Willem van Deursen

During 25 years as an integrated water management consultant, I came to realize the importance of the interaction between the engineering world and the human world of livelihood of local communities. Water management challenges seldom deal with isolated water issues, but always involves societal challenges and problems as well. I always try to explore this interaction between engineering and governance to develop strategies to deal with the hydrological challenges. Water engineering is only worth the effort we spend on it, if and only if, it ensures improvement of the life situation of the people.