Dutch Program Provides Unconventional Approach To Flood Control

摘要

When a statistical analysis revealed that climate change was causing the Rhine River and its tributaries to rise to new extremes, officials in the Netherlands initially proposed increasing the size of the nation's dikes to accommodate the increase in water. But many people opposed that idea for fear that larger dikes would detract from the character of the centuries-old Dutch landscape. Moreover, continually raising the dikes was not seen as a sustainable solution for coping with increasing river discharges. Convinced that a wholly new approach to river management was warranted, the Dutch government developed a program that is designed to allow people and rivers to coexist in harmony. It is called Ruimte voor de Rivier (Room for the River). The Rijkswaterstaat, an executive division within the Dutch infrastructure and environment ministry, is implementing the program.