Cees’ vision for the future beyond 2023: A safe and secure water world for all

Cees was best described as an activist scientist, a connector bridging the divides in society and building bridges between people and planet. Working with youth, empowering the old, informing the policymakers, encouraging the politicians and inspiring his colleagues and friends. Cees’ collaborative capacity made the world a better place. And, he made us all feel connected and empowered to act. His legacy is now our responsibility.Water and climate change are directly linked. We know this both intuitively and from natural disasters. The climate crisis is a water crisis. Nine out of 10 natural disasters are water related. Between 2001 and 2018, droughts, floods, landslides and storms caused over $1.700 billion US in damage worldwide according to the UN (2020), impacting over 3.4 billion people, the majority in Asia. Without water, there is no energy and no food. But too much water and ever-increasing ‘extremes’ also go hand in hand with far too little water—periods of drought align with the flow of refugees and increased conflicts. We are depleting our natural water supplies at a ruinous rate, and sea level rise is jeopardizing our cities and deltas.Cees was a true professional in the field of water— that complex mix of climate, sustainability, ecology, disasters, risk reduction, adaptation, environment, planning, cities, coasts, rivers, oceans, source to sea and more. He deeply understood the depths of that complexity. He knew how important it was not to avoid it, but to embrace and unravel it, and to use all those connections to work toward solutions. Water was his way.‘The Geography of Future Water Challenges’—developed together with the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency and spearheaded by Willem Ligtvoet with a consortium of global scientist including Cees—states that: “Water security is related to three water-related challenges: water scarcity (too little water), water pollution (dirty water) and flood risk (too much water). In the coming decades, these challenges and their impact on people's daily lives are expected to increase due to population growth, economic development, increased agricultural production and climate change, in turn affecting water availability, sea level rise and weather patterns. In order to secure water resources, now and in the future, an understanding of the complexity of water-related challenges and the existence of possible gaps is essential as a basis for the development of sustainable strategies that can adequately reduce risks for the population, economic development, ecosystems, and water associated migration and conflicts.” (Ligtvoet, 2018).The 2020 Global Risks Report (World Economic Forum, 2020) agrees, as it lists water crises—time and again—as one of the top global risks. Water is linked to the economy, geopolitics, the environment, climate change and more. The report reiterates a painful song, played over and over again: water scarcity, which already affects a quarter of the world's population, will only increase. Crop yields will likely drop in many regions, undermining the ability to double food production by 2050 to meet rising demand. The way we grow food, produce energy, dispose of waste and consume resources is destroying nature's delicate balance of clean air, water and life that all species, including humans, depend on for survival. Climate change not only dries out our lands and waters and floods our coasts, destroying our economies; it is also ‘the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century’ (World Health Organization, n.d.). With extreme weather conditions putting populations around the world at risk of food and water insecurity, today's children face a future of increasingly serious climate-related hazards: less-nutritious crops, air pollution exacerbated by burning fossil fuels, rising average temperatures and other weather-related disruptions to livelihoods.When I hear all the people and read the messages about Cees since his passing, it is clear that Cees as a human came before Cees as a water professional. And a very sweet man. He is best understood through the relationships of all these people and their partnerships with him: Monica, Julien, Kathleen, Kenzo, John, Torkil, Birgitta, Gabriela, Ruth, José, Maggie, Sandra, Jakob, Torgny, Karin, Han, Carolina, Koos, Niels, Håkan, Simon, Shabana, Koen, Petra, Yousouf, Mathilda, Ibin, Abir, Diego, Azad, Liu, Liz, Henk, Pascalle, Amina and all others, experienced, old, experts, but above all, activists and driven.Condolences from around the world are described below: “He was a wonderful mentor, so kind, encouraging and supportive. His light will continue to shine through.” Lydia CumiskeyCees was an activist—driven, tireless, searching, passionate, with open eyes—anything was possible, nothing was too crazy; better still, crazy was good. And that's how all those international people saw him too. As a partner for the good cause. Even before some could determine what that cause was, Cees was already on his way. Never ahead of the troops, but in a rush, no time to waste! “He saved hundreds of thousands of people in the world from threat of disasters by his relentless work to raise global awareness and promote tangible actions to reduce risks of water-related disasters.” Dr. Han Seung Soo, former Prime Minister of South Korea and Chairman of the HELP Panel on Water and DisastersWhere there is, or was, water there was Cees. Never in the foreground, but always there. In all those reports, in those photos, on stages, in meetings at the right moment in the negotiation, in the conversation, setting the agenda, Cees. And in all those initiatives that we had to tackle and take up, Cees was always part of the foundation in one way or another. Solid, curious, reliable, knowledgeable, passionate, impatient, connecting. For and with SIWI, UNEP, UNECE, COP, UNFCCC, S2S, AGWA, DRR, HELP, GCA, IenW, J&V, WWC, the Water Youth Network. . .you name it.All over the world, close to policy processes, with his feet in the water, the sea, the ocean, between us, with us, between the people, the professionals, the administrators, and of course between and with the young: Cees’ long thin body was a beacon above the often smaller and younger colleagues. A beacon for us all. His nose pointed in the right direction.Internationally, Cees was our Dutch figurehead for disaster risk reduction, for water and climate, for Source to Sea, for water in its complex scope, for the relationship between science, knowledge, data, models, insights and policy, society, and politics. Water. For Cees, water was never too complex, never too big, never too crazy. Water connects everything and everyone, isn't that how it is? Logical and inspiring. And it was his motivation.Travelling from disaster to disaster; it is essential to involve better practices and to provoke a rebuilding approach not in response to the disaster, but to overcome past perspectives and invest in the future. With the world at risk and disasters more complex, interconnected and interdependent, impacts are seen not only from the damage caused, but also from our future vulnerability. Replicating the practices from the past only makes us more vulnerable tomorrow.In his travels, Cees met and worked with experts, community leaders, children and politicians alike—all with different backgrounds, needs and interests. Through water, he managed to ignite a conversation, a partnership even, a process leading towards increased awareness and understanding, enabling actions that matter. Water empowers people and institutions; it helps to better capacitate them for challenging tasks. Water inspires this collaborative process to spur novel ideas, to identify opportunities and projects to work on. With water, we work collectively from the ground up, to invest together in a better, more sustainable, more resilient and more inclusive future.Deep understanding doesn't come from an outsider's professional perspective, nor from data models alone. We must collaborate with the people who live and work in these hotspots of complexity to understand what is happening and what is at stake. This requires inclusive research, bringing together not only specialists and academics but entrepreneurs, decision makers, activists and local officials. Shared ownership of the questions evolves into shared ownership of the answers, so that complex problems are met with sustainable interventions that solve real problems for everyone.Asia is the hotspot of climate impact, where climate disasters, economic and urban growth, and people's vulnerability converge. This is where the complexity and interdependency of our vulnerability is exposed. This is also where these hotspots—these converging places of needs—become places of opportunity. If only we are able to use our capacities, fulfill our political and societal responsibilities, and use the insights gained from science: to better inform our decisions and investments, to spur action for a better future, to progress towards sustainability and resilience. Asia is not alone in being a continent at risk. Vulnerable places and vulnerable communities in the context of climate effects and sustainability challenges are places of opportunity, if only we deliver on our promise, if only the world can act with ‘science and solidarity’, if only we will show that we care.Small islands and developing states, as well as the Middle East and Africa have all been battered by climate change, natural disasters, famine, social inequalities, political oppression, geopolitical tensions, wars, conflicts and terrorism. The most vulnerable are hit hardest and have the hardest time getting back on their feet. Inequality and insecurity cannot be easily overcome by a pilot project, a one-off, by doing good for a day. Cultural change for sustainable development means geopolitical and multilateral cultural change. Global action means exactly what the words tell us: action by all, collectively across the planet.From Peru, to Chile and Mexico, to Canada and the United States, Cees’ journey of water took him from coast to cities, from rivers to wells, from governments and businesses, to communities, schools and NGOs. Water connected his travel, work and actions. It helped inform new post-disaster resilience practices, better inclusive decision-making and innovative and preventive actions.No matter where in the world, in Afghanistan, China, Vietnam or Bangladesh; in South Africa, Mozambique, Egypt or the Middle East; in Europe or in the Americas, water is life— it helps build a better future and inform sustainable actions, and it helps bring us together. Local action, local capacity and local needs must be leveraged with global commitments, with indigenous knowledge and cultural capacity contributing to reducing social vulnerability. The understanding, skills and philosophies developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings inform decision-making about fundamental aspects of life, from day-to-day activities to longer-term actions. This knowledge is integral to cultural complexes, which also encompass language, classification systems, resource use practices, social interactions, values, rituals and spirituality. ‘These unique ways of knowing are important facets of the world's cultural diversity and provide a foundation for locally-appropriate sustainable development’ (UNESCO, n.d., para. 3).This is what Cees was able to achieve, bridging between data, science, the complexity of its understanding and the world.In 2015, the world agreed on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), not to cherry-pick from but as a holistic, comprehensive agenda for sustainable development. Social, economic, cultural and environmental challenges and opportunities are all interlinked. These interdependencies determine the way we live and thrive, and the way we must invest. Investing in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is the first line of defense and the first step towards a sustainable recovery. Never has the sixth SDG, ‘Ensure access to water and sanitation for all’, been more vital for saving and protecting lives. Even better, investing in water has a trickle-down effect across all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But to deliver on our promise of meeting the SDGs, we need collective commitment, program continuity and consistency of ambition.On December 12, 2015, governments, businesses, academia and NGOs gathered at COP21 agreed that enough was enough. With the Paris agreement, we put a stake in the ground and pledged to take action to keep the climate from warming by more than two degrees Celsius. That agreement was historic, but it didn't change culture. Nor could it. We cannot change our ways of working, our governance, our laws and regulations, our organizations and our procedures with a stroke of the pen. But if we are going to do what we collectively said we would do, all of those elements of society will have to change. It is part of human nature that we turn our eyes toward the future yet dwell in the past, considering ourselves to be limited by existing frameworks and conditions. Our solutions respond to past disasters rather than prepare us for the future. And while we know everything is interconnected, we still spend our money in silos and hesitate to work together. After the heady flush of a conference and the ceremony of a formal agreement like COP21, we fall back into old patterns. Distrust and existing power structures reassert themselves, creating standoffs between governments and their constituencies, between people and science, between those most affected by the disasters and those responsible for creating them. What is our pledge worth if we lack the processes, the investments and the approach to make that promised action a reality?There is a wonderful video, an interview with Cees from 2015 in Paris at the decisive climate conference where we as a world finally came to good agreements. Listen to Cees’ voice and that interview could have been made yesterday—so spot on, so just-right, so all-encompassing, and, while there was no denying the complexity of those enormous tasks, Cees stood for the approach and power of water, of people, and of all the life surrounding us. He was the ultimate activist— connecting, fast, smart, calm and good. Cees. That message still applies today. Then it was 2015. Then Cees was still alive.The High Level Panel on Water (HLPW) was founded in 2016 with a core focus on SDG 6. Comprising 11 heads of state and government, under the leadership of Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, and Jim Kim, president of World Bank Group, the HLPW has travelled the world forging partnerships, developing understanding, and securing commitments for water action. The HLPW agreed on the three principles for water action across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: understand, value, and manage water (better). Three pillars that are foundational for any sustainable and transformative water action. Only then can water be the enabler we need it to be, the leverage for catalytic, sustainable and inclusive action.Cees was convinced of the opportunity, never cynically, but sometimes with his hands in the air. Together, we must leapfrog ahead and invest more and better in water capacity, land management and infrastructure – blue, green and grey. It is time to scale up our investments in integrated, inclusive and sustainable water programs and projects. Doing so pays off, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations: Every US$1 invested in safe drinking water in urban areas yields more than US$3 in saved medical costs and added productivity. For every US$1 invested in basic sanitation, society earns back US$2.50. In rural areas, US$7 is gained or saved for every US$1 invested in clean drinking water. So far, we have failed to seize this opportunity. We continue to invest in infrastructure projects from the past, taken off the shelves, to fill economic stimulus packages. Focused on jobs alone for fast economic recovery, these projects offer no added value for integration, inclusion or sustainability. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs should lead the way for recovery, really preparing us for the challenging future ahead. Investing in water across the 2030 agenda is the added-value enabler we so urgently need.While we all know preparedness pays off, in terms of climate resilience preparedness offers a return on investment of five or ten times or more. And this is counting only the losses prevented and risks reduced. If we take into account the investment opportunities and added value—from better health, increased security, improved ecology, a decreasing gender gap and strengthened youth capacity—the benefits are numerous. Why shy away from sustainable investments, increasing resiliency and opening up our portfolios for more and a much wider range of opportunities?While we have great and inspiring examples, we lack a steady flow of sustainable investments. Our promises compete with outdated infrastructure investments. If we continue replicating the past, we'll end up more vulnerable, less equal and more fragile than before. Our commitment is challenged by vested interests in past mechanisms. We need to overcome these vested interests, grounded in the past, singularly focused and aimed for despair and a disastrous future. We need to accelerate and expand our promises and our commitments, by science and through solidarity. Investing across the 2030 Agenda, in a pipeline of blue and green opportunities, means investing in people across the world. We must practice what we preach.The availability of clean drinking water safeguards health, education and development, equal opportunities and inclusive sustainable growth. Preserving our ecosystems and natural resources ensures the resilience of our planet and society. By taking a preventive approach on our coasts and deltas and in our cities, we can avert the most serious problems and prepare ourselves and our world for a sustainable future that is strong and resilient. Water and water narratives can unite people around the world—politicians and scientists, city dwellers and country dwellers. We have to come up with new solutions to tackle our future challenges, since the solutions of the past will make the world a worse place tomorrow. By being proactive, we can understand our future and build resiliently. Our policies are based on our understanding of yesterday and not on our understanding of tomorrow. Innovation also involves the task of helping us change our policies and practices.Cees found himself in this context: challenged by humankind's failures and vested interests. He always tried to bridge this gap with his work, his network, his talent. Yes we can, but we can go either way. We must change course. We can change course. There is no time to waste if we want to achieve our climate and sustainable development goals and thus safeguard our planet and our future. For this, we need big and small successes.I met up and partnered with Cees while I was traveling the world in my quest for water security for all. I was inspired to dive deeper into the challenges we face, and to ask better questions. What are the mechanisms behind our actions? How can science, activism and a mind and heart approach help increase our understanding? How can we build awareness and understanding and strengthen the capacity to stand up, to act and provoke the future instead of continuing to linger in the past? Cees’ inspiration was also a provocation, matched with my own experience, ambition and my push to rapidly and massively increase our understanding of the complexity of our challenges through science and data, and to develop new and transformative actions based on facts and through inclusive partnerships. We must act now, together. We have no time to waste!It is not so hard; try it. Make mistakes and learn. Innovate, include and integrate. Inspire! And do it over and over again. Out of conviction, belief, ambition and the need to change now, fast and all the way. Too big? Not at all. Look past the obstructions for the opportunities. Rebuild by Design was built on this premise: there is always an opportunity for change and impact. And there's only one way to take: making the effort, leapfrogging by learning, by design and deliberation, in true collaboration. We all can do this, if we have the shared will and ambition to make the world a better place.We will never lose you Cees, never.- this text is a compilation with contributions by Maarten Gischler and Dennis van Peppen, quotes by many, and abstracts from my earlier articles on water and my personal observations.