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DELTARES, FEBRUARY 2015
DOSSIER
FLOOD RISKS
What do you see as the right knowledge?
We are working under the leadership of the Dutch
Environmental Assessment Agency with Deltares and a
large number of national and international parties on a new
analysis. It focuses on the vulnerabilities and opportunities
in the system and on places where there is most potential
for change. This is possible due to the integration of existing
knowledge, data and research.The online database Aqueduct
was established in a major coalition with the World Resources
Institute and it provides a clear picture of the vulnerabilities
and dependencies relating to water. In addition, the studies
by Professor Stéphane Hallegatte from the World Bank
looking at the economic risks of water crises and poverty have
strengthened our understanding and they are a direct source
of substantive action.'
The Dutch Delta Plan is seen as the best approach.
Should everyone have a Delta Plan now?
'No. I think it is important for us to export and connect our
knowledge and expertise, but not necessarily our solutions.
The principles are the same everywhere but they will lead to
di£erent approaches in each region or country.'
Which principles do you mean?
'The first of the four principles I have in mind is the develop-
ment of an integrated long-term approach in conjunction with
short-term projects, which should preferably be innovative.
This is a motor that you should always keep running to
achieve a genuinely sustainable resilient impact. Then there
is collaboration in the field of financing. Using the right
processes and tools, we can conduct sound social cost-benefit
analyses of those integrated plans and projects, and produce
clear evaluations. That results in transparency and proper
accountability. And that helps public and private partners to
work together and to invest together. The third principle is
an inclusive process involving all the stakeholders, large and
small, institutional parties and activists. All this backs up the
fourth principle: the social and institutional capacity that is
vitally needed to achieve a genuine, ongoing impact. In the
end, it's all about cultural change.'
Dutch administrators and scientists are keen to
play a leading role in flood risk management.
Are you saying we don't do this already?
'In terms of flood prevention, we are a shining example to the
world: everyone knows the way to our door. But nobody is
really taking the lead worldwide, even though that is urgently
needed. Of course, this always means working together but
the Netherlands could establish an innovative, international,
preventive strategy based on the four principles I have
explained. We have the knowledge, the experience and the
acknowledged position, and no-one disputes the urgency.
As a country, we must show the courage needed to adopt that
role and to get behind it together. That hasn't happened yet.'
The three countries with the
highest numbers of people
threatened by floods are India,
Bangladesh and China. There
are 10 Asian countries in the
top 15.
Between 1980 and 2013,
the direct economic damage
caused by flooding exceeded
1 billion dollars worldwide.
More than 220,000 people
lost their lives..
If no action is taken, the level
of damage will increase by a
factor of twenty before the end
of this century.
Stéphane Hallegatte of the
World Bank has calculated that
the level of damage in the 136
largest coastal cities (6 billion
dollars in 2013) will increase to
an annual 52 billion by 2050.
DOSSIER
FACTS
220.000
20
x
52
Water scarcity, excess water and polluted water all come
and go, and the e£ects of the changes vary from place to
place. No water means: no food, no energy, no economy
and no life. The relationship with social issues and
urbanisation is complex and so good scientific research
is needed, as well as clear application in practice. Deltas
are the areas where that complexity is oen multiplied:
they are hardest hit by climate change. But they are also
the places with most capacity for change because it is
precisely here that there is most dynamism. The majority
of the world's population live in deltas. The right knowledge
helps to identify priorities, and to establish frameworks for
action.'
bn