The D1 team was there to hear lectures on global water governance, meet representatives of UN organizations and water partnerships, and engage in conversations on the present and—more importantly—the future rule of these partnerships. In addition to political declarations, the forum provided a context to announce new partnerships and reinforce the continuation of existing ones. Especially striking was the adamancy with which the actors present emphasized understanding local conditions as a key to successful implementation—not only in relation to partnerships but also in relation to development cooperation. This corresponds to one of the D1 project’s major research findings from the second funding period. The position was present at earlier conferences as well, but in Daegu it came across much more frequently.

Before the conference began, the D1 team visited the UN Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD) in Incheon near Seoul, and, among other things, shared their preliminary findings on the conditions for success of transnational partnerships.