In March 2026, Blue Dragon Vietnam carried out a GIS training together with Can Tho University and also conducted a fact-finding mission on clean water in An Giang province.
GIS training for Mekong Delta provinces
GIS training for Mekong Delta provinces
The expert pool on Geographic Information System (GIS) executed its seventh week of training in the first week of March 2026. The 7th week focused on identifying agricultural land use using remote sensing.
Mrs. Petra Hulsman (Water Authority De Stichtse Rijnlanden) and Mr. Rob van Ede (Water Authority Rivierenland) conducted the training in cooperation with the Can Tho University. All provinces of the Mekong Delta take part in this training.
Factfinding mission on clean water
During the second week of March the two trainers of the training pool on wastewater treatment and the 2 Dutch KIWI participants conducted a factfinding mission in An Giang province and Can Tho city in the Mekong Delta. KIWI participants are professionals from the Dutch water authorities who spend two years deepening their knowledge of climate adaptation, project development, and environmental management. They combine intensive learning sessions with hands-on experience in international projects, such as that of Blue Deal in Vietnam.
Together with the partnership managers and the provincial partners existing wastewater treatment plants were visited and options for training discussed. The KIWI’s focussed on clean water by visiting possible rural locations in both provinces for a possible pilot project on rural wastewater treatment, rainwater storage and awareness raising regarding garbage disposal in surface waters.
Together they will draft a training programme and possible options for a pilot project.
Fact-finding mission on clean water in An Giang province and Can Tho city in the Mekong Delta.
In 2026, the Blue Deal Colombia partnership - also known as InspirAgua - are deepening collaboration on water governance through river planning, wastewater management, knowledge exchange, and multi-year strategic initiatives, marking a year of intensive cooperation and learning.
As part of the current working visit, Colombian umbrella organization ASOCARS, environmental authority Cormagdalena, and InspirAgua are meeting up to strengthen their collaboration
2026 is shaping up to be a dynamic year of collaboration between Colombia and the Netherlands. Not only in water governance, but also in celebrating 200 years of diplomatic relations.
Since March 16, a working visit is taking place. Dutch water experts are working in five Colombian regions on river planning, wastewater treatment, monitoring, crisis management, and strengthening knowledge networks.
Within the topic of wastewater treatment: Dutch expert Andras Koops during the kick-off for a new wastewater knowledge network led by ASOCARS and hosted by Aguas de Manizales. During the presentation, Andras shared practical experiences, with a focus on risks to the environment and opportunities to use licensing, monitoring and enforcement more effectively as a policy instrument.
Additional exchange visits will follow in July and October, and in September a Colombian delegation travels to the Netherlands to explore integrated river‑basin planning.
A major focus this year is developing the InspirAgua multi‑year plan for the period 2027–2030, which is also the final phase of the Blue Deal programme.
During the current mission, partners are sharing their ambitions for the next phase, helping align long‑term goals and deepen cooperation across organisations and government levels.
As part of the ambition to strengthen these regional collaborations, a small group of Dutch and Colombian representatives will travel to Argentina in May 2026, where they will be working with Blue Deal Argentina on a multi-year plan that also explores cross-border opportunities. During the same trip, a 3-day knowledge exchange on data sharing and information utilisation will take place, in which Blue Deal Peru will also participate.
In short: 2026 looks to be a year full of activity, learning, and strengthened collaboration within and across the Blue Deal programmes.
From 21 February to 2 March 2026, a Dutch Water Authorities expert team visited northern Peru to work with regional partners on strengthening water governance and building climate‑resilient water systems. Through hands‑on training, field visits, and strategic dialogue, the mission helped deepen technical skills, foster collaboration, and support more inclusive decision‑making in the Chira–Piura and Tumbes basins.
Visiting the wastewater treatment plant
Blue Deal Peru has kicked off its working visits for 2026. From 21 February to 2 March, professionals from the Dutch Water Authorities (DWA) carried out an intensive technical working visit to Peru, alongside partners from the CRHC Chira-Piura and CRHC Tumbes of the National Water Authority (ANA). Together with key organisations in both regions, they explored instruments and case studies to strengthen water governance, drawing inspiration from examples of inclusive and effective decision-making structures.
Water safety workshops
During this visit, the DWA teams focused on the project’s priority themes:
Hydrological modelling workshops using the W-Flow tool: These support the local monitoring teams in applying tools for estimating water availability and better river basin planning.
Wastewater treatment training: Operators of wastewater treatment facilities enhanced their operational capacity and environmental performance.
Stakeholder analysis workshops on flood management: Teams discussed prevention strategies and organisational capacities in both the Tumbes and Chira-Piura basins.
Climate change adaptation exchanges: Opportunities were explored to strengthen resilience and implement sustainable interventions at the regional level.
This insightful visit marks the start of a promising year for Blue Deal Peru, reinforcing collaboration, strengthening institutions, and promoting more resilient watersheds across northern Peru.
Field visits were conducted in collaboration with ANA, as well as the KIWI and YEP programmes, allowing teams to observe challenges and opportunities directly in the river basins.
The working visit also included coordination meetings in Lima to align actions with ANA and the Dutch Embassy in Peru.
The Dutch and Peruvian experts during the WWTP workshop
It was a busy week marked by learning, collaboration and a shared commitment: to move towards more sustainable and resilient water systems.
The Blue Deal Ethiopia (Abbay) team recently returned from a working visit to Ethiopia. It was a week of strengthening partnerships, advancing water and wastewater programmes, delivering trainings, and signing a new MoU to support long-term sector development in Ethiopia Abbay.
Note: This article was recently published on the World Waternet website.
Mir and Marjolein at Water and Land Exhibition in Ethiopia
The sun was barely up when our team stepped into the buzzing streets of Addis Ababa. Taxi horns, morning laughter, and a week full of plans ahead. We came to connect, train, and build together with our Ethiopian partners in three programmes and with one new Memorandum of Understanding. Below you find a short look behind the scenes, from the Abbay Basin to Adama, and a national step forward with the Ethiopian Urban Water and Sanitation Federation.
Blue Deal Abbay, continuing with a new Partnership Manager
We welcomed our new Blue Deal Abbay Partnership Manager, Stefan de Wildt from Water board Amstel, Gooi and Vecht (AGV). Together with David Koenders from water board Holland Noorderkwartier (HHNK) and the Abbay Basin Administration Office (ABAO), the team reviewed the 2026 annual plan, aligned on monitoring and data needs, and prepared next steps for a realistic upscaling plan for the coming years. The week included joint planning between the Ethiopian and the Dutch technical teams and focused sessions on stakeholder engagement. The atmosphere was open, practical, and focused on results.
Stefan de Wildt-Bewuketu Abebe and David Koenders looking into streets of Addis Ababa
Blue Deal Wastewater in Adama, improving wetland performance
In Adama, Richard Oudhuis stepped in the wastewater partnership. Together with Adama, Shashemene en Hawassa Water Utility, we ran a joint workshop on performance, then visited the constructed wetland for wastewater. On site, we stood with utility staff and community leaders by the broken pipeline that should spread inflow across the wetland. We agreed on the repair steps and the plan to monitor results before any expansion to new housing blocks together with the BBBC our local partner. It’s important to keep the orange Canna lilies wet for continuous growth. A functioning wetland reduces health risks, improves local water quality, and gives the utility a cost-effective tool to treat wastewater.
The Adama Water Utility team
Update on the wetland project
BRIGHT project, connecting knowledge with the Water and Land Resource Center
At the same time, Joy Pengel and Maarten Wensing met with partners in the BRIGHT project, including the Water and Land Resource Center (WLRC). The talks explored how better data, practical tools, and local expertise can support future monitoring systems, and how BRIGHT can link with Blue Deal where useful. These conversations help both teams test what works best in the Ethiopian context. Better data and clear roles support safer decisions during storms, faster reporting, and a stronger link between research and daily utility operations.
Inception phase of BRIGHT with project leader Joy Pengel and Maarten Wensing
Communication training, stories that speed up collaboration
Our Corporate Communications colleague, Mir Verkaaik, gave a hands-on training on strong and consistent communication. The session began with the basics of identity, showing how knowing who you are as an organisation shapes how you act and how others see you. The team also explored how to adapt messages for different audiences and why this helps create real impact. After this, the group moved into practice. From planning, writing scripts, filming, acting to editing. The Abbay team was up for it!
Mir Verkaaik giving the communications impact training, reviewing the impact video’s together.
A new step forward, signing the MoU with the Urban Water & Sanitation Federation (EUWSF)
The week ended at the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE), where World Waternet and the Ethiopian Urban Water and Sanitation Federation signed a new Memorandum of Understanding. The MoU is a result of the Blue Deal partnership Ethiopia Wastewater Management and focuses on peer learning, capacity building, and technical support for urban utilities throughout Ethiopia. The new collaboration involves scaling up the knowledge exchange platform with wastewater treatment utilities so that more utilities can join. In this way, we are contributing to the national strengthening of the Ethiopian water sector, in line with our social mission. The collaboration provides an opportunity to share expertise from Amsterdam more widely and to learn from challenges in faster, more complex environments.
Maarten Wensing Regional Director signing the MOU with Mr. Muktar Ahmed DG of the Utility Federation
A new office in Addis Ababa
During the visit, the team also stopped by the new World Waternet office hosted within MoWE, a promising base for closer day to day collaboration. The space is still being set up, but it already strengthens our presence in Ethiopia and makes coordination with national partners faster and more direct. Two computer screens donated by the Amstel, Gooi and Vecht Water Authority were brought from Amsterdam and handed over to our local colleagues, Semachew and Joy, who will use the office to support both the Blue Deal Wastewater programme and the BRIGHT project.
Marjolein Weijers en Semachew Miskir at the new Blue Deal / World Waternet office in Addis Ababa
Looking ahead
New faces joined, new plans took shape, and new connections were built. In the coming months we will keep working with our Ethiopian partners to improve monitoring, pilot nature-based solutions, strengthen utilities, and share stories that show the impact of this work. If you want to follow the Blue Deal ethiopia abbay progress , check out the World Waternet website!
A special edition of the YEP Effect magazine was launched today, dedicated entirely to the collaboration between the Young Expert Programme (YEP) and the Blue Deal. Developed jointly by the communication teams of YEP and the Blue Deal - and shaped by the current group of Young Experts themselves - the magazine offers a look into the work and impact of young water professionals in Blue Deal partnership countries.
Jelmer Klinkenberg (YEP) and Nienke Swagemakers (Blue Deal) with the new YEP Effect Blue Deal edition
Young Experts take the lead This issue showcases stories written by our own Young Experts currently halfway through their YEP Blue Deal experience. Part of their training includes communication – and this magazine gave them the opportunity to put those new skills into practice. Some conducted interviews, others provided photographs, and many shared their personal YEP and Blue Deal journeys. Together, they have created a rich and varied magazine filled with insights from water projects around the world.
A natural match with real impact
Young Expert Programmes (YEP) and the Blue Deal are a natural match. The involvement of young professionals through the YEP Programme has been a major success: their energy, hands‑on mentality and fresh ideas bring tremendous added value to the Blue Deal partnerships around the world. The YEP Global Network has also sparked lifelong connections — whether through learning from each other at regional Blue Deal conferences, as highlighted by Young Experts in Latin America, or through ongoing exchange with YEP alumni who continue to work in local water organisations.
Powered by the NWB Fund
The YEP Tailor-made programme for the Blue Deal is made possible thanks to the support of the NWB Fund. The fund plays a fundamental role in strengthening and supporting Blue Deal partnerships, through cross-cutting themes, including climate adaptation and social inclusion, both of which feature prominently in the stories presented in this special edition.
The Blue Deal Learning & Development programme
This collaboration fits within the broader Blue Deal Learning & Development (L&D) programme, which aims to strengthen the next generation of water professionals working internationally. YEP is an integral part of this approach, alongside other initiatives such as the KIWI programme. Together, they help build technical expertise, leadership skills and cross‑cultural collaboration across our global partnerships.
The Young Experts of Blue Deal batch 2
What’s inside this special edition?
Mentorship in action: A story from Colombia shows how Young Experts and mentors from Dutch Water Authorities learn from and support one another within the Blue Deal context.
Life after YEP: Alumni describe how their Blue Deal and YEP experiences continue to shape their careers and impact.
Themes that matter: Articles focusing on climate adaptation and social inclusion — two cross‑cutting themes supported by the NWB Fund – with practical examples from Blue Deal partnerships around the world.
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