G103, Thursday May 27. 11:15 hrs See session contents G103, Thursday May 27. 11:15 hrs See session contents

About Mr. Ger Bergkamp

Ger Bergkamp is Director General of the World Water Council, headquartered in Marseille, France. He has served the water community for more than 20 years. After he completed university studies, he became convinced through extensive travel and field experience that successful "ecosystem management" did not depend on managing ecosystems but rather on managing humans, empowering communities, making people the principal actors of the change they need and seek in every level in society, from the local farmer to transboundary river basin negotiators. Not long after becoming water advisor for IUCN (The World Conversation Union), he began to quietly test his hypothesis. He prepared a background study for the United Nation's Commission on Sustainable Development, defining ecosystems through their basic services to humanity, and putting people at the centre of water governance. He then began to advise governments and NGOs on how to translate this approach on the ground, and where to bring environmental sustainability into their own water management practices.

Building on these experiences and based on consultations with hundreds of organisations, he led the preparation of a global agenda for sustainable water management. The resulting Vision for Water and Nature advanced the then-radical notion of using water to solve environmental problems, rather than constantly increasing supplies for wasteful water practices. He sought and found partners from 300 organisations willing to co-pioneer an initiative that would empower poor communities with the resources they would need to thrive. The partnerships he forged in over 40 countries provided the network for what became known as The Water and Nature Initiative. Through hundreds of projects in 35 countries, the Initiative helped nations rewrite their own water legislation, develop their own strategic water plans, or co-operate with their own neighbouring states on their own terms. He continues to believe that balancing water allocation between users is vital to improve health, expand prosperity, and ensure resources for future generations.