The Red River-Thai Binh basin in northern Vietnam is situated within a rapidly developing area, in which water, energy, food, and environmental (WEFE) sectors are strongly connected. Increasing pressures from climate change, population growth, and economic development intensify competition over water resources, resulting in complex trade-offs between these sectors. This study explores these interactions through a WEFE nexus perspective, with the aim of identifying suitable methods and indicators for an integrated system assessment.

The first part of this report consists of a literature review of the entire Red River–Thai Binh basin, analysing the key developments and challenges within each of the WEFE sectors. This provides a broad system understanding and identifies the main drivers and interactions characterising the basin.

The second part of the report presents two case studies that reflect different parts of the basin and highlight specific WEFE interactions. The first case study focuses on the Thac Ba dam reservoir system in the upstream area, where hydropower generation, flood control, and the livelihoods of communities surrounding the dam must be balanced. The second case study examines the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system in the downstream area, where water is primarily used for agriculture and where water quality has become a critical concern due to pollution.

The study combines literature research, field visits, social surveys, actor- and stakeholder analyses, water balance modelling, and system dynamics modelling. Based on these analyses, a set of potential indicators is proposed to assess system performance within a WEFE nexus framework.

The results show strong links between water quantity and quality, energy production, agricultural demand, and climate change. Upstream, key trade-offs are observed between hydropower generation and downstream flood risk, and between water availability and agricultural vulnerability under both extreme wet and dry conditions. In the downstream system, pollution from upstream areas and limited wastewater treatment capacity significantly affect water quality. In addition, the results indicate increasing system vulnerability to both water scarcity and flooding, driven by climate change and ongoing human interventions. Governance challenges and fragmented stakeholder responsibilities further complicate effective system management.

This study demonstrates the value of combining qualitative and quantitative methods and provides a foundation for selecting indicators that capture WEFE dynamics. The findings contribute to a better understanding of water resource management challenges in the Red River-Thai Binh basin and support the development of a WEFE Nexus tool to assess the whole Red River-Thai Binh basin. ... Read more

Sustainable land and water management requires integrated strategies that combine technical, ecological, and socioeconomic dimensions, through cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including farmers, ecologists, hydrologists, planners, policymakers, and business owners. Within this context, the dissertation explores the role of “living labs” as innovative, co-creative approaches, using the metaphor of plant cultivation. This research advances understanding of living labs by exploring their seeds in the past to their roots in learning, their harvest as learning outcomes, and their influence on the policy landscape through Dutch case studies, particularly in climate-adaptive land and water management. ... Read more

This thesis investigates how nature-based pilot projects in the Eems-Dollard estuary emerged, evolved, and what challenges they face in scaling up. The estuary struggles with high sediment loads, ecological decline, and climate pressures. To address these issues, pilots such as the Brede Groene Dijk, Dubbele Dijk, Kleirijperij, and Rijpdijk were launched. They test whether sediment can be reused for dike reinforcement and habitat restoration, combining flood safety with ecological and regional benefits. A qualitative case study approach was used, combining literature review, document analysis, field visits, and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. The analysis applied the concept of the “pilot paradox,” which highlights the tension between the conditions that make pilots successful in isolation and those needed for long-term adoption. The findings show that pilots benefit from strong leadership, temporary governance flexibility, and technical creativity. They demonstrate innovative solutions, such as using ripened clay for green dikes or creating multifunctional spaces between dikes. However, they face major barriers: rigid regulations, fragmented land ownership, complex logistics, and short-term funding. Adaptive steps, like the creation of the Rijpdijk sub-pilot, were essential to keep projects moving forward. Overall, the study concludes that pilots are valuable for testing innovations and mobilising coalitions, but they do not automatically scale into permanent policy. Successful upscaling requires deliberate integration into legal frameworks, funding schemes, and long-term governance. The Eems-Dollard case highlights both the promise and fragility of pilots and provides broader lessons for embedding nature-based solutions into climate adaptation strategies. ... Read more

The water and subsurface sector faces numerous urgent challenges related to climate adaptation and sustainable infrastructure. It is the responsibility of Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) to establish objectives and collaborate with partners in the sector to address these challenges. Innovations are crucial for effectively addressing these issues, and therefore, RWS has developed an innovation strategy focused on the tactical level, which provides essential information for its employees and partners. This study examines RWS’s current innovation strategy and its development, evaluates the strategy’s influence on innovation processes within the water and subsurface sector, and offers recommendations for enhancing the strategy. Specifically, the study investigates the influence of RWS’s innovation strategy on resource allocation, the development and diffusion of innovations, and both internal and external collaboration. The findings indicate that the influence of RWS’s innovation strategy is most evident in resource allocation, where its focal points serve as guiding principles for innovation and as accountability mechanisms. Furthermore, the influence of the strategy on the development and diffusion of innovations, as well as on both internal and external collaboration, is becoming increasingly apparent in practice; however, it requires additional time for further visibility. Positive developments include the adoption of specific tools designed to stimulate the innovation process and the implementation of innovative collaborative approaches, such as learning spaces. To enhance RWS’s innovation strategy and its influence in the water and subsurface sector, this study recommends maintaining continuity, improving visibility and clarity, and stimulating sector-wide collaboration and alignment. ... Read more

This report details the development of a Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) for the Tana Basin in Kenya, executed by a multidisciplinary team from the Delft University of Technology. Recognizing the Tana Basin’s vulnerability to flood risks, exacerbated by climatic variability, limited funds, and limited available data, the project proposes a model that combines computationally efficient hydrological and hydrodynamic modelling with robust stakeholder collaboration. The study area comprises the entire Tana Basin, with a specific focus on the flood-prone area near Garissa used for validation. The FEWS developed incorporates local and scientifi-cally derived knowledge to forecast floods, aiming to aid the transition from a technologically intermediate to a technologically advanced FEWS. Through an iterative process of model selection, validation, and stakeholder feedback, the system attempts to integrate the GR4J hydrological model in SuperflexPy and combines this with the Super Fast INundation of CoastS (SFINCS) model. Data sources include global remote sensing datasets like FABDEM & CHIRPS. Furthermore, it uses the water level gauge data provided by the Water Resource Authority of Kenya, as well as TAHMO weather station data.

The report concludes by reflecting on the modelling techniques for both the hydrological and hydrodynamic models and provides recommendations for the further development of a FEWS in the Tana Basin in Kenya. The implementation of the hydrological model was not able to propagate external flows through the network, making it poorly suited for use in the Tana Basin. The hydrodynamic model works decently well in flood conditions but overpredicts flooding during regular flow conditions. Recommendations on stakeholder engagements and data-sharing practices to foster a resilient flood management system in the Tana Basin include more comprehensive Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and stricter adherence to the Disaster Risk Management Framework of the United Nations.

... Read more

Currently, there is no standardised process for monitoring and evaluation of nature-based flood defenses pilots in Dutch rivers and floodplains. Thus, piloted technologies cannot be compared fairly with other nature-based flood defense technologies and conventional solutions. This study developed such a process by way of a monitoring and evaluation framework, using a research-by-design approach. This monitoring and evaluation framework is incorporated into a knowledge base that was developed in parallel to store the results of monitoring and evaluating and to effectively share knowledge about each pilot for future reference. The primary intended users of the knowledge base are researchers, therefore requirements were elicited via interviews with matter experts. Findings from the interviews, combined with literature review, formed the basis of design and development for the monitoring and evaluation framework and knowledge base. A second round of interviews was held for iterative improvements of this design via feedback and subsequent revision. In total, three design-feedback iterations were done. The last provided validation results of the improved solution. The main findings indicate that a knowledge base approach has merit and it is suggested that Rijkswaterstaat adopt and improve this solution as a template within their innovation process. The innovation process at Rijkswaterstaat is being developed right now and has incorporated evaluation of pilots. Additional results are a large number of possible avenues for further development and future research. ... Read more

As ports are important infrastructure for a countries economy, ports fulfill a vital role in society. In the contemporary global environment, one is expected to adjust its business routines to meet sustainability targets. Because of their significant importance in a port governance framework, terminal operators prove an interesting unit of analysis in the broad concept of port sustainability. This research addresses the notion of port sustainability from the angle of terminal operators' sustainable performance evaluation. The Data Envelopment Analysis technique is employed to benchmark the sustainable performance of various terminal operators active on the global market. Data were obtained from sustainability and CSR issues on behalf of the operators. The conclusions signify that the lack of a cohesive framework for the monitoring and reporting on sustainability measures jeopardize the validity of the results. Even though some interesting patterns can be inferred from the outcomes of the analysis, future research should focus on the retrieval of validated performance statistics and constructing a sustainable performance indication framework for the terminal industry. ... Read more