ABSTRACT
These Proceedings are the outcome of the International Symposium which was part of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education-known initially as the International Institute for Hydraulic Engineering, and thereafter as the International Institute for Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering (IHE). This Institute has been an exponent of Knowledge and Capacity Development (KCD) efforts in the water and environment sectors for half a century. This Symposium is the fourth in a series on capacity development, with the earlier ones held in 1991, 1996, and 2001, and all co-organized with the partners in UNDP and the World Bank Institute. This Symposium aimed to explore the “next agenda” in KCD and would draw from the global experience on the subject including that of the Institute itself. The recommendations are aimed at the international development community, and also highlight those issues that are of particular relevance for the Institute given its mandate as an international organization for water education. The objectives of the Symposium were to achieve:
• A more operational and technical understanding of the emerging challenges for sustainable water management over the next two decades;
• A better grip on what priorities need to be addressed in knowledge and capacity enhancement, especially at local level, and at the global scale, to respond to these challenges;
• Recommendations on the strategy, priority actions, and preferred tools and instruments, to develop knowledge and capacity to make decisions and actions more effective.
