Klaas Schwartz, new Professor of Water Services Governance, tackles drinking water supply challenges

Increasing pressure on global water supplies is causing existing water services to reach their limit, 2 billion people still lack access to safely managed drinking water. 

“Droughts, pollution of water sources and salt water intrusion negatively affect the quality of water throughout the world. Less than a third of people living in sub-Saharan Africa have access to safely-managed water,” Schwartz said. “In the future, people in the Netherlands will face the same problems. Water suppliers will have to take measures to become climate resilient to address this. This transition will bring many organizational and institutional challenges, which is what I will research.” 

After graduating for his Master’s in Public Administration at the University of Twente in 1997, he completed his PhD at Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2006. His research focuses on the governance and management of water services in various countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Amsterdam is the largest education and research centre for social and behavioural science in Europe. Its education and research typically handle how today’s societal issues, such as urbanisation and inclusivity, affect people’s everyday lives.