A different approach to water

Abstract

This document outlines the Cabinet's position on water management policy in the 21st century. Immediately fuelling this is my concern about increasing water levels in the rivers, flooding, and the accelerated rise in sea level. In a country like the Netherlands, the geography of which is dominated by the sea and the mouths of four great rivers, water and natural space are inextricably bound to one another. For centuries, spatial planning in the low-lying Netherlands has been a matter of separating and maintaining the separation between land and water. And we have benefited from this, considering the fact that two-thirds of the gross national product (around NLG 400 billion annually) is generated domestically. But changes are brewing. Climatic changes are increasing the likelihood of flooding and water-related problems. In addition, population density continues to grow, as does the potential of the economy and, consequently, the vulnerability of the economy and society to disaster. Two undesirable developments that, in terms of safety, potentiate one another - a growing risk with even larger consequences. As such, the safety risk is growing at an accelerated pace (safety risk = chance multiplied by consequence). In 1999, together with the president of the Association of Water Boards (UvW), I requested an independent Committee to determine whether current water management policy is sufficiently equipped for the future - an effort that came none too soon. Across Europe and abroad, we have witnessed the consequences of superfluous water. The events in Switzerland, Italy and the UK have shown us the importance of looking ahead. The Committee concluded that the current water management system was not capable of responding to future developments. In order to keep the Netherlands safe, liveable and attractive in terms of water for inhabitants and investors for the century to come, a change in water management policy and in the way we approach water is required. This change involves the idea that the Netherlands will have to make more frequent concessions. We will have to relinquish space to water, and not win space from it, in order to curb the growing risk of disaster due to flooding, limit water-related problems and be able to store water for expected periods of drought. By this, I do not mean space in terms of the height of ever taller dykes or depth through continued channel dredging, but space in the sense of breadth. This will cost space, but in return we will increase safety and limit waterrelated problems. Safety is an interest that must play a different role in spatial planning. Only by relinquishing space can we set things right and if this is not done in a timely manner, water will sooner or later reclaim the space in its own, perhaps even dramatic, manner. My argument to innovate water management policy appears to be widely accepted, but more is required. It demands creativity, energy, time and money. Protecting the Netherlands from flooding will require repeated investments over a long period of time.