Delta Life Nr. 6 September 2016

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30 DELTARES, SEPTEMBER 2016
Gerard Blomwas appointed
chairman of the Partner Board
of the National Model and Data
Centre (NMDC) on 24 June 2016.
The Royal Netherlands Meteoro­
logical Institute (KNMI), the
National Institute of Public Health
and the Environment (RIVM), the
Netherlands Environmental As-
sessment Agency (PBL), Rijkswa-
terstaat, Deltares, Alterra and
TNO have been working together
at the NMDC since 2011 on the
development, management and
themaintenance of models for
living-environment policy. They
will be intensifying their collabo-
ration to collect and develop data
relating to the living environment
in the next three years. This was
stated early this year in a cove-
nant. Important themes include
water and climate, traffic and
transport, and air quality.
Formore information:
CHAIRMAN OF NMDC
PARTNER BOARD
The Met Office of the United Kingdom is to
join forces with Deltares to help develop-
ing countries to respond better to climate
change and make better assessments of
disaster risks. Reliable weather and climate
warnings can help to protect their people.
The organisations are sharing their
expertise and experience with the aim of
improving the development of meteoro-
logical and hydrological services around
the world. Dave Britton, head of Interna-
tional Development at the Met Office: ‘The
strength of this approach is the combination
of the internationally-leading expertise that
Deltares provides in the area of water, plan-
ning and infrastructure with the expertise
of the Met Office in the area of water and
climate in terms of mitigating the risks
associated with extreme weather, climate
change and natural disasters.’
The National Institute for Public
Health and the Environment
(RIVM) and Deltares work
together on areas such as water
quality, the Dutch Manure Act,
subsurface, groundwater and
microplastics. A new agreement
to strengthen cooperation,
which was signed in January
2016, is a logical continuation
of previous projects. The under-
standing of subsurface water
systems at Deltares links up with
the RIVM expertise in the area of
health and the environment.
NEW COOPERATION
AGREEMENT
WITH THE RIVM
More than 250 international students
engaged in research this year looking
at local water issues such as drought,
sea-level rise or flooding. They met at
the international conference Water is Life
2016 from 5 to 11 June at the Maurick
College in Vught. They were welcomed
by 100 host families, 47 impressive
water studies were presented and the
theme of water was central for five days.
Jaap Kwadijk from Deltares was one of
the speakers and Rosalie Franssen was
a member of the jury that assessed the
studies. Students from Brazil to South
Africa not only put forward solutions for
local water issues, they also increased
their awareness of the importance of
water management.
PHOTO: LYDIA CUMISKEY
PREDICTING RISKS
WITH THE MET OFFICE
WATER IS LIFE CONFERENCE