Climate Base Map South-Holland

Defacto together with the Province of South Holland and the water boards, developed a ‘climate base map’ that provides insight in conditions for land use deriving from the water- and soil system and climate change, as well as guidelines for climate proof urbanization, agriculture and nature developments. This project results from the ‘Water and Soil as guiding principle’ policy letter (‘Kamerbrief Water en Bodem Sturend’), a call for action by the national government, to stop passing on climate responsibility and costs to future generations, different areas or from the private to the public sector.

The map series shows climate challenges until 2100 in relation to flood risk management, subsidence, rain water discharge, water availability, water quality and heat stress. During a series of workshops with experts we together elaborated the impact of climate change and indicated areas that on the long term will be (un)suitable for traditional land use functions. We indicated where land use functions are considered unsustainable and should be reconsidered (orange on the map), where a joint effort is required to transform land use in a climate proof way (yellow on the map) and where guidelines can secure climate proof development (green on the map).

Municipalities can use the developed ‘climate base map’ to direct housing development, nature development and policies and agriculture transition. The map indicates what development could best be located where and provides guidelines for climate proof development.

Kennisprogramma Zeespiegelstijging

70 years ago today the great flood took place and flooded large parts of the southwestern provinces of the Netherlands. After that, the Delta works were built to protect the South West Delta. While the area is still well protected from flooding, it is unsure how long these measures will be sufficient in the light of sea level rise.

As part of the national knowledge program on sea level rise (Kennisprogramma Zeespiegelstijging) we explore different long-term development directions and their spatial and functional implications to ensure a resilient delta area in the future.

Dhaka Field Trip

The rivers around Dhaka are very diverse in their characteristics and face multiple complex challenges. As part of the umbrella investment program (a technical assistance to the GoB, commissioned by The World Bank) a boat trip was organized. During this field visit we discussed the current status and potential projects and investment for the rivers together with local authorities.

We look forward to further developing the prioritization strategy for investments to improve the river quality together with Royal HaskoningDHV, Delta Context B.V., The World Bank and the Government of Bangladesh.

Rotterdams WeerWoord 2030

The municipality of Rotterdam adopted the Rotterdams WeerWoord 2030. For this program we developed integral frameworks and perspectives for climate adaptation that can be applied by city makers. With this milestone, the programmatic approach Rotterdam WeerWoord enters a new phase of scaling up the implementation of climate adaptation city-wide.

For this project we developed climate analyses and perspective maps for different neighbourhoods and stakeholders, together with Nelen & Schuurmans.

Workshop sea level rise Wadden Sea area

As part of the Netherlands sea level rise strategy development we organised a workshop series to explore long term perspectives for sea level rise. One of the regions we visited is the Wadden Sea. Together with local experts we explored the relation between land use and directions for sea level rise (protection, coastal advance, living with water). The island-identity and the ecological qualities of this UNESCO-area make this a unique location.

The workshop series is part of the national knowledge programme on sea level rise (Kennisprogramma Zeespiegelstijging spoor IV). The Delta program released a video that stresses the urgency to investigate and understand the system and the impact of future sea level rise. You can find the video here

Bringing Dhaka rivers back to life

The quality of the five rivers around Dhaka have decreased drastically over the last decades due to unsustainable land use and heavy pollution. Together with Royal HaskoningDHV and the Government of Bangladesh we are working on an umbrella investment programme (UIP) commissioned by The World Bank. The aim is to improve and restore the quality of livelihood and economic development of the rivers around Bangladesh’s capital city by making strategic choices on investments.

You can read more about the project in the article The Daily Star

Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro

This year our works were on display in several exhibitions, including the  “Costa Carioca: Paisagem em transformação” (Costa Carioca: a landscape in transition). The exhibition emphasized Nature Based Solutions and included different examples from a range of our projects, like ‘Water as Leverage – Khulna’, ‘Dutch Delta Programme Rijnmond-Drechtsteden’, ‘Sea Level Rise 2100’, ‘The Hague, City by the Sea’ and the ‘Houston Bay Barrier’, among others.

The exhibition was organised by Pedro Évora from Évora Arquitetura and Renee Nycolaas from Hogeschool Rotterdam with funding from the Dutch consulate in Brazil.

Soil and water system as a guiding principle for spatial developments

Climate change and associated extreme weather events push the water system – and with that the current Dutch practice that facilitates desired land uses – to its limit. A paradigm shift is needed to make the soil- and water system a guiding principle for spatial developments. National and provincial governments and waterboards are now confronted with the challenge to formulate what this actually means. Together with experts we are working on several projects to help translate these challenges into preconditions for spatial developments to achieve a more sustainable land use practice in the future.

Anne Loes Nillesen panel member at ‘Future of River Basins and Deltas’ seminar

During the ‘Future of River Basins and Deltas’ seminar, hosted by PBL, CAUPD and TNC, we discussed how to create a better balance between economy, land use and water systems. The focus was on integrated perspectives that not only address climate change but align investments on climate adaptation with transformations required in agriculture, ecology, economic development, urbanization and energy. With contributions of Han Meyer, Marjolijn Haasnoot, Willem Ligtvoet, Bart Kuipers, Jaap Kwadijk, LI Xiaojiang, Arnoud Molenaar, Hans Mommaas, Jan Bakkes, TU Qiyu, Derek Hoeferlin, Bas Roels, Carline Borest Bos, LI YuanYuan, Nicole Silk and Justin Ehrenwerth.

Make sure you check out the PBL river and deltas tool that provides comparative information of different deltas.

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