‘Building with Nature’ as a Climate Change Adaptation strategy

The Netherlands (NL) and Climate Change (CC)

• The Netherlands is a densely populated delta country with quite some water management expertise.

• PBL, the renown Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, has indicated in several reports that the sea level may rise 20 –110 cm in NL upto 2100 and possibly more than that in the following centuries.

• This is in line with other sources, e.g. C.A. Katsman, KNMI, a.o. using a rise of 3.15 metres for NL as maximum rise by 2200.

Adaptation needed, especially along the Dutch coast

• PBL has also indicated that the combination of an ongoing rise in the sea level, land subsidence and increasing peak river discharges will become problematic for the lower-lying regions of the Netherlands.

• The Dutch water sector will thus have to cope with the effects of climate change.

Water Management Innovations needed to adapt to CC

• It is generally admitted that efficient coastal management is one of the instruments needed to keep the Dutch coastline stable and strong.

• PBL concluded that it is questionable whether conventional water management techniques alone can maintain the current level of safety in the Netherlands and suggested that innovations are needed to prevent serious floods.

Beach nourishment needed

• One consequence of the expected rise in sea level is the need for more and larger volumes of sand to be added as beach nourishment to the coastal system in order to compensate for losses of sand and to ensure that the coast, estuaries and the Wadden Sea keep pace with the rise in sea level.

Sources (1)

• http://www.pbl.nl/en/publications/2006/TheeffectsofclimatechangeintheNetherlands

• http://www.pbl.nl/sites/default/files/cms/publicaties/773001037.pdf

• http://www.pbl.nl/sites/default/files/cms/publicaties/PBL_2013_The%20effects%20of%20climate%20change%20in%20the%20Netherlands_957.pdf

• ‘Exploring high-end scenarios for local sea level rise to develop flood protection strategies for a low-lying delta—the Netherlands as an example’. Climatic Change, 109(3–4), 617–645. Katsman, C. A. et al. (2011).

Sand, sand, sand,

• Every year, the sea takes sand from the Dutch coast. So far the shortfall was replenished every five years by dredging companies depositing sand on the beaches and in offshore areas.

• The sand replenishment operations every five years did the job, but with sea level rise the frequency of sand pumping interventions would have to go up substantially.

Building with Nature

• It was therefore suggested to protect the Dutch coast in a more sustainable and natural way.

Sand Motor as Pilot Project

• In 2011 an artificial peninsula of 1km x 2km was created along the Dutch coast, close to the seaside city of The Hague. The sand was deposited in the direction of the dominant current.

• Trailing suction hopper dredgers picked up 21.5 million cubic metres of sand ten kilometres off the Dutch coast to create a man made peninsula, initially covering an area of 128 hectares.

• Ultimately the intervention will result in 35 hectares of new beaches and dunes, which will provide protection against a rise in sea level.

Sand Motor facts & figures

The man made peninsula close to Kijkduin.

• Over 20 years wind, waves, currents and tides will spread most of the sand of the peninsula naturally along 20 km of the Dutch coast.

• This is called ‘Building with Nature’.

• The Sand Motor will gradually change in shape and will eventually be fully incorporated into the dunes and the beach.

GBK cooperation, Government, Business and Knowledge institutes

• Given its technical water management knowledge and its ‘poldering’ experience NL can play a role in developing new climate change adaptation models.

• Rijkswaterstaat (the executive branch of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment), Ecoshape and the provincial authority of South Holland are partners in the Sand Motor knowledge development project.

• Dutch dredging companies are also involved.

Dutch Academia involved in the Sand Motor.

• The Sand Motor monitoring and evaluation programme is led by Rijkswaterstaat and also involves:

• Delft University of Technology, • VU University Amsterdam, • University of Twente, • Utrecht University, • Wageningen University • Deltares research institute • Imares research institute.

Sand Motor Objectives (1)

• Enhancement of coastal protection in the long term; • A relatively cheap sustainable coastal

management tool for the Dutch government developed;

• New nature and recreational areas created by widening beaches and dunes;

Sand Motor Objectives (2)

• Knowledge development and innovation in the field of coastal management and reinforcement and in marine engineering.

• The findings will allow Dutch engineers and ecologists to plan more effectively.

• ‘A wave of new knowledge and insights’ will be generated for science;

• Possibly business cases for Dutch dredging and consultancy companies in the international market will be realised.

Additional advantages

• There is another benefit to depositing a large amount of sand in a single operation: the vulnerable seabed will not suffer repeated disruption because, if the Sand Motor works as expected, no further beach nourishment will be required for the next 20 years on the whole stretch of 20 km coast covered by the Sand Motor.

Developments so far around the Sand Motor

• In 2012, about 2 million cubic metres of sand forming the peninsula started moving:

• 500,000 cubic metres spread along dunes and on the deep seabed (outside the monitored area)

• 600,000 cubic metres moved on the Sand Motor itself

• 900,000 cubic metres spread in the monitored area (data provided by Shore Monitoring and Deltares)

Aerial picture of Sand Motor aiming to stabilise Dutch coast

Working With Water to adapt to Climate Change

. The Sand Motor is the first experiment of its kind. With this pilot project, the Netherlands is searching for new, affordable, water management systems that facilitate adaptation to climate change in low lying areas. . The Building with Nature approach means working with water, instead of against it. . If the Sand Motor works well, the concept can be rolled out to other coastal areas in the Netherlands and the rest of the world.

Building with nature to adapt to climate change in Asia

• Dutch companies and NGO’s are also involved in efforts to adapt to sea level rise in Indonesia, especially in areas where mangrove forests have been cut to produce shrimps, leading to severe erosion of muddy coasts that is aggravated by sea level rise.

Sources (2)

• http://www.zuid-holland.nl/overzicht_alle_themas/c_landschap/content_kust/c_e_thema_water-sand_engine.htm;

• http://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/en/images/Sand%20Motor%20Fact%20Sheet_tcm224-346199.pdf

• http://www.dezandmotor.nl/en-GB/• http://www.ecoshape.nl• http://www.iadc-dredging.com

J.C.P. WB Turn Down the Heat MOOC.