The accelerated rate of climate change questions the capacity of current infrastructures to adapt to altered future climate conditions, specifically in areas prone to floods, such as the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta. Simultaneously the unforeseen effects of ‘hard’ engineering approaches (such as dams, storm surge barriers, defensive coastal management) have been affecting biophysical as well as ecological systems, resulting in increased vulnerability to floods and loss of estuarine habitats. Therefore there appears to be a need to rethink coastal (protection) strategies.

The project relates to the temporal and spatial distributions of socio-economic as well as ecological vulnerabilities under the influence of increased flood probability and climatic stressors in the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta, questioning how a nature-based approach can be used to support the adaptive capacity of the delta and mitigation of altered future climate conditions. It specifically explores the development of critical land-water zones adjacent to the Eastern Scheldt, and construction of a framework for decision making in which nature-based solutions are prioritized. Initial stressing factors as well as space availability indicate the preferred solution space both landwards and seawards over the consolidation of the existing line. As means to structure proposals an adaptive framework has been developed on the scale of Schouwen Duiveland to maintain the existing qualities of the island, as well as selecting and excluding a solution pathway based on the systemic functioning of the island. The approach stands closely to the the notion that humans are an intrinsic part of nature. Therefore developments related to water safety, fresh water supply and critical infrastructures should act in accordance to the acceptance of dynamics as apposed to the idea of presumed stability.

Climate change is creating alterations and increasing risks to both nature and our built environment. One of the most evident risks is sea level rise. We need to reconsider the way we have been preparing cities to face the climate change related issues. The hard infrastructure that has been used in the past to deal with these issues requires high investment and has very limited adaptive capacity. Instead of fighting nature, we should understand better the natural processes that take place in the ecosystems and use them in our favour to become more adaptable. The use of these Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) strategies can contribute to the sustainable development of our regions. The main challenge in this discussion is to acknowledge the dimension of these ecosystems and their processes, which normally does not align with the administrative and political divisions that we have established for our territory. This issue is very apparent in the case of the Western Scheldt, the remaining open arm of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta that has to satisfy the needs of the Dutch and Belgian development. Some cross-border initiatives have already been implemented in the region, the most important one being the Western Scheldt Commission. This commission created an outline and long-term vision for the sustainable development of the Western Scheldt. Increasing port activity, dealing with multiple risks associated to flood and maintaining ecological qualities in this tidal estuary were defined as the main functions to be addressed. Because the systems related to these functions are interdependent, dealing with them separately can have many negative impacts. Port activity is the main driver of change in the Western Scheldt. Until recently, it has mostly developed autonomously and resulted in increasing flood risks and further deterioration of the valuable ecosystems in the region. Port development has high potential to be integrated with the other functions and will be used as the driving force for the proposal. Port development projects in the Western Scheldt will be paired with the expected local impacts in the values of safety and ecology. Each of these projects will be addressed through a multi-system approach, taking the Building with Nature (BwN) principles and exposing its potentialities. The pairs not just give way to BWN as technical solution, where systems support each other, but also, will establish pathways for beneficial governance arrangements. The new governance arrangements will respond to the site specificities and consider the following aspects: - It identifies the site-specific group of stakeholders that would have an important role in the implementation of the proposed EbA strategies. - The regional drivers are established and connected to local-scale groups that benefit from the provision of ecosystem services. This contributes to initiate and maintain the conditions of these ecosystems. - The network highlights synergies between different sectors, facilitates the exchange of interests, knowledge and perspectives and distributes responsibilities to ensure the networks robustness. These aspects of collaboration will contribute to the implementation of EbA by increasing the overall support, minimizing trade-offs, revealing additional potentialities and channelling resources efficiently.