Barbara Anton is project coordinator of the water team at ICLEI. ICLEI co-convenes session “Local Partnerships on Water and Energy”.

What are your expectations on the Zaragoza Conference on partnerships for improving Water and Energy (W&E) access, efficiency and sustainability?
My expectations are that a convincing case for the opportunities and synergies of partnerships in the area of W&E efficiency and sustainability will be made and more organisations feel motivated to enter into such kind of partnerships.

Why partnerships between local institutions and NGOs on improving efficiency, sustainability and access to W&E are an important theme for ICLEI?
ICLEI has always been promoting the collaboration of stakeholders for promoting solutions that are suitable to foster sustainable development - this is the same in this case. Partnerships allow the pooling of knowledge, resources, capacities etc. and thus increase the potential to achieve the set goals.

What can be done to create a level of understanding and good coordination among the Local partners and NGOs for improving efficiency, sustainability and access to W&E?
Local authorities should take the lead and make such kind of partnerships a component of a more comprehensive and long-term planning and implementation process for W&E efficiency and sustainability. In this way, single partnerships are embedded in a bigger framework and can follow complementary objectives, common principles and harmonised approaches.

How can this Zaragoza Conference in your opinion contribute to improving the W&E nexus?
The conference can't really improve the nexus as such, but it will present a significant contribution to foster awareness on it and increase the motivation of relevant decision-makers and practitioners to take it into account in policy, planning and implementation - or, in the case of international organisations, to act as multipliers and spread the word.