Air Belanda Indonesia - Netherlands Water Partnership

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Shift from aid to collaboration The changing relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands with regard to water is highlighted in the new Memorandum of Understanding. More equal, more aimed at knowledge, innovation, capacity building and governance. And with a more visible Dutch water sector. The picture is outlined by Peter de Vries, water resources expert at the Dutch embassy in Jakarta, and Michiel de Lijster, Delta Coordinator Indonesia for the Global Water Programme at the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. “The changing relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands with regard to water is highlighted in the new Memorandum of Understanding,” says Peter de Vries. “There is a clear shift from development aid to a broader relationship in which the private sector and commercial contracts play an increasingly important role. The Netherlands has more focus on investing in knowledge, innovation and capability building, and no longer on financing things like dikes and canals. The integrated approach plays a key role in this. It also fits with the Dutch Global Water programme.” Michiel de Lijster agrees: “Precisely. Because that enables us to demonstrate our added value: developing an integrated vision and working it out in coherent solutions. It is also heading far more in the direction of ‘how to organize?’ Gover nance is therefore quite correctly a central theme in the new MoU. As is climate change of course - that is a thread running through everything.” Path extended In fact the new MoU extends the path which had already become clearly visible in recent years. Following the resumption of the collaboration in 2001 the emphasis was firmly on a multilateral relationship, whereby the Netherlands itself did not play a prominent role. After 2001 financing of projects took place mainly through international organisations such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Peter de Vries says: “In recent years, following the signing of the previous MoU, both countries have tightened their links and the bilateral collaboration has become stronger. Within this bilateral cooperation there was also more attention for presenting the Dutch water sector. State Secretary Knapen described that succinctly in his policy as ‘from aid to trade’: the Netherlands works with other countries, but thereby also looks at the economic perspective, in the belief that economic growth is always the driving force for a country’s development.” Michiel de Lijster says: “Links are really the key feature in the new MoU. We have now brought the ministries which are active in Indonesia together within the MoU, and the same applies on the Indonesian side. This MoU is therefore an important step towards a formal G2G agreement.” We are not just providing knowledge; we are also learning a great deal ourselves Equal basis Indonesia and the Netherlands work together on an equal basis more and more. Michiel de Lijster says: “We are not just providing knowledge; we are also learning ourselves and that is making the Dutch water sector stronger. We are partners with a long history, who work together well. In the longer term I expect the water sector to make an even greater contribution to the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands.” 8 • Air Belanda Indonesia
Continuation and expansion The new Memorandum of Understanding between Indonesia and the Netherlands, is a continuation, but also an expansion of the collaboration based on an integrated vision with new emphases. That is the view of Mohammad Hasan, director-general of water resources at the Ministry of Public Works. “Too dirty, too much and too little” is how he sums up Indonesia’s water problems. Both countries want to develop an effective and holistic approach to the collaboration between the Netherlands and the Republic of Indonesia in the area of water and related issues in an integrated way. Hasan says: “You can see that integrated approach reflected in the way that the Netherlands has provided support with the development of the Jakarta Coastal Defense Strategy. The new MoU extends the existing collaboration, but that holistic approach also Mr Mohammad Hasan DG Water Resources, Ministry of Public Works results in more attention for good governance in the water sector, and for the transfer of knowledge. Hence the training programme for young specialists - in our ministries, for example - is being intensified. We hope that more engineers can go to the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft.” Further expansion ‘We would like to expand the collaboration further in the future,” says Arie Setiadi Moerwanto, director of water resources management at the Ministry of Public Works. “There is now an MoU between ministries in both countries. We would like to have collaboration at governmental level, which would mean that more ministries could become involved. Water is a very broad area.” “We are also hoping that the Netherlands is prepared to help tackle the lowlands, the peat swamps and peatlands,” says Hasan. “Indonesia has a lot of those - more than 30 million hectares. We want to develop those areas, but we need help with that. At the same time we have made international agreements about greenhouse gas emissions. The lowlands play an important role in that, and we want to stick to those agreements.” Knowledge most important Hasan considers the collaboration with the Netherlands to be important for the water sector. “The transfer of knowledge is the most important aspect, so that we can tackle future problems arising from climate change, for example.” Moerwanto also emphasises the need for the transfer of knowledge as being of primary importance. “Management and maintenance is a problem in Indonesia. A polder is currently being constructed in Semarang and a district water board has been established on the Dutch model for the maintenance. Dutch and Indonesian organisations are working on a flood warning system in Jakarta. We are learning from that and will be able to do it ourselves in other areas. We don’t always want to be dependent.” water cooperation • 9
Page 1 and 2: Air Belanda Indonesia Cooperation b
Page 3 and 4: Foreword Water is an important natu
Page 5 and 6: Colophon Air Belanda Indonesia is a
Page 7: included the creation of the Jatilu
Page 11 and 12: Partnership Jakarta and Rotterdam o
Page 13 and 14: Waternet focuses on complete water
Page 15 and 16: Masterplan for protecting Jakarta f
Page 17 and 18: ‘Banjironline’ Flood app The ma
Page 19 and 20: Drinking with the wind Living on th
Page 21 and 22: ‘We are working with no fewer tha
Page 23 and 24: Dry feet first, then pay In urban d
Page 25 and 26: Capacity building through the relat
Page 27 and 28: Mathieu Pinkers is Executive Direct

Air Belanda Indonesia - Netherlands Water Partnership

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