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The global water sector is changing and it is in need of more evidence-based responses of emerging global, regional, national and local challenges. Communities are seeking interventions which achieve multiple benefits and outcomes such as: improved quality of water bodies, reduced greenhouse emissions, reliably delivered water for human use but also some that are rather urgent like: flood-risk management. In order to take into account the environmental, technological, economic, institutional and cultural characteristics of river basins, we need to move from current management regimes towards more adaptive regimes with the use of Nature-based solutions (NbS) instead of traditional 'grey' engineering approaches. Quite a vast amount of tools have been developed throughout the years for achieving this transition. This paper identifies the challenges and opportunities that water professionals face when using these tools in the process of planning NbS. An online tailor-made approach, based on a modified nominal group technique (NGT) and Multi-criteria analysus (MCA) was developed and applied. The NGT-based assessment of these tools consists of two rounds during which participants were asked to reflect first individually, and then collectively about the prerequisites and implications of these tools in the process of planning NbS. The participants are water professionals from the European project Co-Adapt. Here we presented one approach where new scientific methods and practical tools are developed for participatory assessment and implementation of adaptive water management.

This report analyzes the progress and challenges of 16 countries in the Danube watershed in delivering sustainable water and wastewater services to all, while meeting the European Union environmental acquis communautaire. After putting the services that are being delivered into context, the report analyzes the organization of services in the region and the level of access to services, that is, how well countries are doing in terms of providing access to water and wastewater services for the entire population. It then looks at the performance of the sector, including the quality of services provided and customer satisfaction with it. It also draws a picture of the efficiency of services, including whether they reflect accepted good practices. Finally, it analyzes the financing of services, looking at whether the financing of operation, maintenance, and investments is secured and affordable. The report draws largely from existing public data sources at the national and regional level, and consolidates them into a coherent, regional narrative, and analysis. The methods of analysis include horizontal comparisons among countries at a given point in time and trends within the countries or the region over a given period of time. Given shortcomings in the availability and comparability of data across 16 countries, the report seeks to encourage and inform a policy dialogue around sector challenges rather than provide a definitive set of policy recommendations.

To evaluate the sustainability of services in the region, an overall sector assessment has been done taking into account four main dimensions: access to services, quality of services, efficiency of services, and financing of services. Each of these dimensions is measured through three simple and objective indicators. For each indicator, best practice values are established by looking at the best performers in the region, and the countries closest to those best performers are deemed to have a more mature sector. A more complete description of the methodology to assess sector sustainability is included in the annex of the state of the sector regional report from the Danube Water Program. The outcomes of this assessment for the Serbian water sector are presented, which also shows average and best practices in the Danube region. The Serbian sector sustainability score is 61, which is below the Danube average sustainability of 64. The assessment shows that, on average, the country performs well in terms of access to piped water and flush toilets, nonrevenue water, and affordability. The main deficiencies of the Serbian water sector identified through the sector sustainability assessment are the level of investment, wastewater treatment coverage, and the operating cost ratio. The main sector challenges are: strengthening and clarifying sector governance; ensuring tariff setting according to the cost recovery principle to improve overall performance in preparation for EU accession; and enhancing water utility staff capacity and training.

This report outlines a 3-year program to upgrade the knowledge platform for managing water resources in Central Asia. Its ultimate purpose is to enhance the ability of all countries to engage in evidenced- based dialogue on water and energy management. It focuses on regional actions, linking all five countries plus Afghanistan, but recognizes the essential role of national initiatives. It covers the core elements of a modern decision support system and, based on extensive consultations, supports a change in accessing, developing, and sharing information and analysis. The intended outcomes of the road map are to: (i) establish a knowledge platform that is accepted by countries as a basis for cooperative actions; (ii) enhance capacity and knowledge sharing at the national and regional levels; and (iii) directly improve management of water at national and transboundary scales.

Preface

Preface

Water, as a resource, is integral to human activities of all kinds. The water sector, as a society's means of ensuring individuals have sufficient water is fundamental to recovery and development. While designing and implementing water supply operations in any societal context is a complicated endeavor, doing so in contexts affected by conflict, fragility and violence is inherently associated with compounded challenges. The objective of this study is to summarize operational lessons from task teams to inform effective water supply and access operations in conflict-affected and fragile situations. This paper defines common operational challenges and describes actions that task teams have taken in Bank projects in order to address those challenges. Further, the paper explores ways to ensure that water supply projects in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS) contexts, in addition to achieving technical objectives, can also address perpetual causes of conflict and fragility. The risks of escalating violence and decreasing stability are exacerbated in situations where access to water resources and services is poor, constrained, inequitable, and unsustainable. This knowledge product summarizes lessons from World Bank task teams that have prepared and implemented water supply projects in locations affected by conflict, fragility and violence. The findings intend to support operational problem-solving during water operations that are conducted in these situations. The study engaged task team members and surveyed project documentation, consolidating data on contextual and operational challenges and responsive methods that staff recommend. The findings of this study show that clear priorities in process and organizational capacity, with a focus on access, are needed to ensure that water supply operations in FCS contexts are conflict-sensitive.

Global environmental changes introduce new challenges and expose future university graduates in hydrology and related fields to problems of unprecedented complexity and magnitude. The T-shape model is proposed as a generic competency profile guiding the design of university curricula. This model differentiates between cognitive competencies in a certain field (i.e. hydrology; vertical leg of the T), and other cognitive/knowledge competencies in neighboring fields (e.g. hydraulics, aquatic ecology, land use management etc.) and functional, personal and values competencies and meta-competencies (all summarized in the horizontal bar of the T). It is based on the holistic model of professional competencies by Cheetham and Chivers (1996) and related studies (Oskam, 2009). The T-shape profile should apply to all levels of higher education (1st degree till doctorate level) in hydrology and related fields. For the effectiveness of hydrologists as professionals, a variable mix of competencies is required and further discussed. Key aspects are an open attitude for learning, continuous professional development (lifelong learning), and integrative and team working skills. Furthermore, a stimulating learning environment that promotes active learning is essential. As examples that substantiate the proposed T-shape model, the post-graduate education programmes of UNESCO-IHE and the main outcomes from a university curriculum workshop to promote education for sustainable development are introduced.

Global environmental changes introduce new challenges and expose future university graduates in hydrology and related fields to problems of unprecedented complexity and magnitude. The T-shape model is proposed as a generic competency profile guiding the design of university curricula. This model differentiates between cognitive competencies in a certain field (i.e. hydrology; vertical leg of the T), and other cognitive/knowledge competencies in neighboring fields (e.g. hydraulics, aquatic ecology, land use management etc.) and functional, personal and values competencies and meta-competencies (all summarized in the horizontal bar of the T). It is based on the holistic model of professional competencies by Cheetham and Chivers (1996) and related studies (Oskam, 2009). The T-shape profile should apply to all levels of higher education (1st degree till doctorate level) in hydrology and related fields. For the effectiveness of hydrologists as professionals, a variable mix of competencies is required and further discussed. Key aspects are an open attitude for learning, continuous professional development (lifelong learning), and integrative and team working skills. Furthermore, a stimulating learning environment that promotes active learning is essential. As examples that substantiate the proposed T-shape model, the post-graduate education programmes of UNESCO-IHE and the main outcomes from a university curriculum workshop to promote education for sustainable development are introduced.