The Water as Leverage Programme

WaL Asia Inspired by the Rebuild by Design competition held in New York in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, Water as Leverage for Resilient Cities Asia (WaL Asia) was developed as the first initiative of the WaL programme by the Dutch government and global partners. Following a call to action on World Earth Day 2018, six multidisciplinary teams of international and local experts developed innovative solutions for three cities in Asia: Semarang (Indonesia), Khulna (Bangladesh), and Chennai (India). In May 2019, the teams submitted 24 project proposals, each tailored to address the specific resilience challenges of these cities. In Chennai, this culminated in the inauguration of a demonstration project in 2023.

New WaL initiatives Since WaL Asia, new WaL initiatives have been developed in Cartagena (Colombia), the Wadden Sea (Denmark, Germany, Netherlands), Nakuru (Kenya), Prayagraj (India), and Bangkok (Thailand).

Scaling WaL In 2023, during the UN Water Conference, former Minister Harbers of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, in collaboration with global partners, announced the commitment to “Scaling up Water as Leverage for worldwide urban climate resilience, through water” as part of the Water Action Agenda. The outlined path focuses on scaling and replicating WaL experiences through three key components: (1) The WaL Factory: Institutionalizing the WaL program, which has evolved into the WaL Multilevel Climate Action Programme. (2) The WaL Academy: Cultivating a vibrant WaL culture, enhancing capacities, and fostering innovation. (3) WaL City Initiatives: Implementing targeted actions that collectively aim to improve the quality of life for millions of people.

Water represents the most challenging and complex risk facing humankind in the coming century.

Climate change induced floods, droughts, pollution, starvation, diseases, and conflicts are all fundamentally related to water. When coupled with rapid and unplanned urbanization, these pervasive issues produce catastrophic events that threaten the resilience of life support mechanisms on earth.

Cities around the world are feeling the effects of water-related challenges, growing population density, and urban expansion. In response, cities have the opportunity to become part of a solution in which water is a unifying force: a catalyst that can be leveraged for sustainable development.

This is the fundamental conviction of the Water as Leverage approach: that water is not only a major risk factor to people, property and future prosperity, but also an opportunity to address an all-encompassing challenge as a global community.

Urban water resilience projects are needed that transform how we manage water. Too often, projects fail, wasting time and resources. Projects fail because they do not accurately address the needs of local communities; because funding does not become available or remain only as an idea on paper. Projects fail as they apply the same approaches that created water problems. But projects can change the way we manage, operate, and value water—not just locally, but globally—by changing practices and mindsets, and deliver multiple benefits. We need innovative projects that are transformative and inclusive.

The Water as Leverage (WaL) approach is a project development approach designed to create transformative and inclusive projects for enhancing urban water resilience. Rooted in the experiences and lessons learned from the WaL programme, which has been active since 2017, this approach addresses the complexity of urban water challenges with a comprehensive and integrative framework.

Central to the WaL approach are four key niche aspects that distinguish its contribution to urban water resilience:

Focus on the essential early stages of project development The foundation for transformative and inclusive projects is established in the initial stages of project development. Yet, while we recognise eagerness to fund and support projects once their feasibility is established, the ‘pre-project’ development stages generally receive insufficient attention and funding from governments and investors. The WaL approach draws attention to the early stages of project development, with the aim of leveraging investments for the implementation of transformative projects: “These are the millions we need to invest [in the early project development stages] to secure the billions for the projects that will really make a difference and prepare our society and planet for our challenging future” (Henk Ovink in WaL Reflect p. 8).

Acknowledge the interconnectedness of water

When addressing water issues in isolation, projects fail to account for the interconnectedness of water systems. When working in silos, we can only address symptoms rather than making true and sustainable change. WaL adopts a systemic approach, recognising the complexities and interconnections in urban water contexts, and incorporating social, institutional, and cultural subsystems. This approach transcends treating the symptoms and addresses water-related challenges in a comprehensive manner, and often delivers multiple benefits.

Move beyond single projects towards transformative change Individual project interventions may lead to incremental and local change, but often leave underlying systemic failures unaddressed. To achieve urban water resilience, and deal with the root causes of water challenges, it is essential to transition from single projects to coordinated systemic action. A diverse array of change agents are included to develop and invest in an enabling environment, integrating scalability and connecting social, economic, and institutional contexts to foster sustainable impact beyond individual projects.

Build on practical experiences The WaL approach has been implemented in cities worldwide, spanning Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe, while being further enriched by Rebuild by Design’s initiatives in North America. Together, these efforts are nurturing a growing community of WaL practitioners. Built on practical experience and local action, the approach emphasizes a culture of action, reflection, and continuous learning and improvement. By linking local action with global ambitions, the WaL approach inspires innovation and drives progress in advancing urban water resilience across diverse regions.