‘We want to bridge the gap between CSOs en policymakers'

Organisation: Both ENDS
Project: South-South shared learning through a negotiated approach for river basin management

Daniëlle Hirsch, director of Both ENDS starts her presentation by sketching the history of the organisation. As an environmental NGO Both ENDS is used to react on bad policies. 'Because we want to contribute actively on positive developments in our field, we started developing ‘the Negociated Approach’'.

Both ENDS chose to apply 'the Negotiated Approach' in this field because the organization has already experience in River Basin Management.

The first experiences with ‘the Negiotiated Approach’ were gained with Gomukh, an Indian partner of Both ENDS. Now the concepts is implemented in several places and in several contexts around the world. Every case demands a tailormade approach. So Both ENDS facilitates tailormade capacitybulding.

Andres Mora Portuguez is present on behalf of FANCA (Freshwater Action Network Central America), an organization from Costa Rica. FANCA also is a partner of Both ENDS. Mora Portuguez explains how through ‘the Negotiated Approach’ local waterboards became relevant and serious negotiating partners of policymakers in Central and South America.

Before there were many decentralized waterboards, with no relevant voice in decision making process; there was no link with policymakers. A movie illustrates how the developments actually took place. Local waterboards became stronger by starting from the base bottom up.

Mora Portuguez: ‘This is how we develop ourselfs into strong, credible and capable partners in negitiation with policymakers. We now have contacts at the level of national administrations. In this new way of working we have a relevant voice. That is due to ‘the Negotiated Approach’.'