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.

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.

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

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.