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5 T he Inter-American Development Bank has asked Deltares to help improve the road network in the Dominican Republic. Roads in this country are vulnerable to floods, torrential rain, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and other effects of climate change. The precise degree of vulnerability can be determined on the basis of risk analyses linked to climate scenarios. That allows the government to determine which interventions are needed in the long and short terms. Deltares teamed up on this project with the local engineering firm CSI Ingenieros. DOES PLASTIC CARRY PATHOGENS? What are the health risks of microplastics in the environment? Deltares is studying this question in a project commissioned by ZonMw (The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development). Pathogens may nestle in a thin layer of micro-organisms (a 'biofilm') that can develop on plastic in water over time. Deltares is now looking at whether these biofilms develop, and when. Clean microplastics are being placed in various types of water, retrieved and examined using DNA technologies. When the researchers find pathogens, our partner UMC Utrecht assesses whether those pathogens represent a health risk for humans. ASIA SUPPORTS NATURAL SOLUTIONS TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE How can you use natural solutions to combat the consequences of climate change such as floods, storm damage and the erosion of coastal areas? Policymakers, technical experts and diplomats from all over Asia (including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan and India) discussed this question at a meeting in the Netherlands. At the invitation of the Global Commission on Adaptation, Wetlands International, Deltares, EcoShape and the Asian Development Bank, they exchanged ideas at an expert workshop and a high-level dinner. Adaptation in the form of natural solutions has many advantages, both financially and in terms of the social and economic impact. But natural solutions are still associated with high levels of uncertainty. Countries therefore need to learn as much as possible from each other. Networks and platforms such as ASEAN will be used actively in the coming years to exchange knowledge and experience in this area. MAKING THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ROAD NETWORK CLIMATE-PROOF More reports on www.deltares.nl DELTARES, OCTOBER 2019