University Malaya Living with water - Water management in the Netherlands

1. The Dutch Water sector
TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF
DELTAS, ESTUARIES AND COASTAL ZONES
Neder Delta Engineering & Consulting (M) Sdn Bhd
Speaker: Ir. Hendrik J.S. Bruna
Kuala Lumpur October 4th. 2009
“FORUM OUR EARTH, OUR HOME”
AUDITORIUM UNIVERSITI MALAYA

2. “LIVING WITH WATER”
ENABELING DELTA LIFE
RIVER & WATER MANAGEMENT
IN THE NETHERLANDS
BASED ON > 400 YEARS EXPERIENCE
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3. DUTCH COAST – NORTH SEA
MAKING USE OF WIND ENERGY “AIR-TRICITY”
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4. The Netherlands: what’s in a name?
• The Netherlands is built on the delta of four European rivers
• 70% of GDP earned on land that would flood if left undefended
• Lengthy and sturdy flood defences
• Part of our culture and history
• Royal involvement
THREAT DAMAGE SOLUTION
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5. HRH. PRINCE WILLEM ALEXANDER CROWN PRINCE OF THE NETHERLANDS
ALSO NICKNAMED THE WATER PRINCE IS VERY ACTIVE AND SPECIAL ADVISER &
CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE FOR WATER AND SANITAIRY ISSUES TO
THE SECRETARY- GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS (UNSGAB)
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6. TYPICAL DUTCH SOIL
SEA – MARINE CLAY
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7. Mind over “AIR-TRICITY”
matter
• Windmills: tribute
to an age-old fight
• Levees: more than
piles of sand
• Reclaiming land for
agriculture,
business and
protection has
paid off
• Modern land
reclamation:
Second Maas Area
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8. Water: a love affair
• Water as a source of prosperity
- The first multinational was Dutch
- The Dutch East India Company
The “VOC” 1602 - 1850
-- Port of Rotterdam – Europort
- now world’s third-largest
-
• Water as protection (O, irony)
- Controlled flooding - inundation
polders – land to stop enemies
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9. Water:
a formidable foe
• The St. Elizabeth Flood:
defenseless against nature’s
forces
• Zuyderzee Flood leads to large-
scale land reclamation
• The tragedy of 1953 and the
ensuing National Delta Plan
for the whole country
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10. LARGE SCALE LAND RECLAMATION
NETHERLANDS
LOWLANDS - DELTA
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11. TYPICAL DUTCH POLDER LANDSCAPE
LAND IS BELOW WATER LEVEL
CREATIVE LIVING WITH WATER
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12. Global water challenges
•• Climate change to impact our safety, health and prosperity
•• Population growth to pressure urban areas
•• Providing water and sanitary facilities
•• Social responsibility and human rights
•• Urbanisation focused on vulnerable delta areas
•• Economic growth further draining our resources
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13. Dutch solutions for
the entire world
• The Dutch: the world’s water
trailblazer, we have some of the
world’s leading companies in
dredging.
• Going Dutch: technology,
solutions and organizational skills.
Dredging Industry Land Reclamation
& Coastal Protection
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14. A holistic approach
• Limits of protection: combining
soft measures with hard defenses
• Room for Rivers programme
• Living with Water programme
(knowledge and awareness)
• Adaptive technology
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15. TYPICAL CROSS-SECTION RIVER BED
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16. MONITORED AND WELL MANAGED RIVER DREDGING
Dredging of sediments is an important corrective measure for our rivers
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17. Dutch expertise: delta technology
• Delta project: 16,500 km levees, 1,650 km2 land reclaimed
• Amazing engineering structures and solutions
- Oosterschelde: 9 kilometres that will last 200 years
- Maeslant: protection that doesn’t hamper shipping
• Helping to rebuild New Orleans after Katrina
• Dredging and land reclamation
• Flood Control 2015
• Building with Nature
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18. TOERISM
SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE LIVING BELOW SEA & RIVER
LEVEL BEHIND THE DIKES & WATER DEFENCES
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19. Dutch expertise:
water technology
• 99% of population access to clean
water
• Expertise in water treatment
technologies
• Four of the world’s 10 best water
consultancies are Dutch
• Five world-class knowledge
institutes
Water related Science & Technology
Is at high level in The Netherlands.
Public and Private sectors cooperate
In the development of new technologies.
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20. Institute Deltares
Marina Reservoir - Singapore
Environmental study Laguna de Bay - Philippines
independent world leading
water-related research
and specialized consultancy services:
from multidisciplinary policy studies
Tsunami simulations
to design and technical assistance
Panama canal
Drainage network modelling, Hong Kong
Flood simulation, UK
Ecological modelling study
lagoon of Venice, Italy
Design optimization, Dubai
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21. Dutch Delta Technology – Your Partners
Room For Rivers – An Integrated Approach
EXPORT
A programme aiming to strengthen the international position
of the Dutch
water sector
(Companies)
KNOW HOW
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22. USING MODERN TECHNOLOGY FOR MONITORING & SURVEYING
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23. POLDERS – DISTRICTS – MANAGED BY POLDER BOARDS
WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
Water Boards as organizations for water
management have been established in the
Middle Ages. They were essential for survival as
the low lying delta area was flooded regularly.
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24. DUTCH EXAMPLE WATER BOARD TAXES ARE:
Funding - tax principles:
The form and content of the Dutch Water Board taxes are;
The benefit principle;
The cost - recovery principle;
The polluter - pays principle;
The solidarity principle.
THE DUTCH CASE SHOWS AN EXAMPLE OF 95 %
COST RECOVERY BY LOCAL TAXES.
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25. Water Resources Management, Flood Mitigation and
Environmental Assessment approach
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26. RIVER RHINE BASIN TROUGH SEVEN COUNTRIES
BIGGEST RIVER IN EUROPE
LENGTH 1,320 km
CATCHMENT AREA 170,000 km2
NETWORK
LESSONS LEARNED COOPERATION
EXPERIENCE ASSESMENT &
WITH CONFLICTS MONITORING
AND COOPERATION STATIONS
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27. POLDERS ALONG RIVERS
RIVERS IN THE NETHERLANDS
SITUATION 1800
(WATER)MANAGED
INUNDATED AREAS
PRESENT SITUATION
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28. CONTAMINATED RIVER SLIB DEPOTS
In reality the Dutch Delta is in fact the depositional zone of
the three main rivers in Europe, the Dutch have to deal with.
START WORKS
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29. DELTA WORKS NETHERLANDS
FLOODED
IF
WITHOUT
WATER DEFENCES
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30. INDUSTRIAL POLLUTERS
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31. PHYSICAL & RUBBISH POLLUTERS
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33. Even The Foreigners have to clean our river
Where are we?
Sungai Way
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34. This is what we need to prevent
SUNGAI WAY
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35. October 2009
SUNGAI KLANG SHAH ALAM
FLOATING
DEBRIS ISLANDS
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36. Singapore River in the 60’s
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37. Present Day Singapore River
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38. LESSONS LEARNED FROM RIVER RHINE BASIN
Experiences with conflicts and cooperation in the Rhine basin, prove the
usefulness of river basin organizations.
Although the major Rhine river basin organizations focused and focus on
one specific aspect of the river such as navigation, water quality, or
research, all river organizations have proved their great importance.
The rules of cooperation for all the commissions are that they are based
on consensus between the partners and thus gain support and
commitment for their recommendations.
The commissions have a fixed funding by either the states or the
member institutes, and carry out a program and measures.
One of the prime obligations for the commissions is to publish joint reports
on the status of the river and on the progress of implementation
measures.
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39. In doing so, the natural confidence of the constituting partners will grow.
The political relevance of the work of the work of the commission
underlines its importance, although too much political involvement in
the work can harm the open discussion among 31 experts and be
injurious to flexibility in the search for common solutions that are of value
for the basin as a whole.
A prerequisite for an international basin organization is a national legal
basis for acting, a treaty-based performance or a diplomatic memorandum
of understanding.
A clear description of the rules on how to act in case of a (potential)
water related conflict or disagreement between members needs to be
included in the treaty of the organization.
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40. For a river basin organization a coordination authority at all levels,
supported by a (technical) secretariat, is of great importance for the
continuity of the work. The secretariat and the members of the
organization should formulate clear and attractive common targets and
organize stakeholder involvement in planning and implementation of
measures.
The sharing of success by the commission and each member state &
institute will stimulate mutual confidence and enhance public and
political support.
A sound, indisputable scientific assessment of facts supports strongly
sustainable trans-boundary cooperation.
In the Rhine basin, the cooperation between the research oriented
International Commission for the Hydrology of the Rhine Basin (CHR),
the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) and
the Central Commission for Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) should be
stimulated vigorously.
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41. Finally, a sustainable River Rhine needs but this counts also for every river
basin an approach for the whole catchment area, with integrated water
resource management as the task of one river basin organization, in
order to comply with the European Water Framework Directive and to
avoid duplicating work between the existing organizations.
So to conclude, it is not necessary to invent the wheel again,
we can learn from lessons in history and others, whom where
facing even bigger problems to survive.
The Dutch had no choice and time to talk, we had to act, to
survive and to communicate with our upstream neighboring
countries to create a sustainable living even below sea level.
“WATER IS NO PROBLEM BUT A DESIGN EXERCISE”
FROM BUILDING AGAINST NATURE TO “BUILDING WITH NATURE”
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42. Stakeholders involvement a must!
THANK YOU – TERIMA KASIH
Neder Delta Engineering &
Consulting (M) Sdn Bhd.
In close cooperation with
Institute Deltares from the
Netherlands and the support of
the Royal Netherlands Embassy
in Malaysia.
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