Dutch to Boost Flood Protection Measures

Harro ten Wolde, PlanetArk 4 Sep 08;

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The Netherlands must spend nearly 2 billion euros (US$2.9 billion) annually in the coming decades to protect low-lying areas from coastal flooding, the Dutch government said on Wednesday.

With sea levels projected to climb as much as 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in) this century and another 2 to 4 metres in the next, current flood and sea defences will not be enough to protect the country of 16 million people from surging tides, said the commission, led by former agriculture minister, Cees Veerman.

"The biggest danger is that we will not recognise the danger," Veerman told a news conference in the Hague. "There are challenges but no dangers we cannot overcome."

The Delta Commission, which shares its name with the Delta project that fortified water defences after a deadly flood in 1953, put forward 12 recommendations, including building dikes, creating river water basins and adding land to the coastline.

A quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level, and a 100-plus crowd of journalists, politicians, corporate officials and organisations gathered in the Hague for the commission's report, underscoring the Dutch obsession with water management.

Among the group's recommendations, which will cost over 100 billion euros this century or about 0.5 percent of the nation's total income, is a proposal to add land to the 350 km Dutch coast in a way that promotes the build up of sand.

The Netherlands -- literally the Low Countries -- has a long history of pioneering technology to help it claw back land from the sea and fight recurrent flooding.

"Our children will inherit this country, just as we did from our parents and we feel that responsibility," Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said. "This report set a foundation for the future of the Netherlands."


FUNDING BILL

The Delta Commission published its report days after Hurricane Gustav subsided from the US Gulf Coast after threatening a repeat of 2005's devastating flooding in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina.

Balkenende said he would introduce a funding bill next year, including a "Delta fund" created with money from natural gas income and long-term state bonds.

"Financing of the fund should be independent from political short-term priorities or the economic cycle," the group said.

Dutch firms have led a number of major coastal projects around the world, and US officials sought Dutch advice on water management after floods devastated New Orleans in 2005.

The Dutch firms that hope to benefit from the plans are the world's largest dredger Boskalis and rival Van Oord.

After floods killed more than 1,800 people in 1953, the Delta project was launched to raise dikes, close sea estuaries and construct a huge storm-surge barrier, which has attracted millions of tourists.

Since several government departments will be responsible for the project, the prime minister should take a coordinating role, while a permanent commission should monitor it, it said.

Lawmakers have suggested building an artificial island in the shape of a tulip, inspired by Dubai's Palm Island project, a development that Dutch dredging companies helped build. The commission did not include such an island in its conclusions. (editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Dutch government warned against rising sea levels
Alix Rijckaert, Yahoo News 3 Sep 08;

Low-lying Netherlands must spend more than 100 billion euros on dike upgrades and coastal expansion to avoid the ravages of rising sea levels due to global warming, experts warned Wednesday.

The country, nearly two-thirds of which lies below sea level, must spend up to 1.5 billion euros (2.1 billion dollars) per year over the next century on additional safety measures, said a report compiled by a government appointed commission.

"The security challenge is urgent: the climate is changing, the sea level rising and river flows increasing while a quarter of dikes and dams do not meet the current safety norms," states the report presented to Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende in The Hague.

It said "an extra amount of between one and 1.5 billion euros per year is needed to 2100." The figure represents about 0.3 percent of national income.

The Delta commission recommended a large-scale upgrade of dikes protecting the country from the North Sea.

And it proposed expanding the North Sea coast by a kilometre by dumping large quantities of sand -- a project for which extra 100 to 300 million euros would be needed.

"We will not wait for a disaster; we want to be prepared so that we are not taken by surprise," said commission chairman Cees Veerman.

And the country may have to look to Europe for help.

"If the problem gets worse, we will have to talk with our European partners about how we can share the costs within Europe," Veerman said, adding that Dutch rivers were the "drain" of the continent.

Predicting a sea level rise of between 0.65 and 1.3 metres (2.15 and 4.3 feet) by 2100, and up to four metres by 2200, the commission said the chances of flooding multiplied 100-fold with every 1.3 metre rise in the sea level.

And it warned of Dutch fresh water resources dwindling as salty sea water is forced further and further inland.

"The rising sea level ... longer dry periods and encroaching salt water via rivers and ground water puts the country's fresh water under threat," says the report.

"This in turn threatens the provision of drinking water, agriculture, shipping and water-related economic sectors."

The commission said inland areas directly sheltered from the sea and rivers by dikes and dunes contained about nine million of the country's 16 million inhabitants.

"Sixty-five percent of our national (production) capacity lies in flood-prone areas; conservatively estimated, the damage (from flooding) could be 1,800 billion euros."

The commission presented a 12-point plan that involved the upgrading of different types of water barriers, boosting fresh water reservoirs, increasing river flow capacity and storing surplus river water.

"The urgency for executing the plan is great," states the report. "The Netherlands has a backlog ... while the climate is fast changing and the sea level is rising probably faster than predicted.

"The economic, social and environmental imperative for the Netherlands (to ward off rising water levels) is great and growing: a dike breach will have severely disruptive consequences for the whole country."

Balkenende welcomed the report, saying his government will examine ways of funding the plan.

"The Netherlands is currently well protected against water ... we want to keep it that way," he told the commissioners.

"If we tackle this sensibly, the Netherlands can emerge from the battle against rising water even stronger."