Speaking of Climate

Consultancy and Engineering

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Speaking of Climate

>> Climate change: not only a problem but also a challenge >> Climate-proof living makes one proud >>The Netherlands can export climate know-how >> Rise in temperature offers opportunities to recreation sector >> Bio-based economy: an opportunity for agriculture

Gateway to solutions

Chances are that the Netherlands will become warmer over the next decennia. It will be drier in summer and wetter in winter. We should be alert, however, because climate change also offers opportunities if we adapt to it. In a yearly round-table conference, organized by consultancy and engineering firm DHV, eight climate change experts from different organizations discussed the opportunities offered by climate change and how to make use of them.

There is a famous Dutch water manager’s prayer: Give us this day our daily bread and once in a while a flood. “The more distant a disaster is in the past, the less people can imagine it will happen again.” This is the experience of Ingrid Ter Woorst, member of the Water Board of Delfland. People just assume their safety is guaranteed by the government. Governments, in turn, are aware of climate change and work on adapting to it through programs like Room for the River and Knowledge for Climate.

Flood protection is of vital and economic importance. Delta Commissioner Wim Kuijken: “We have to show the world that our water management works. The good thing about the Delta Program is that it’s an attempt - let’s put it in extreme terms - to prevent the next disaster in a beautiful, attractive manner.” This can be done by combining spatial planning with nature, as an alternative to traditional safety measures like raising the dikes. A good example of a specific project, which involves a DHV contribution, is the proposal for strengthening the Afsluitdijk through the construction of the WaddenWorks.

Pier Vellinga, Professor of Climate Change, Water and Safety at Wageningen University, expects that great problems can arise in nature reserves. Nature organizations focus on the preservation of species, while climate change forces us to focus on ecological dynamics. “Nature organizations will see this as a threat to everything they have achieved over the last thirty years. Nature policies will not be changed without a struggle.” Kuijken thinks there is still some margin within the existing policies. Yttje Feddes, State advisor on landscape, thinks the reasoning behind nature policies is fine: “Without Natura2000 (legislation by the European Union designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe) we would have lost the last shreds of nature in many areas.” However, the nature organizations should also adapt to climate change, if only because of changes in biodiversity in the Netherlands. But nature organizations are thinking along with the Delta Program. Kuijken: “Twelve nature organizations are seeking an alliance with the Delta Program. This coalition has a positive approach and thinks about how to combine nature buffers, water management and storage.”

Climate and the city Cities on average have higher temperatures than open rural areas. On warm days the temperatures in the city-center of Rotterdam are seven degrees higher than they are in the surrounding rural areas. Keeping buildings and houses cool is very expensive: it requires a lot of energy, and even creates additional heat. That is why a lot of international attention is being paid to alternative ways of cooling cities. “We regret that we haven’t made use of the opportunities for energy efficiency over the last 25 years, and that we didn’t take the right measures to promote it. We thought the building industry would take care of it themselves. Well, they didn’t,” says the leading expert on governance and sustainability at DHV, Job van den Berg. The biggest lesson he learned from that period is that regulations should place the responsibility with the right organizations, that is, the ones that today don’t feel they’re responsible for climate adaptation.

The urgency is being felt now, especially because of the large-scale urban renovations that are now underway. Willem Ligtvoet, Program Manager Water and Space at the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, agrees with Van den Berg: “Besides the urgent need to respond to long-term opportunities, government regulations are also very important.” Kuijken: “Building outside the dikes, but also inside the dikes, in lower lying areas, should only be done if regulations are complied with - otherwise the building should not be permitted. And today the regulations are not always respected. Everyone says: ‘The house-owners know the risks involved, and when they sell the property the buyers will be aware of them as well.’ However when the water levels rise too high, they all turn to the government and ask: ‘How is it possible that we have been allowed to live here?’ ” Housing can benefit from climate change. The additional costs of building a house with the highest energy label are relatively low, while their comfort levels are much higher. “People should be proud to live in a sustainable house. Most of the times such houses are the first ones to be sold: people are willing to pay a bit more, because it will refund itself in time.” says Henriëtte Bersee, representative of the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment at the Dutch Embassy in Washington.

Businesses can also benefit. “The United States has all sorts of labels a company can earn to really demonstrate your social responsibility.”

Feddes sees ‘adventurous forms of living’ as stimuli for climate adaptation - as is the case, for instance, of the floating houses. Piet Besselink, member of the Executive Board of DHV, knows these houses are popular: “We support the private and public parties, with the ‘Water Living’ Helpdesk, in applying this concept.” Vellinga: “That‘s what I like: increasingly combining living, nature and water.

Think about the possibility of small Amsterdam city gardens on roof-tops. If we can plant that in people’s minds…”

Climate and recreation The warmer it gets, the more the Dutch coast and inland waters offer opportunities for recreation.

By making entrepreneurs and environmental organizations jointly responsible for managing the environmental impact, developments will not be at the cost of the environment. Van den Berg: “We need a spatial strategy for the coast involving more than just safety. The main question is: What will be the long-term role of our coast, knowing that our climate will become much more attractive for Europeans.”

Opinions on coastline development differ. Vellinga is attracted to DHV’s idea of extending the coastline through coves and creeks. “It offers opportunities for many different forms of recreation.”

Feddes envisages not only wide beaches with coastline development, but also development of the inland side of the dunes. By developing these dunes correctly we could really boost tourism.

Besselink is looking for big projects: “I feel that in the Netherlands we’re making plans on too small a scale. We should look at the big picture and shouldn’t give every municipality the chance to make its own plans.” Kuijken agrees: “The IJsselmeer coast, the rivers… That’s what we’re going to try: developing large entities.”

Climate and agriculture Dutch agriculture adapts quickly to new circumstances. Climate change offers new opportunities, such as salt water agriculture and recreational services. Ligtvoet: ”If there is a strong demand, the supply will develop automatically.” Agriculture’s short cycle is one of its strengths. Within ten or twenty years farmers can cultivate different crops. The greenhouse farmers have an even shorter cycle, in which they can renew their assets and adapt to external changes.

Farmers want to know what they can expect in twenty years. Will they receive enough fresh water, or should they reduce their water needs. Vellinga sees opportunities for brackish water agriculture: “If we don’t spoil farmers too much with fresh water, they will develop this agriculture themselves.

Currently farmers have a right to as much fresh water as they need. But climate change will change that, it already is.”

Greenhouse farming is a different story. Those farmers can go on as they are - in the near future, they could even become ‘footloose’, without having any direct contact with groundwater and precipitation, or even sunlight.

The growing demand for water storage, recreation and nature offers great opportunities for farmers. In the long run government and the inhabitants will have to pay for these services.

Diepman: “Why would I pay to walk among cows?” Vellinga: ”It will happen. Someone will have to pay the farmer for preserving the landscape. A farmer will earn his money partly through dairy activities and partly by maintaining a recreational area.”

Climate and governance When parties keep their own interests in mind, they do not always have to depend on public funding. By working together, joint goals can be achieved. Clear examples of this are provided by developments in the Water Board of Delfland, which is active in the most urbanized area in the Netherlands. Ter Woorst: “Space and lack of money are two major problems in the area, and that makes our water board the ideal pilot area! We are cooperating with the inhabitants and entrepreneurs more and more.” Therefore solutions are not only widely supported, but they are often more creative and cheaper. Maybe this is the way to make use of the opportunities climate change offers.

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