World Water Day unites Topsoil stakeholders
Wednesday 22nd of March was UN World Water Day 2017. On this particular date the Province of Drenthe organized an international stakeholders meeting for the Topsoil project in Paterswolde, together with the water authorities Hunze en Aa’s and Noorderzijlvest.TOPSOIL is a unique cooperation of water authorities, scientists, regional and local governments and diverse stakeholder groups and there was a heightened interest in participating in this stakeholders meeting. Almost 100 ‘toppers’ attended from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom.
The day kicked off with some of inspiring presentations from regional experts. However, following some coffee it was time to go outdoors where most of the day was spent ‘in the field’. During various excursions, particularly designed to target each stakeholder group, the farmers, municipalities and drinking water companies discussed the challenges faced and the potential measures they themselves can take. Water boards and policy makers talked about how they could best facilitate and support such measures.
During his concluding speech Mr. Cees Bijl, Member of the Executive Board of the Province of Drenthe, emphasised the importance of joint efforts and toasted on the TOPSOIL partnership and its successes to date.
