What is it like to work for the Blue Deal Peru? Evelien van der Heijden is a Dutch dike specialist who recently joined the Blue Deal family. She shares her experiences of her first work visit to Peru from 17 - 28 November. "This was a reality check for me."
System as a whole
“I’m a dike specialist at the Dutch water authority Rivierenland. I studied Earth Sciences, which taught me the logic behind earth’s processes. My contribution to the Blue Deal Peru team focuses on minimalising the problems on the rivers during rainy seasons. I do, however, realise we have to take into account the system as a whole, including the various (extreme) challenges it faces.”
Goals for the first visit
“My goals for this first work visit were:
- Meeting our partners and getting a sense of the different parties involved, and the roles and positions they take;
- Getting more information about the regions, the rivers and the existing challenges.”
Ways to cooperate
“Our direct partner is the Autoridad Nacional del Agua (ANA). We visited the headquarters in Lima and spent most of our time with the ANA’s in the northern regions of Tumbes and Piura. For my work, another important party is the Autoridad Nacional de Infraestructura (ANIN). This party is assigned to build infrastructural works to prevent disruptive floodings who severely affect the regions. Together with our partners we spoke with ANIN about ways to cooperate and exchange information.”
Climate Cafe
“We joined the Climate Cafe workshops on a field trip to the Tumbes river upstream areas. The workshops are also part of our project, they are organised by the University of Applied Sciences Hanze, Wageningen and Maastricht Universities. They focus on working and creating awareness of water and climate issues among university students. Together with the students, I learned about the Tumbes river, quality and sedimentation problems.”
Extremes of the river system
“The day after, we had a field trip with ANA, ANIN and other stakeholders. This day brought together parties that have trouble cooperating. Although no friendships blossomed, at least there was knowledge exchange and interaction. And I learned about the different parties and their (interacting) roles.”
“During this field trip, we visited some brand new constructions, built by ANIN. These huge constructions collect the debris during rainy season in temporary tributaries. It’s hard to imagine these constructions at work during that season or a ‘wet event’ when melting away in the sun in a dry river bed. It made me realise the scale of the extremes of this river system. I realise now that I need more experience to really comprehend this system.”
Don’t jump to solutions
“In Piura, Dutch Water Authorities colleague Betty Laan (from the Dutch water authority hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier) gave a workshop about strengthening the position of the water councils and the possible conditions of a decision-making process. This gave me a good understanding about the different parties and their interests, including their challenges. The key insight from the sessions and discussions with Betty and the partners was the importance of first understanding the conditions of a situation or problem, rather than immediately jumping to solutions.”
‘Wastewater people’
“Later that day, the room was filled with ‘wastewater people’. This was because Dutch Water Authorities colleague John Koop (of the Dutch water authority Hunze en Aa’s) introduced a training programme for employees at wastewater treatment facilities. Additionally, Sander Wingelaar, a PhD candidate from TU Delft, presented his research proposal on wastewater resource recovery. Although not my area of expertise, certainly an expansion of my network.”
“The day after, Carlo van Oijen, a student at the Wageningen University, presented his Bachelor thesis ‘Flood Risk Reduction in the lower catchment of the Piura River”. Carlo was on screen (via Teams), while ANA and ANIN sat together with us in the meeting room. We had an open conversation about the newly gained knowledge and how we could work together to help mitigating floods in the city.”
Severe drought
“The last day in Piura, we attended the Climate Cafe. As part of this, we visited the Poechos dam and reservoir. The reservoir is nearly empty and no water flows through to feed the river. This was a reality check for me. I could understand the current news about the difficult situation of many farmers in the region, who are afraid to lose their production due to severe drought. Thus, the regions are not only affected by floods but also suffer extreme droughts as consequences of climate change.”
“Next to those impacts and together with the students, we also learned about the struggles a community faces due to the building of another dam. Some interviews were conducted by the students of the Climate Cafe with the community members. Although my Spanish was not good enough to completely understand their stories, this certainly gave me an insight in the most important party: the local inhabitants, who we, civil servants, work for.”
Sharing experiences
“Looking back at this work visit I can surely check the boxes of my proposed objectives. It was a great experience. The most valuable: the time spent in between and on the road with colleagues from ANA and Dutch Water Authorities, sharing experiences and insights.”
