Valuable lessons for those seeking institutional financial support for water management.
Published on: 19/05/2016
The Netherlands prides itself as a world leader in water management. We are the only country with an international water ambassador and a Water Bank. Our water ambassador, Henk Ovink, is relatively new. He was appointed as the first Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in March 2015. The Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB Bank), on the other hand, is over 60 years old.
The Dutch regional water authorities set up the NWB Bank after the devastating flood of 1953, which killed nearly 2,000 people. Besides flood protection, the NWB Bank also finances water supply and wastewater treatment systems, but the bulk of its investments (63%) nowadays goes to social housing.
A new brief from the Public Finance for WASH initiative presents an overview of the NWB's origins and outlines how it functions today. It highlights some valuable lessons for those seeking institutional financial support for water management.
Acioly, C., Kerk, A. van der & Fonseca, C., 2016. The Dutch Water Bank : a useful model for developing countries? (Finance brief / Public Finance for WASH ; 11). 2 p. : 2 tab. Incl. 10 ref. Download the full brief below under Resources.
