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2 6 9 24 6 WATER DIPLOMAT The Dutch ambassador in Moscow, Renée Jones-Bos, has seen during her diplomatic career how water is increasingly playing a key role in international relations. ‘High time for official water diplomats.’ 9 SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE DOSSIER The Netherlands needs to upgrade and replace 73% of its infrastructure by 2030, at a cost of 182 billion. So it’s better to do the job sustainably straightaway. What are the possibilities and how will the government and the Port of Rotterdam Authority tackle the challenge? 24 CIRCULAR ECONOMY Never-ending reuse: that is most people’s idea of the circular economy. According to expert Hans Vissers, things will get really interesting only when we connect different cycles. CREDITS Delta Life is published by Deltares, the Dutch innova- tion and research institute in the fields of water, sub- surface and infrastructure. With independent research, Deltares is building the knowledge base that is urgently needed worldwide to keep deltas, coastal areas and ri- ver basins habitable. Knowledge development focuses on five themes: Flood risk, Ecosystems and Environ- mental Quality, Water and Subsoil Resources, Delta Infrastructure and Sustainable Delta Planning. For more information: www.deltares.nl Editing desk: P.O. Box 177, 2600 MH Delft, tel. (+31)088 335 8273 , communicatie@deltares.nl Subscriptions are free of charge and they can be requested or suspended by sending an e-mail to info@deltares.nl . Text and editing: Deltares en Maters & Hermsen Journalistiek Design and layout: Deltares and Maters & Hermsen Vormgeving Printed by: Koninklijke BDU Grafisch Bedrijf bv ISSN: 2351-972X Twitter http://twitter.com/deltares Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/ company/217430 Facebook https://www.facebook. com/ #!/pages/Deltares/ 154189334634001 And also: 3. Deltares in brief 16. CoVaDem Centerfold 18. Coastal residents under pressure 20. Art makes knowledge visible 22. Testing ground: FRESHEM's 'cigar' 23. Knowledge at work: Kimberley-Clark 27. Regional sea-level rise 28. Deltares Software 29. Deltares Organisation FRONT COVER Coastal erosion has always been with us. Sometimes the coast grows; sometime is wears away. But it can be a problemwhen large numbers of people live nearby. And particularly when people actually accelerate the coastal erosion process, for example by extracting sand illegally and building river dams. Studies estimate that 6,000 to 17,000 square kilometres of land will be lost between now and the end of this century, forcing millions of people to emigrate. When we talk about coastal erosion, we think of crumbling cliffs like the Seven Sisters in England shown on the front cover, but it is the sandy and muddy coasts that are the greatest cause for concern. It is precisely in these locations that large numbers of people live, and it is precisely in these locations that the process can be very fast. Fortunately, a lot can still be done in terms of coastal protection. As long as we act in time. Page 18 and following.