Panel Discussion: The Role of Partnerships and Financing in Building Climate-Resilient Water and Sanitation Systems

On the occasion of GWOPA's 6th Congress in Bonn, Germany, a plenary session was held on 28 October 2025 titled “Turning the Tide: Building Climate-Resilient Water and Sanitation Systems”. Arjun Thapan joined the panel to discuss solutions for strengthening climate resilience in the water and sanitation sector.

The plenary brought together voices from international organizations, national governments, and community networks to share ideas on how utilities and city systems can adapt to increasing water-related risks such as droughts, floods, and pollution.

Mr. Thapan highlighted the ready availability of finance, certainly across a very liquid Asia. However, the problem lay in the inability of utilities and local governments in preparing projects that could access such finance. He emphasized the critical role of local governments. These were the best partners that utilities had. If utilities and local governments were unable to work together difficulties in accessing climate finance would get only get worse. In short, he emphasized that “resilient utilities need more than technology—they need partnerships that bring together technical expertise, financing, and policy support.” Fostering such partnerships through dedicated projects was central to urban water security.

The plenary concluded with a shared call to integrate water and sanitation more fully into national climate policies, promote innovative financing mechanisms, and provide partnership-based support to WASH utilities so as to advance sustainable, climate-resilient urban development.