A joint solution
for separate challenges
The world faces many challenges caused by climate change and demographic developments. How can innovative approaches to engineering mitigate these challenges?
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DELTA PROGRAMME COMMISSIONER'S STAFF DIRECTOR
"The Delta programme uses an adaptive approach. Decisions need to be based on sound information and good monitoring. It is important that decisions are not made too early or too late, and that decisions are adaptable and flexible. Adaptability should be based on seeing how climate change, the economy and society will develop over the next decades. That is why
we are building a monitoring system called ‘measuring, knowing, acting’. Over the next several years we can monitor changes, so we know whether the infrastructure we have built is appropriate."
ROYAL HASKONINGDHV
"Integration and an integral approach are not only about economics, ecology and safety, but also about integrating with local social and cultural conditions. We have to be practical when we are asked to make something or to realise a concrete goal somewhere in the world, but we also have
to find a win-win solution. For example, we did
a project in Bangladesh on coastal erosion remediation and combined it with the cultivating oyster reefs. This was a win-win outcome. But
it was a difficult process as it was based on combining a lot of knowledge from many different experts and stakeholders."
MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
"We have a joint research and innovation programme on water and the climate. This includes research on building with nature, water safety, the relation between food and water, and, energy and water. Our research combines some of the most important issues that we will be confronted with in the future. When we strengthen our waterworks, we have to do more than just think about water safety. A dune or dike is a part of water safety infrastructure, but it needs to be combined with other tasks too: such as protecting biodiversity and providing a natural place for recreation."
DUTCH PROVINCIAL COUNCIL
"While working as a director of an NGO, I saw
that few politicians were brave enough to think creatively. I moved into politics based on my desire to encourage a greater overlap between the approaches of engineers and politicians. I felt I was able to do so based on my own education as an engineer. Overtime, the public has come
to know me as someone who cares about safety and also ecological factors. This makes a big difference. Now, in South-Holland, many new water management and urbanisation projects
can be realised as politicians and engineers are working more productively together."
DELTA ALLIANCE
"Delta Alliance is a knowledge driven network
that focuses on the 16 deltas worldwide.
Most of the deltas are very vulnerable, such as those in Bangladesh and Vietnam. The most important thing we do is knowledge sharing as there is a large gap in knowledge access. Every branch of the Delta Alliance has its own knowledge organisation.
We meet each other yearly to share our strategies. Engineers from other countries are happy to learn from the Dutch because of our long history of working with water. Knowledge is a good starting point for building working relations that are mutually beneficial. We aim to stimulate international cooperation and co-creation."
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