Lecture 1 (WM&SP)

Question 1

Explain how the growing world population and urbanization in vulnerable parts of the worlds leads to sinking cities and countries

Answer 1

More urbanization –> more concrete –> less discharge etc… and climate resilience, while the global warming increases. –> sea level rises. Cities and countries need to adapt to this.

Question 2

Explain the three interlinked major areas of adaptation

Answer 2

Socio-cultural and governance aspects of adaptation
o Changing behaviour/lifestyles
o Consumption
o Underlying values and motives which drive behaviour

Natura and landscape-based adaptation:
o Climate impacts on Biodiversity and increasing heat stress
o Impact of climate solutions such as renewable technologies on landscape qualities
o Development of green, nature based solutions
o ecosystem

Water adaptation
o History of areas of floods and drought
o Risk of life/well-being
o Solutions to increase water resilience/establish water-sensitive infrastructures/land uses.

Question 3

What are the pressing water issues?

Answer 3

Too much: problem of increasing flood risk in delta areas
Too little: the problem of water scarcity and drought
Not clean: the problem of poor water quality

Question 4

Expalin why this course is needed? What is the essence of this course?

Answer 4

• Climate change and urbanization. –> water adaptation is high on the political agenda.
• Increasing awareness that technical engineering measures alone are not sufficient
• In addition to these technical measures, spatial solutions are required to deal with current water issues
   Connection of separated policy domains of water management and spatial planning need to be connected.

Question 5

Explain the history of flood policy in the Netherlands. Use the 4 phases.

Answer 5

Dutch water management
1. Natural water state: until 1000
2. Defensive water state: 1000 – 1500
3. Offensive water state: 1500-1800
4. Manipulative water state: 1800 - now

Question 6

Explain characteristics of phase 1

Answer 6

• Nature rules over culture
• Coastal development, young dunes, thick peat layers, free rivers and wild grounds
• Humans have accepted floods as inevitable and have passively adapted to them  retreating to higher grounds –> artificial dwelling mounds: terps

Question 7

Explain characteristics of phase 2

Answer 7

• Beginning of a ‘water state’
• Permanent human settlement preclude retreat as a strategy > demand for levee construction
• Agricultural use led to sea and river dikes, water ways, ditches and sluices

Question 8

Explain characteristics of phase 3

Answer 8

• ‘Golden age’: lot of resources to invest in water management
• Proactive water management through technologies
  o Wind mills to control water in ditches
  o Also used to reclaim land from lakes  creation of new polders
• Rijkswaterstaat emerged

Question 9

Explain characteristics of phase 4

Answer 9

• Steam engine as technological innovation. Steam pumping stations led to large scale land reclamation
• ‘everything is possible’  complete control over nature.
  o Specialisation and scientification as key concepts to solve social issues
• Large-scale river improvement works and canalisation projects

Question 10

Explain the ‘Traditional technical paradigm’

Answer 10

Comand and control approach. Water management is a task of civil engineers solving singular problems in a hierarchical, top-down manner. * Water resources development driven by an ethic of growth  increase of industrial and agricultural productivity.

Question 11

Why were people critical on the traditional technical paradigm?

Answer 11

They were seeing that large water management proejct were not always ‘major triumphs of civil engineering’. They saw them as ‘environmental catastrophes’ instead.

Question 12

Explain the control paradox

Answer 12

It starts with increased safety by increasing the height of dikes. The dikes get strengthened, so there is more intensive land use behind the dikes, because people feel like it’s ‘safe’. In the mean time, this actually leads to more damage from flooding and high water levels, when a disaster like a dike breach happens. This causes the feeling of ‘being at risk’. And then people go back to the traditional ‘dike raising’ again. Hence the cycle continues.

Question 13

We need integrated risk-based floodplain management. This is also referred to as the ‘spatial turn’. Explain this.

Answer 13

We need to shift from ‘fighting the water’ to ‘living with the water’. The water needs space. There are three key characteristics:
* more space for water
* integrated approach
* Beyond structural/technical measures –> risk-based approach