East Java Province, Indonesia’s second-most populous province, grapples with both environmental hazards and the pressing challenge of climate change. The Welang River basin is one of the concerned rivers that has several issues including recurrent flooding, rampant deforestation, and water pollution. The province is gearing up to tackle these issues head-on through innovative plans and strategic partnerships.

To support this ambition, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and The Water Agency designed WE are Water Education, a capacity-building program that equips the East Java Province’s civil servants with practical skills and international best practices, enabling Dutch and Indonesian knowledge transfer and creating integrated and cross-sectoral collaboration in climate-resilient Water Management for the Welang River Basin. This capacity-building program is developed together with the East Java Province governments under the Orange Knowledge Programme by Nuffic and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Water issues, such as flood or drought, are often related to non-technical aspects, such as economic drivers and environmental degradation, which affect the livelihoods of impacted communities. Therefore, an intervention in a water issue cannot just address one aspect but ignore others. It needs interdisciplinary thinking.

WE are Water Education: Climate-Resilient Water Management for Welang River Cities and Communities aims to close education and training gaps among civil servants in managing the complexities of water issues, especially in times of climate change.