since 1957 the Institute has provided graduate education to more than 15,000 water professionals from over 162 countries, the vast majority from the developing world.

The mission of IHE Delft is to contribute to the education and training of professionals, to expand the knowledge base through research and to build the capacity of sector organizations, knowledge centres and other institutions active in the fields of water, the environment and infrastructure in developing countries and countries in transition.

IHE Delft Institute for Water Education

PO Box 30152601 DA DelftThe Netherlands

+31 15 215 [email protected]

www.un-ihe.org

Equipping people and organizations to solve water and development challenges worldwide, contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Dear Reader,

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are important and ambitious goals that keep us at IHE Delft focused on our role in addressing water and development challenges.

In this brochure you can find more information about a selection of activities which demonstrate how we are contributing to the SDGs. As a Water Education Institute providing training, research and capacity development in water-related topics, one of our most important goals is ‘Clean water and sanitation’. However, water cannot be seen in isolation and is often a precondition for other goals. Therefore, together with our partners, we are also contributing to other SDGs, such as: Zero hunger, Gender equality, Affordable and clean energy, and Sustainable cities and communities, among others.

By introducing new monitoring techniques and developing innovative solutions, we will help to achieve ambitious goals such as a 25% increase in water productivity by 2030. IHE Delft’s main focus as we approach 2030 will be to further strengthen the connections between our different project activities. We will do this by emphasizing our inter- and transdisciplinary approach in all our activities.

We are looking forward to doing this together with our partners and we hope that after reading this brochure you will become even more interested in joining forces to achieve the challenging SDGs.

Professor Eddy MoorsRector

Investing in land and water: turning climate-finance mechanisms into tools for cooperation

IHE Delft and our project partners believe that investments made under climate-finance mechanisms can potentially contribute to local development and poverty reduction. We are investigating the implications of different approaches for benefit sharing within climate-financing projects for various groups of stakeholders. This programme focuses on access to natural resources (e.g. land, water, forest) at national, regional and local levels. Our goal is to systematically analyse the extent and causes of conflicts in climate-financed projects and the embedding of conflicts in the broader institutional and policy context. Our team is assessing the sources of conflicts and analysing the workings of climate-finance mechanisms that hamper collaborative outcomes. In doing so, we are producing empirical evidence on the dynamics of cooperation and conflict in climate financed projects. We are analysing possible causes and providing recommendations to avoid conflicts and enhance collaborative outcomes.

Donor: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)Lead partner: IHE Delft

Water resources management policy for sustainable agricultural development and environmental protection, Colombia

Together with water management agencies, communities, and partner knowledge institutes and universities, IHE Delft is developing the scientific evidence base that is needed for the implementation of sustainable water resources planning and policy in Colombia. Our research focus is on developing and validating methods for characterizing available water resources. We can then look at how these resources are used within the context of the relevant policies in making decisions that contribute to the equitable and sustainable use of water resources and the protection of recharge areas and ecologically important areas, such as wetlands.

Donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the NetherlandsLead partner: IHE Delft

Arid African alluvial aquifers labs securing water for development

IHE Delft is working with young farmers and partners to create a reliable and sustainable source of water for agriculture in three semi-arid to arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, using water from sandy beds of seasonal rivers – a form of nature-based storage. This action research is testing and co-developing methodologies and seeking ways to upscale them to river basins, while minimizing negative social and ecological consequences. We are doing this at experimental sites (‘living labs’) in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Smallholder farmers, practitioners, agricultural extension officers, water engineers and students are testing new approaches of accessing and using shallow groundwater. In addition, we are evaluating the hydrological, social and economic effects and impacts. Ultimately, we aim to transform the lives of young farmers in (semi-) arid Africa.


Strengthening the Cuban food production and aquaculture sector

Through the project REAL (Recuperación para la Alimentación), IHE Delft is working to strengthen the Cuban food production and aquaculture sector. By implementing cleaner production activities at local food processing plants, we can determine the potential for resource optimization, emission reduction and resource recovery from generated waste streams. In addition, we aim to maximize fish production by applying an environmentally-friendly compact, closed recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) as well as assessing the feasibility of producing fish feed with recovered waste from the food industry. Moreover, we are also improving the performance of wastewater treatment plants from the food industry by maximizing the recovery of resources for their further reuse and reclamation in agriculture and the food production sector. Ultimately, our efforts will strengthen the capabilities of end users, local farmers and fish farmers, and Cuban professionals from the food industry towards resource recovery for food production and environmental preservation.

Donor: European CommissionLead partner: IHE Delft

2.3B y 2030, double the agricultural

produc ti v it y and incomes of

small -sc ale food producers, in

par ticular women, indigenous

peoples, famil y farmers,

pastoralists and f ishers,

including through secure and

equal access to land, other

prod uc ti ve resources and

inpu ts, k now ledge, f inancial

ser v ices, markets and

oppor tunities for value addition

and non -farm employ ment.

2.4B y 2030, ensure sust ainable

food produc tion systems and

implement resilient agricultural

prac tices that increase

produc ti v it y and produc tion,

that help maint ain ecosystems,

that strengthen c apacit y for

adap t ation to climate change,

ex treme weather, drought,

f looding and other disasters and

that progressi vel y improve land

and soil qualit y.

Women and water in communities for change in Sub-Saharan Africa

Empowering women to take a leadership role in local sustainable use of water, water-related natural resources and public health is the main goal of this IHE Delft project. Working together with local communities in Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, we are implementing targeted training of a small number of women to enable a much greater number in their communities and beyond to benefit through knowledge and skill transfer. The project is supporting these women in identifying new approaches to water management, public health and entrepreneurship. We are paying specific attention to local monitoring and how the ICT-based monitoring of water and other natural resources can inform decision-making at the local level. We are linking this to identifying economic opportunities in order to improve value chains. Our ‘bottom-up’ approach to water management is raising important questions related to the scale at which external intervention and support is most effective.

Donor: The Coca-Cola FoundationLead partner: IHE Delft

Accounting for Nile waters: connecting investments in large-scale irrigation to gendered reallocations of water and labour

Water accounting tracks sets of indicators and presents data in a number of standard reporting sheets. Through the Accounting for Nile Waters project, IHE Delft is making water accounting contextually relevant by including social, gender and ecological dimensions. The goal is to understand how new irrigation projects along the Nile in Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt are re-configuring gendered labour and tenure relations, and what this means for equity and sustainability. By experimenting with different theories and methodologies of representing river basin development experiences (e.g. remote sensing, storytelling, photo voice), we are bringing into the conversation common and less common perspectives on the rapid transformation of water distribution of the Nile river and the differences between its users, male and female, subsistence and commercial farmers and farm workers. In this way we are opening up debates between policy makers, water professionals, students and others interested in socio-economic developments in the Nile basin. The Nile Water Lab website visualizes the rearrangements of Nile water flows.

Donor: CGIARLead partner: IHE Delft

www.nilewaterlab.org

Improving governance of drinking water quality in Mozambique

Securing a safe and sufficient water supply is a major challenge for delta cities in Mozambique. This interdisciplinary research project is focusing on drinking water quality in the centralized water supply network of the capital city, Maputo. We are combining qualitative analysis of historical processes and political transformations that have shaped water service configurations in the city with the physical, chemical and microbiological transformations of drinking water quality flowing through the centralized water supply network. Moreover, we are using a combination of aerial images and water quality sampling to explore the spatial distribution of health risks linked to drinking water supply across urban spaces. With this information, we are enhancing our understanding of how differences in drinking water quality are produced. These insights will inform policies for improved drinking water quality for all city residents, including the urban poor.

Donor: The Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment of the NetherlandsLead partner: IHE Delft

Water Safety Plans: meeting the WHO guidelines through the implementation of risk management strategies in Suriname

Suriname has a total of 60 water supply systems. The Suriname Water Company is currently in charge of operating 33 water supply systems in the coastal area, eventually taking responsibility for the whole coastal area by 2024. IHE Delft is supporting this utility by implementing Water Safety Plans through two training programmes. A Water Safety Plan is a risk assessment and risk management framework developed by the World Health Organization. This approach encompasses all the steps in water supply from catchment to consumers in order to ensure the safety of drinking water. A Water Safety Plan typically consists of 11 steps, including a system description, identification of hazards and hazardous events that can affect the safety of the water supply, assessment of the corresponding risks, validation of the control measures in place, definition of an improvement plan and a demonstration that the system is consistently safe.

Donor: The Netherlands Organisation for Internationalisation in Education (Nuffic)Lead partner: IHE Delft

5.5B y 2030, double the agricultural

produc ti v it y and incomes of

small -sc ale food producers, in

par ticular women, indigenous

peoples, famil y farmers,

pastoralists and f ishers,

including through secure and

equal access to land, other

prod uc ti ve resources and

inpu ts, k now ledge, f inancial

ser v ices, markets and

oppor tunities for value addition

and non -farm employ ment.

6.1B y 2030, achieve uni versal and

equit able access to safe and

af fordable drink ing water for all.

6.2B y 2030, achieve access

to adequate and equit able

sanit ation and hygiene for all

and end open defec ation, pay ing

special at tention to the needs

of women and girls and those in

v ulnerable situations.

Stimulating local innovation on sanitation for the urban poor

Together with partners from developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and South America, IHE Delft led this five-year capacity building and research initiative with two objectives: to stimulate local innovation on sanitation for the urban poor through research, and to strengthen the sanitation sector in developing countries through education and training. The direct beneficiaries of the project are individuals and academic institutions that stimulate local innovations on sanitation for the ultimate recipients, the urban poor. Through their work the team increased the number of adequately trained sanitation professionals and provided research possibilities, education and training for the new generation of ‘all-round’ sanitary engineers. They also made (post-graduate) education in sanitary engineering more accessible to individuals from developing countries and further strengthened the pro-poor sanitation component at the academic institutions involved.

Donor: The Bill and Melinda Gates FoundationLead partner: IHE Delft

http://pro-poor-sanitation-innovations.un-ihe.org

Water supply and sanitation in small towns: the urban rural intersection in Sub-Saharan Africa

When it comes to water supply and sanitation, practice and research have traditionally focused either on urban centres or on rural areas. Areas in transition, such as small towns, have been borrowing well-established rural or urban models. Unfortunately, the design of these models does not take into account the specific needs and challenges, or the opportunities present in small towns. This can explain why rapidly growing small towns often have difficulty in expanding water and sanitation service expansion at the required pace. In order to address this challenge, an interdisciplinary team of researchers and practitioners at IHE Delft is supporting the development of alternative fit-for-use models for small towns in Uganda and Mozambique.


http://small.un-ihe.org

Mobile microwave-based reactor unit for on-site faecal sludge treatment

In refugee camps and cities with a high influx of refugees, heavy usage of onsite sanitation facilities results in rapid accumulation of large amounts of fresh faecal sludge (FS) in pit latrines which should be frequently and safely disposed of. FS contains large amounts of pathogens, which should be reduced to safe levels in order to minimize public health risks. At IHE Delft, we are working on the ‘Sludge killer’, a novel pilot scale MicroWave (MW) irradiation system for FS treatment that can be rapidly deployed in emergency situations and is effective under challenging physical conditions. It is very efficient in pathogen kill-off due to its unique rapid heating whilst it is also promising for FS drying. Together with Tehnobiro from Slovenia we have optimized the pilot version of the Sludge killer, and applied it in Jordan, which has received a large number of Syrian refugees. The German Jordanian University is carrying out experiments with solar energy as the source of energy for the Sludge killer.


http://microwave-based-faecalsludge-treatment.un-ihe.org

eSOS smart toilet and novel emergency sanitation concept

IHE Delft has developed the emergency Sanitation Operation System (eSOS) toilet, which is a sustainable, holistic and affordable sanitation solution to be utilized during the aftermath of a disaster. The eSOS reinvents (emergency) toilet and treatment facilities, and uses ICT to bring cost savings to the entire sanitation management chain. These toilets are easily deployable in disaster areas because of their robust and light-weight specifications. Some unique features include remote-sensing monitoring, an energy supply unit, a GSM/ GPS sensor/card, occupancy sensors, a urine/faeces accumulation sensor, an S.O.S. button and a communication system transmitting data to an emergency coordination centre. The goal of the eSOS is to improve the quality of life of those in need during emergency situations and to minimize the threat to the public health of the most vulnerable members of society.

Donor: The Bill and Melinda Gates FoundationLead partner: IHE Delft

6.3B y 2030, improve water

qualit y by reducing pollution,

eliminating dumping and

minimizing release of hazardous

chemic als and materials,

hal v ing the propor tion of

un treated wastewater and

subst an tiall y increasing

recycling and safe reuse

globall y.

6.4B y 2030, subst antiall y increase

water- use ef f iciency across all

sec tors and ensure sust ainable

w ithdrawals and suppl y of

freshwater to address water

sc arcit y and substantiall y

reduce the number of people

suf fering from water sc arcit y.

From conflict to cooperation on wastewater management in the Kidron/Al-Nar basin

The disposal of untreated wastewater into the Kidron/Al-Nar stream in Israel is causing serious environmental and public health hazards. Solving the problem requires cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian authorities, which has so far not led to the establishment of a wastewater treatment plant. The location, operational responsibility and ownership of the assets and treated water are issues that are slowing down this process. Until a regional solution is found, IHE Delft is focusing on decentralized community-based systems for wastewater treatment and reuse that are feasible and flexible, and independent of cross-border cooperation. Based on three case studies, we are developing an approach which includes decentralized solutions within a basin-wide management strategy. A mix of local stakeholders, academics of the participating organizations and sector representatives are driving this process. Ultimately, this may lead to the alignment of activities in the two countries and to a reduction of both environmental and public health hazards and an improvement in the quality of life.


Environmental technologies for contaminated solids, soils and sediments

The University of Cassino (Italy), the University of Paris-Est (France) and IHE Delft have developed this joint doctoral programme that facilitates education and research at a PhD level, and trains doctoral candidates to think globally and collaborate in multidisciplinary research teams. The programme is centred around three key topics in environmental pollution: heavy metals, recalcitrant organic pollutants, and contaminated solids. The focus is on fundamental and applied aspects to treat and remove these pollutants as well as on the development of recovery and reuse technologies with market potential. The PhD research is closely connected to practical problems, for example hot spots in the Balkans, brown fields in the Czech Republic and sediments and soils polluted by mining activities in Minas Gerais (Brazil).

Donor: European CommissionLead partner: University of Cassino

Assessment of the consequences and sustainability of possible increases in water productivity

Crop water productivity is an indicator of the efficient use of water by the agricultural sector. Monitoring water productivity using remote sensing data is made possible by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) water productivity database (WaPOR). This is combined with water accounting - a methodology of measuring-reporting-verification for quantifying water flows at a river basin level. Water accounting by remote sensing provides insight into the physical volumes and flows of water for different land-use classes. This information can be used to detect particular trends in these flows. IHE Delft is assisting member countries of FAO in monitoring water productivity, identifying water productivity gaps, proposing solutions to reduce these gaps and contributing to a sustainable increase of agricultural production, while taking into account ecosystems and the equitable use of water resources.

Donor: Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)Lead partner: IHE Delft

Evaluating scarcity and abundance in groundwater resources due to climatic extremes in Colombia

Trapped between two high mountain ranges of the Andes, the Colombian province of Valle del Cauca is economically important, largely due to the cultivation of sugarcane. To guarantee a harvest even in dry periods, farmers drill wells on their lands to ensure sufficient water for their crops. The local water board Corporación Autónoma Regional del Valle del Cauca (CVC) wants to improve its understanding of the water system and the impact of new water abstractions on existing water supplies and the environment in order to make informed decisions on permissions to drill new wells. IHE Delft is helping to answer two questions: what are the consequences for the water balance and the surrounding wells if another well is drilled? And what will happen with the groundwater levels if the climate changes? On the basis of the results of this research, CVC can manage the water resources in Valle del Cauca more responsibly and in a climate-smart way.

Donor: Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO)Lead partner: Deltares

Sustainable freshwater supply in urbanizing Maputo

The capital city of Mozambique, Maputo, is facing critical freshwater shortages which will only increase in the coming years with additional water demands upstream of Maputo’s water source and the impacts of climate change. This already led to a severe urban water crisis in 2016, with resultant cholera outbreaks linked to intermittent water services and poor water quality. Water reclamation, the reuse of treated wastewater for both peri-urban agricultural production and industrial use, would alleviate the demand for freshwater, but how this solution could be adopted institutionally, technically, and socially, is not well understood. In addition, the impact of this solution on access to water, access to sanitation services and water-related risks remains a key concern. IHE Delft is working with Mozambican PhD researchers from both social and applied engineering sciences to better understand the technological potentials, institutional configurations, and social relations of power shaping opportunities for water reclamation.

Donor: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)Lead partner: TU Delft

https://sustainablewatermz.weblog.tudelft.nl

Visualizing aquifers: sustainable water use in the Atacama Desert and beyond, Chile

Billions of people rely on aquifers for their everyday existence. The invisibility of groundwater, however, poses formidable challenges for those who rely on them. Locating, measuring and controlling aquifers is complex and precarious, yet crucial in many parts of the world. Building on transdisciplinary studies that consider water as the contested nexus of social and political affairs, IHE Delft is exploring groundwater as both mediating and generating diverse ‘groundwater practices’: as an invisible resource, groundwater requires visualization; as an underground supply, it calls for innovative extractive techniques; as a finite good, groundwater needs to be regulated and controlled; and as a practical everyday resource, it sustains irrigation, sanitation, and human consumption. Through ethnographic fieldwork in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile, we are developing an analytical framework in order to understand how social relations are affected by various groundwater practices and to explore what effects the visualization of aquifers has on socio-economic and eco-political inequalities.


6.5B y 2030, implement integrated

water resources management

at all levels, including through

transboundar y cooperation as

appropriate.

Mau Mara Serengeti Sustainable Water Initiative

Together with local and international partners, IHE Delft is working on improving water safety and security in Kenya’s Mara River Basin. We are supporting the people and institutions in the basin in a process of structural change, by promoting water-wise economic development that lifts people out of poverty and sets them on a sustainable development path to improved well-being and self-reliance. Our approach includes activities to strengthen the capacity of water authorities to implement effective strategies and plans as well as supporting the protection and restoration of forest and rangeland ecosystems. We are also identifying and piloting new and more sustainable forms of economic activities, and increasing and stabilizing the financial resources needed to support the transformation towards sustainable development. The ultimate goal is that the Mau Mara Serengeti Sustainable Water Initiative will serve as a model of sustainability for surrounding basins, with transferable tools and approaches.

Donor: Embassy of the Netherlands in KenyaLead partner: IHE Delft

www.mamase.org

In search of sustainable catchments and basin-wide solidarities in the Blue Nile Basin

The water users in a river basin are linked through the water flow, yet this link is not often institutionalized. This may lead to sub-optimal river management, as certain interventions in upstream tributaries with positive impacts downstream may not be economically feasible if considered in isolation. IHE Delft has collaborated with Ethiopian and Sudanese knowledge institutions with the aim of quantifying the positive and negative environmental and socio-economic impacts of improved land management practices. We have assessed to what extent positive externalities between up-and downstream areas exist and whether these can increase the willingness to invest in sustainable practices and catchment-wide solidarities, and thus form the basis for sustainable integrated river basin management. This collaboration between Ethiopian, Sudanese and Dutch students, researchers and knowledge institutes concerning hydrology and river basin management has culminated in two regional conferences and strengthened the mutual understanding and solidarity between the countries riparian to the Blue Nile basin.


http://blue-nile-hydrosolidarity.un-ihe.org

Preventive diplomacy for transboundary water management in Central Asia

In 2014 and 2016 IHE Delft led two workshops on preventive diplomacy for transboundary water management focusing on the Central Asia region. Officials and representatives from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan participated in the workshops. They centred around legal and policy approaches to water governance, including legal frameworks at an international level, policymaking based on regional scenario modelling and negotiation skills. This training was used as a starting point for a long-term reflection on water governance opportunities for the region and as a basis for designing future capacity-building activities to support regional transboundary water cooperation.

Donor: Rotary (Dutch clubs) Lead partner: IHE Delft

Media science and water diplomacy in the Nile Basin (and beyond)

The Nile - particularly the Blue Nile shared by Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia - is among the international rivers usually described as on the verge of a ‘water war’ because of competing claims and concurrent projects of water exploitation by the riparian countries. Open Water Diplomacy Lab aims at reversing this narrative by boosting the role of science and communication as a catalyst for cooperation and peace. Through this project, IHE Delft is studying the role of the media and science in transboundary water negotiations, and is building the capacity of journalists and researchers on water science communication. Journalists and researchers from different Nile basin countries are being trained together; they are supported to communicate technical and scientific issues in a way that facilitates mutual understanding between riparian countries and promotes the integrated management of Nile waters at different scales – local, national and transboundary.


Desalination, diplomacy and water reuse in the Middle East

To address water scarcity caused by an increasing population, refugee influx and climate change, Jordan is tapping into resources such as seawater and brackish groundwater and maximizing wastewater reuse in agriculture. In order to support this, IHE Delft is developing training courses at two universities and at the local Water Authority. The Red Sea Dead Sea project includes the first seawater desalination plant in Jordan, that will desalinate 100 million cubic meters annually, to be shared with Israel and the Palestinian Territories. We are developing training courses in capacity building, supplemented by water quality monitoring studies, which will help reduce chemical and energy consumption of the plant. In addition, we are designing courses on diplomacy, which focus on potential conflicts, negotiation and conflict transformation skills. As the existing brackish groundwater desalination plants have a short lifetime because of technical issues, a toolbox of practical measures will be developed to increase water availability from these installations.

Donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the NetherlandsLead Partner: IHE Delft

6.6B y 2020, protec t and restore

water- related ecosystems,

including mount ains, forests,

wetlands, ri vers, aquifers and

lakes.

Nile ecosystems valuation for wise use

In the Nile basin there is currently a knowledge gap as to how the values of wetlands are perceived, the tools to estimate those values and the role of communities therein. IHE Delft is addressing this gap by developing and testing integrated tools for ecosystem services, valuation and land assessment which support local and regional understanding and decision-making for wetland management. Our methods include developing a set of economic valuation tools for decision analysis, guidelines for ecosystems and wetlands valuation in the Nile basin, as well as training and capacity development manuals and toolkits. The result is enhanced research capacity of the professionals using ecosystems valuation tools, improved decision-making by local authorities and improved practices of local communities in using ecosystems services.

Donor: CGIARLead partner: NBCBN

Eco-hydrological multiscale thermal monitoring and validation of water and energy fluxes in freshwater wetlands

Freshwater wetland ecosystems are important for many ecosystem services. An improved understanding of the complex interaction between soil, vegetation and atmosphere in freshwater wetland ecosystems is necessary in order to develop a conservation and management strategy to deal with climate change. The monitoring of freshwater wetland ecosystems is currently hampered by the lack of in-situ monitoring networks and consistent remote sensing time series. IHE Delft and our partners are integrating thermal infrared remote-sensing data from various sensors in land surface energy balance models with distributed hydrological models. Validation will be carried out against in-situ eddy covariance and other field measurements at various wetland sites in Belgium and Poland. We aim to deliver consistent estimates of these variables at multiple spatial scales over different freshwater wetlands.

Donor: Belgian Federal Public Planning ServiceLead partner: Free University of Brussels

Institutional strengthening

• A thriving research environment for PhD fellows in the International Graduate school for Water and Development

• Giving water users access to demand-driven research outcomes

Research

• MSc programmes for mid-career professionals from Africa, Asia and Latin America

• Innovative education methods for top students, for example the new 12-month MSc programme on non-sewered sanitation

• Short and online courses for water practitioners

• Refresher courses in the region for alumni as part of their life-long learning experience

• Training university staff and water utility professionals in 26 NICHE projects in 13 different countries

• Supporting regional networks to strengthen local government authorities and decision makers

• Giving tailor-made advice and training for technical workers and government officials

• Introducing innovative learning methods such as serious gaming to farmers, river basin authorities, etc.

Education

Capacity development

IHE Delft’s mission is to increase the capacity of people and organizations, to identify and solve their water-related problems over time. We do this by offering graduate education programmes, short and online courses and tailor-made training. In addition, we perform demand-driven research activities and carry out numerous institutional-strengthening projects to increase the capacity of local governments and decision makers in developing countries.

6aB y 2030, ex pand international

cooperation and c apacit y-

building suppor t to developing

countries in water- and

sanit ation - related ac ti v ities

and programmes, including

water har vesting, desalination,

water ef f iciency, wastewater

treatmen t, recycling and reuse

technologies.

6bSuppor t and strengthen

the par ticipation of loc al

comm unities in improv ing water

and s anit ation managemen t.

7.2B y 2030, increase subst antiall y

the share of renewable energ y in

the global energ y mi x .

Human-sensed data and citizen engagement

Citizen participation in environmental policymaking is still in its infancy, yet many citizens, both as individuals and as groups, often feel disengaged from influencing environmental policies. IHE Delft has been involved in multiple projects aimed at improving citizen engagement through citizen-based monitoring of their environment. With Ground Truth 2.0 we are developing six citizen observatories in real operational conditions, both in the EU and in Africa using an innovative socio-technical co-design approach. With WeSenseIt we defined a framework in which citizens cooperate with authorities in sharing collective intelligence which supports a shared situation awareness. A third project, SCENT, enables citizens to become the ‘eyes’ of the policymakers by monitoring land use changes in their everyday activities. We are combining smart collaborative technologies, including low-cost and portable data collection tools, serious gaming applications for large-scale image collection, a powerful machine-learning engine, models for mapping land-cover changes to quantify impact of flood risks, and a harmonization platform.

Donor: European CommissionLead partners: SCENT: The Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS); WeSentelt: University of Sheffield;Ground Truth 2.0: IHE Delft

www.scent-project.euwww.wesenseit.euwww.gt20.eu

Africa-EU Innovation Alliance for Water and Climate (AfriAlliance)

Africa needs innovative solutions for tackling water and climate change-related challenges, yet many parts of Africa are suffering from the lack of water-related skills and capacity as well as institutional fragmentation. IHE Delft, in collaboration with the 15 AfriAlliance partners from Africa and the EU, is helping to better prepare Africa for future climate change challenges by having African and European stakeholders work together in the areas of water innovation, research, policy and capacity development. Rather than creating new networks, the partners will consolidate existing ones into an effective, problem-focused knowledge sharing mechanism. AfriAlliance supports existing networks in identifying appropriate social innovation and technological solutions for key water and climate change challenges. We are capitalizing on the knowledge, innovation base and potential in Africa and the EU. An effective means of knowledge sharing and technology transfer both within Africa and between Africa and the EU is increasing African preparedness to address water and climate change-related challenges.


www.afrialliance.org

Sustainable hydropower and multipurpose storage to meet the water, food and energy SDGs

Water storage to stabilize water resource availability is necessary to increase water, food and energy security, reduce hazards, and adapt to climate change. Regulation of water resources using dams and reservoirs played a major role in the socio-economic development of northern countries during the 20th century, but practices of the time often led to undesired environmental and social impacts. We are investigating and demonstrating improved approaches to sustainable multipurpose storage, including both grey and green water storage by developing and testing decision-support tools that have the potential to make a measurable impact on sustainable development. Development outcomes include improved catchment management for water, food, and energy security that is socially and environmentally sustainable and contributes directly to the 2030 Development Agenda.


Operational research for integrated approaches to planning and developing hydro-power and river diversion projects in Nepal

As a mountainous country in the Himalaya region, Nepal faces unique challenges and it has been identified as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, with 1.9 million Nepalese being highly vulnerable to climate change. Yet, the country is described as a climate change ‘white spot’ because of lack of climate data. IHE Delft has developed a framework of basin-wide economic, social and environmental planning in relation to hydropower, irrigation, flood management, water supplies, catchments and fisheries. It presents possible strategies and identifies practical approaches to move towards the integrated and holistic planning of water resources while at the same time allowing for the development of priority projects that address present issues as well as climate adaptation.

Donor: Asian Development BankLead partner: IHE Delft

11.1B y 2030, ensure access for all to

a dequate, safe and af fordable

housing and basic ser v ices and

upgrade slums.

11.5B y 2030, signif ic antl y reduce

the number of deaths and the

number of people af fec ted and

subst an tiall y decrease the

direc t economic losses relati ve

to global gross domestic

produc t c aused by disasters,

including water- related

disasters, w ith a focus on

protec ting the poor and people

in v ulnerable situations.

Integrated approaches for sanitation in unsewered slum areas (SCUSA) in Sub Saharan Africa

In a demonstration site in the Bwaise III slum in Kampala, Uganda, IHE Delft has identified low-cost integrated sustainable sanitation solutions to reduce the stream of nutrients leaving the slum and causing eutrophication downstream in the catchment. At least 50% of the surface water in Bwaise was grey water, originating from the kitchen, from washing clothes or from the bathroom with very high nitrogen and phosphorus loads. Realizing the importance of grey water, a two-step crushed lava rock filter unit was designed and implemented with successful pollution reduction results. Results also indicated that various pathogenic viruses (rotavirus, adenovirus, hepatitis-A) were present in the slum environment, and that their concentrations were high. With this data a quantitative microbial risk assessment has revealed a very high disease burden from exposure to bacteria and viruses, which has led to prioritising alternative sanitation interventions.


http://scusa.un-ihe.org

Transitioning groundwater management strategies for the urban poor (T-GroUP)

Hosted by Local Transitioning Teams, Kampala (Uganda), Arusha (Tanzania) and Accra (Ghana) were selected as typical examples of growing mixed urban areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, to focus on access to clean groundwater for poor people in slums. This is an interdisciplinary challenge. From the environmental and natural sciences perspective, we are unravelling complex urban groundwater flow systems and patterns in pathogen distributions in aquifers using next generation DNA sequencing techniques and qPCR techniques we have recently developed. Subsequently, we will conduct a socio-biophysical transition experiment. The selected areas will become Urban Transitioning Laboratories in which we will implement a Transition Management Cycle (TMC), which can convert unsustainable water use into inclusive urban groundwater management, thereby focusing on the role and the needs of the urban poor.

Donor: NERC, ESRC, UKAIDLead partner: IHE Delft

www.t-group.science

Community resilience through rapid prototyping of flood-proofing, Bangladesh

The success of flood-risk management in The Netherlands is dependent on effective stakeholder coordination through governance arrangements which has developed over many years of coping with floods. IHE Delft is aiming to develop coordinating capabilities in flood-risk management for the urban poor in Bangladesh. We are supporting community-based innovation, development, production and implementation of small-scale technical measures that alleviate immediate flood-related nuisances (‘wet feet’). By doing so, coordinating capacity for flood risk management is being enhanced. We are focusing the emerging governance capacity on developing ever-longer term, increasing scale and more sustainable solutions for flood risk management. This is allowing us to learn how community-based flood mitigation and adaptation measures, both technological and institutional, can evolve into ‘measures of scale’. Through demonstration and co-creation of knowledge, co-creation with local partners’ flood resilience can be enhanced which, ultimately, will be integrated in flood management policies.


Understanding flows of water and people in Bangladesh and the Netherlands (Hydro Social Deltas)

IHE Delft is challenging current understandings of the relationship between flood disasters and urban migration, and the resulting policy responses. Our research demonstrates how rural residents in northwest Bangladesh are able to live with floods, rather than fight floods, and documents the role of urban migration as a temporary coping strategy. Living with floods is intimately connected with the possibility for part of the household to migrate seasonally or semi-permanently, but this also requires more inclusive urban development in urban migrant destination locations. Our project team aims to inform more appropriate flood disaster support and development initiatives, in both flood affected rural areas and urban migrant destination locations.


http://hydro-social-deltas.un-ihe.org

12.5B y 2030, subst antiall y reduce

waste generation through

preven tion, reduc tion, recycling

a nd reuse.

13.1Strengthen resilience and

adap ti ve c apacit y to climate -

related hazards and natural

disasters in all countries.

Advanced Biological Waste-to-Energy Technologies

IHE Delft is a member of a consortium preparing doctoral candidates who contribute to solving the global challenges of waste management, energy scarcity and sustainable development. Through this European Joint Doctorate (EJD) programme, we are supporting education and research on environmental technologies that convert waste materials into bioenergy, as well as train doctoral candidates to think globally and work in multidisciplinary research teams. The programme is centred around environmental technologies for the treatment of waste, with a focus on anaerobic treatment processes, valorisation of the digestate, and biofuel clean-up. We emphasize fundamental and applied research of different treatment technologies as well as the development of innovative recovery and reuse technologies with enhanced market potential.

Donor: European CommissionLead partner: University of Cassino

Natural systems for wastewater treatment and re-use

Natural wastewater treatment systems such as soil aquifer treatment (SAT) and constructed wetlands (CW) are robust barriers, can remove multiple contaminants, minimize the use of chemicals, use relatively low energy and have a small carbon footprint. These natural treatment systems rely on natural processes comprising different physical, chemical and biological removal mechanisms and combinations thereof for improvement in water quality. Based on extensive laboratory and pilot-plant studies in The Netherlands, Colombia, Palestine and Saudi Arabia, IHE Delft has found that such natural treatment systems and their hybrids are very appropriate for developing countries and countries in transition. We are developing a framework for planning, designing, operating and maintaining SAT systems which is a tool for planners, designers and engineers in the implementation of SAT technologies in developing countries. Based on guidelines and a spreadsheet tool, preliminary predictions of treated water quality from SAT systems can be made, making time-consuming and expensive pilot experiments unnecessary.


Managing adaptive responses to changing flood risk in Asia

The depletion of natural resources combined with climate change is a major risk for urban areas in Asia. High urbanization rates, lack of appropriate infrastructure and investments, and climate change vulnerability all compromise the quality of life of city residents. In cooperation with local and national authorities from various Asian countries, IHE Delft is assisting with the development and implementation of a climate-proofing strategy. Identifying the major climate and water management issues in the cities enables the stakeholders to develop intervention opportunities, which includes ideas for the greening of urban spaces. On-the-job training events includes training on best practices that facilitates cross-learning between Asia and Europe. Ultimately, we aim to improve overall liveability in the cities by understanding the urban profile and to develop best practices for climate adaptation.

Donor: European Commission (first phase) and Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment of the Netherlands (second phase)Lead partner: IHE Delft (2nd phase) and Municipality of Dordrecht (1st phase)

www.mare-asia.net

Adaptation to climate change: geomorphology and coastal adaptation in São Tomé

The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe has historically suffered from high rates of coastal inundation and erosion. Flooding and erosion damage has increased in recent years, probably due to increased storm intensity and shifts in the duration and intensity of the rainy seasons that have begun to overlap with the storm season. Climate impacts have been exacerbated by unsustainable beach sand mining practices and offshore sand mining. Being a Small Island Developing State, São Tomé and Príncipe is considered to be highly vulnerable to the effects of climate variability, climate change and sea-level rise by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC). With this project IHE Delft is determining the risk of coastal flooding and erosion and identifying adaptation interventions for reducing the vulnerability of coastal community infrastructure and productive assets to climate change impacts in the highly vulnerable villages of Ribeira Afonso, Santa Catarina Malanza and Praia Sundy.

Donor: The World BankLead partner: IHE Delft

13.3Improve educ ation, awareness-

raising and human and

institu tional c apacit y on climate

change mitigation, adap t ation,

impac t reduc tion and earl y

warning.

Improved Drought Early Warning and Forecasting to strengthen preparedness and adaptation to droughts in Africa (DEWFORA)

Drought is one of the major environmental disasters in many parts of the world, particularly in Africa, and has resulted in extensive damage to the environment and economy. IHE Delft is working to reduce vulnerability and strengthen preparedness to droughts in Africa by advancing drought forecasting, early warning, and mitigation practices. The project has developed a framework for monitoring, predicting, timely warning and responding to droughts at the seasonal time scale, applicable within the institutional context of African countries. At longer time scales, the project has contributed to improving the identification of vulnerable regions taking into account the increased hazard due to climate change, and developed feasible adaptation measures. A hydrological model has been developed that is coupled to meteorological forecasts by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts for drought forecasting in selected river basins in Africa.

Donor: European CommissionLead partner: Deltares

Improvement of higher education in water management in view of climate change in Vietnam

Vietnam, with its many rivers, heavy rains and long coastline, is a country prone to natural disasters. A growing population, catastrophic floods, periods of prolonged drought and climate change are increasing pressures on the management of natural resources in river basins and coastal areas. With this in mind, local universities are focusing on water management partnered with experts from abroad to share and improve knowledge. IHE Delft has helped to strengthen the capacity of the Hanoi University of Natural Resources and the Water Resources University at institutional and management levels to implement education, research and training, and to improve the capacity of their staff in developing and transferring knowledge.

Donor: The Netherlands Organisation for Internationalisation in Education (Nuffic)Lead partner: TU Delft

14.2B y 2020, sust ainabl y manage

and protec t marine and coast al

ecosystems to avoid signif ic ant

ad verse impac ts, including by

strengthening their resilience,

and t ake ac tion for their

restoration in or der to achieve

healthy and produc ti ve oceans.

Cost of coastal environmental degradation, multi hazard risk assessment and cost benefit

The West African coastal area hosts big infrastructure, major industries, tourism, agriculture and fishing activities as well as human settlements, driving economic growth and providing for the livelihoods of many people. However, population pressures and increasing exploitation of coastal resources have led to rapid coastal environmental degradation. Coastal ecosystems in West Africa are now facing a range of challenges, including coastal erosion, overexploitation of natural resources (such as fisheries and sand/gravel mining), marine and coastal pollution, rapid urbanization, unsustainable land use, and poor environmental governance. To address these challenges in Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Togo, IHE Delft with its partners is conducting a multi-hazard and climate risk assessment of the coastal zone’s vulnerability to climate variability and change, assessing the Cost Of Coastal zone Environmental Degradation (COCED), and evaluating the most efficient options to protect the populations, the natural assets, the capital assets, the cultural assets and the activities in selected pilot zones.

Donor: The World BankLead partner: IMDC

AXA Chair in Climate Change Impacts and Coastal Risk

The AXA Chair in Climate Change Impacts and Coastal Risk (CC& CR) at IHE Delft was launched in January 2014 with the granting of an endowed Chair by the AXA Research Fund. While studying the impacts of climate change on the coasts through this programme, we also model climate change-driven coastal hazards and develop innovative coastal risk assessment methods and tools. We expect that the results will enable science-backed, efficient cost-benefit assessments of both hard adaptation strategies such as engineering structures, but also of softer options such as spatial planning, innovative architecture and construction, particularly in data-poor and vulnerable developing countries where adaptive capacity is often resource-constrained. The research undertaken within this interdisciplinary programme spans the fields of coastal engineering, climate science, hydrology, ecology, applied mathematics, physical geography, risk modelling, oceanography and governance. Ultimately, the outcomes of this programme will represent a major advancement in coastal risk mitigation.

Donor: AXA FoundationLead partner: IHE Delft

www.axa-research.org

15.1B y 2020, ensure the

conser vation, restoration and

sust ainable use of terrestrial

and inland freshwater

ecosystems and their ser v ices,

in par ticular forests, wetlands,

mount ains and dr y lands, in

line w ith obligations under

in ternational agreements.

Rufiji River Basin environmental flow assessment

The Rufiji Basin is Tanzania’s largest river basin. The Kilombero Valley Floodplain Ramsar site harbours biodiversity of international importance and provides critical ecosystem goods and services to tens of thousands of people living along its margins. However, its long-term sustainability is threatened by major plans for increased consumptive water use for irrigation upstream and flow regulation by new hydropower dams. IHE Delft and its partners have quantified specific river flow requirements to meet biodiversity and ecosystem service objectives recognized under Tanzanian law and as defined in consultation with basin stakeholders. We recommended river flow levels necessary to preserve the aquatic and riparian ecological condition of rivers in the Kilombero valley and main channel of the Lower Rufiji Basin, with particular attention to protecting ecological functions that also provide services to neighbouring human communities.

Donor: USAIDLead partner: IHE Delft

Sustainable management strategies for the Kafue River, Zambia

The Kafue Flats of Zambia is both ecologically and economically valuable, containing Ramsar-listed wetlands and endemic species. It is a source of drinking water for Zambia’s capital city, as well as a resource for hydropower, commercial sugarcane and the majority of the country’s fisheries and livestock production. The Kafue Flats is experiencing complex problems facing many river and wetland systems today. With this project, WWF is aiming to create a worldwide example of sustainable management of water and ecosystems, improved livelihoods and conservation through environmental education in school sports programs. This is being done through high-level stakeholder engagement and through high quality international research and post-graduate education. IHE-Delft is developing a research and monitoring programme with key activities in data collection and open accessibility, student research, stakeholder training courses and capacity building. Ultimately, this should lead to sustainable management strategies for the Kafue river that safeguard both the quality of this valuable ecosystem and the economic development of the region.

Donor: WWF Zambia Country officeLead partner: IHE Delft

Hydropower to environment water transfers in the Zambezi Basin

There is growing consensus that in hydropower-dominated river basins, the allocation of water can no longer be solely driven by energy demand; rather a balance must be found between hydropower and the environment in a move towards sustainability. Reservoir operating policies are often determined for individual projects, with the sole objective of maximizing energy revenue whilst considering minimum flow requirements as constraints to be considered later, if at all. IHE Delft is addressing the related challenges by analysing the reallocation of water from the hydropower sector to the environment in the hydropower-dominated Zambezi river basin. First, we are improving our understanding of the complex response of ecosystems to changing flow regimes, focusing on river flows, bio-geomorphological interactions and their links to ecosystems. Then we will develop policy instruments, including reservoir operating policies and cost-sharing mechanisms that can balance the environmental and energy demands for water.


http://power-to-flow.un-ihe.org

The Ecology of Livelihoods in East African Wetlands

Through the ECOLIVE project, IHE Delft has helped develop approaches for managing papyrus wetlands so that their natural functions are protected while wetland communities can still rely on their ecosystem services for livelihoods support. The project has developed a transdisciplinary analytical framework that facilitates the participation of stakeholders in the development of sound policies for the wise use of papyrus wetland ecosystems. Knowledge about how ecosystem services change under different development pressures is crucial in order to be able to determine sustainable management strategies that support both poverty reduction and ecosystem conservation. This requires a transdisciplinary approach with researchers, communities, managers and decision-makers working closely together.


http://ecolive.un-ihe.org

16.6Develop ef fec ti ve, accoun t able

a nd tra nsparent institutions at

all levels.

Support to national water legislation

IHE Delft has assisted countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia with modernizing their water legislation. Water legislation in different countries has been, or is in the process of being, reformed in order to better address the water challenges these countries face. One of the key aspects of water legislation is the institutions that carry out the implementation of adequate water resources management. Thus, the legislation reform includes, amongst other things, creating new institutions or strengthening existing institutions to improve effectiveness, accountability and transparency, and to ensure that the necessary instruments are in place to tackle current and future water resources management issues in the respective countries.

Donor: Asian Development BankLead partner: IHE Delft

Global earth observation for integrated water resource assessment

Global water resources are burdened due to increasing demands, while climate change may shift the balance of those resources. Many regions lack basic monitoring and evaluation systems, making it difficult to assess the access to water resources. IHE Delft is contributing to the assessment of global water resources through the use of new earth observation (EO) datasets and techniques. By integrating EOs, in-situ datasets and models, we are constructing a consistent global water resources reanalysis dataset that spans several decades. We are providing comprehensive multi-scale (regional, continental and global) water resources observations. This combines the results of ten global hydrological and land surface models with large amounts of remote-sensing data. The results are being verified and refined in a number of case studies around the world including Bangladesh, Colombia, Australia and Ethiopia, where local water managers are using the data of their region. The data will be disseminated though an open data Water Cycle Integrator portal.

Donor: European CommissionLead partner: Deltares

Strengthening strategic delta planning processes in Bangladesh, the Netherlands and beyond

Strategic delta planning is one approach that can lead to more sustainable deltas. During this type of planning process a vision is developed - the strategic delta plan - and actions and means for implementation are initiated. Through research, IHE Delft is developing a better understanding of dynamic strategic delta planning processes and the roles of stakeholders, experts and policy-makers, and is contributing approaches and tools that support the development of more stable stakeholder agreements on strategic choices that can be more effectively translated into implementation. A direct link to ongoing delta projects is ensuring the involvement and capacity building of key stakeholders and dissemination of results. Ultimately this should result in well-informed, broadly supported plans, the implementation of which will contribute to sustainable delta development. Lessons are being learned and disseminated on strategic delta planning and implementation.


http://strategic-delta-planning.un-ihe.org

Capacity development and the establishment of a water institute in Benin

IHE Delft has helped to establish the National Water Institute (Institut National de l’Eau, INE) of Benin. It has also contributed to capacity development for water education at the University of Abomey-Calavi and the technical schools in Benin. The main aim of INE is to respond to the demands for water expertise from society by supporting the government and the cooperation with the public and private sector. Through this project, a consortium has shared their expertise with academics from the University of Abomey Calavi to establish INE. Particular attention was given to issues of gender and entrepreneurship. INE, as a strong local centre of excellence, has an important role in the Dutch-funded programmes on water and sanitation and will continue to work together with Dutch experts in integrated water resources management, delta planning and WASH to address the water challenges in Benin.

Donor: The Netherlands Organisation for Internationalisation in Education (Nuffic)Lead partner: van Hall Larenstein

17.9Enhance international suppor t

for implementing ef fec ti ve and

t argeted c apacit y- building in

developing countries to suppor t

national plans to implement all

the sust ainable development

goals, including through

Nor th -South, South -South and

triangular cooperation.

Working in partnership

Working in partnership on education and training, research and capacity development is a key approach of IHE Delft. This approach has considerably increased the Institute’s and its partners’ impact at global and local levels. It has been strongly supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its programmatic cooperation with IHE Delft (DUPC). By North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation, the stakeholders within the DUPC2 programme are working towards providing tangible contributions in solving water and development challenges worldwide, by equipping people and organizations through sustained and strengthened partnerships in southern and transition countries. Sustainable partnerships are being achieved by strengthening existing capacity of developing and transition countries’ education and research institutions. The activities within this programme are focused on, among other areas, creating and improving educational programmes, strengthening existing regional networks, providing education and training for increasing numbers of professionals, and conducting problem-based, solution-driven research to inform policy and practice in each country. Our desired outcome is to articulate and address the demand, create opportunities to use and scale up outputs and outcomes, and therefore lead to real impacts on the ground.


www.un-ihe.org/dupc2-global-partnership-water-and-development

ihe delft and the sustainable development goals · 2017-09-04 · a leadership role in local...

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