Water is complex, but it’s the only way to an equitable, sustainable, and resilient future. Equity, sustainability, and resiliency can only be achieved if we stabilize this hydrological cycle. ”
In the latest episode of Distilled, host Will Sarni, Practice Lead, Water and Nature at Earth Finance, sits down with a new guest to discuss the global water crisis, the challenges and opportunities shaping the sector, and their personal journey navigating water issues around the world.
Henk Ovink, Executive Director of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, joined Will to talk about why the world needs a new approach to water, why people — not just technology — must be at the center of solutions, and how crises like Hurricane Sandy can spark innovation. From local communities to the United Nations, Henk shares why collaboration and ambition are essential to tackling the challenges ahead. Kicking off the discussion, Will asked Henk what first got him hooked on water.
Watch the full video episode below or keep reading for the write-up.
Henk on how he got hooked on water
For Henk, water has always been personal. His mother taught him the importance of inclusion and caring for the most vulnerable, while his father, an architect and engineer, passed on a love of problem-solving and innovation. Together, they instilled in him an optimism that still defines his approach: no challenge is too great if people work together.
Growing up in the Netherlands, that mindset naturally connected to water. Swimming lessons, sailing, and a childhood lived beside rivers made water a constant presence. Even his graduation project focused on how water shaped both nature and culture in his home region — a project that, in hindsight, pointed to the path ahead.
My parents instilled in me a strong belief in the power of people, but also a strong belief in inclusivity. My mother, an activist, taught me that inclusivity isn’t a noun, but a verb. She ignited my passion for working together, inclusion, never leaving anyone behind, and taking care of the most vulnerable.”
Even his academic work pointed him toward the path he would eventually take. For his graduation project, Henk returned to his home region to explore how water shaped both nature and culture.
His professional journey began much the same way: with water at the center. Starting out with his own small practice, Henk’s very first assignment came from a local water authority. Having just built a wastewater treatment plant near a small town, the authority wanted to give something back to the community. Henk helped design a new public square to celebrate water, complete with a fountain, a tree encircled by water jets, and a tower where residents could look out across the landscape.
I think I knew — without really knowing — that 40 years later I would still be working on water. Those were the little seeds that were planted in me to continue to champion water.”
Henk on centering people in the future of water
Henk believes that the future of water isn’t about technology alone but about people. While projects with strong business cases can often attract billions in funding, he argues that the real foundation for progress lies in something less visible but far more important: investing in people and the environments that foster collaboration.
I think technology and people hold hands. You need them both. It’s like healthy soil — this is what our societies grow on. If you have healthy soil where people are working together and trying to build trust and listen, this is where innovation starts to emerge. And then comes the opportunity for scale, replication, and implementation.”
He emphasizes that breakthrough innovations don’t come from technology in isolation but from the spaces where people with different, and sometimes conflicting, perspectives can come together to listen, challenge, and build trust. Creating these “safe spaces” requires consistent investment.
When relationships and trust are cultivated they become the fertile ground where ideas can scale, replicate, and take root across communities. Henk believes that this human-centered approach is not an add-on to technology but the essential condition for tackling the world’s water challenges. As he sees it, technology and people must go hand in hand — one without the other simply won’t deliver the future we need.
Henk on rebuilding after disaster
When Hurricane Sandy struck New York in 2012, the images of devastation shocked the world. For Henk, then Director General for Water and Planning in the Netherlands, the disaster became a turning point for how the world could think about recovery.
Henk was already known in Washington circles for pushing a holistic approach to resilience, one that connected infrastructure with sustainability, finance, and community well-being. So when President Obama established the Hurricane Sandy Task Force, then Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan reached out.
A visit to the Netherlands soon followed, where Donovan saw how the Dutch weaved water into every part of their planning, from coastal defenses and urban design in Rotterdam to the management of rivers and seas.
That trip sparked a bold idea. Instead of rebuilding the region the way it had been, why not treat Sandy as a catalyst to design something better? This became the foundation of Rebuild by Design, a competition that invited architects, engineers, scientists, and local communities to reimagine how urbanized coastlines in the Northeast could be more resilient during major storms.
We thought about how to respond differently and better. Being part of the task force, we built a team focused not only on rebuilding but re-imagining the future. Using that together with science, data, and community engagement, we wanted to figure out not only the necessary things to put in place, but also how to use that as a lever to really catalyze rebuilding into the future. It’s not about building back better. It’s how you develop a region in the context of that uncertain future.”
It was a completely different way of working. Rather than closed-door decisions, ten international teams immersed themselves in the lives of people on the frontlines. They met families in soup kitchens, walked storm-battered streets with local officials, and listened to the concerns of community leaders. More than 500 neighborhoods and thousands of residents helped shape the vision. And for Henk, this was about building trust, a safe space where people could be together.
The result wasn’t a set of generic infrastructure projects but a suite of ambitious, place-based designs that combined science, creativity, and local knowledge. Rebuild by Design showed that disasters don’t have to end in division. With imagination, trust, and collaboration, they can open the door to innovation and set a new standard for how the world responds to crises.
Henk on bringing water to the world stage
When Henk became the world’s first Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Netherlands, he quickly discovered that water had no institutional home at the United Nations. Despite being the thread that runs through climate, health, food, energy, and peace, it was missing from the global agenda. He began to rally for water not just on behalf of the Netherlands, but on behalf of the world.
This culminated in the 2023 UN Water Conference — the first in almost half a century. For Henk, the event could not be business as usual. Instead of gathering only ministers and diplomats, he pushed to create a space where governments sat alongside mayors, Indigenous leaders, business executives, youth activists, and scientists. The goal was to bridge local realities with global commitments, ensuring that community struggles and innovations were heard at the highest levels.
The value of water is not measured by water; it’s measured by society. We need water for everything. So, to understand why water is important for energy, food, health, urbanism, infrastructure, finance, stability, peace, and collaboration, you should not ask the water person. You should ask the health person, the biodiversity person, the climate person.”
That connection was non-negotiable. Henk believes that if communities don’t see themselves in the UN, we lose the opportunity for collaboration. By weaving together grassroots knowledge with institutional decision-making, the conference became a rare moment of alignment — one where people who had only connected through reports or fragmented networks finally met face-to-face.
But Henk is quick to stress that a conference is never the endpoint. Its real value lies in what follows — the sustained multilateral processes, the collaboration across borders and sectors, and the commitment to turn words into action. Without that follow-through, he warns that a conference is only ever a conference.
Interested in more Distilled content?
Hosted by Will Sarni, Distilled is a video podcast series that features water leaders from around the world. Each one-on-one conversation explores the guest’s unique career path, discusses the challenges and opportunities facing the water industry, and considers what’s next for water.
You can find the full catalog of episodes here.
