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We’re living in the midst of many complex social issues. From economic uncertainty and historical developments in the energy market to global warming, from a health crisis to sustainability. The applied research organisations that form part of TO2 provide practical results for solving problems both for tomorrow as well as today.

To what extent are we able to prevent future floods, as observed along the Geul river in the Dutch city of Valkenburg in the summer of 2021? Measures to retain water upstream in the catchment (also in Belgium) for a longer period will reduce damages to some extent but are not expected to have enough effect to prevent extreme floods in the city. This is one of the conclusions of a rapid assessment study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The study was led by knowledge institute Deltares, in cooperation with researchers at the TU Delft and universities from Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg.

Residents in Limburg were not all well informed about possible flood risks and some were very surprised that floods could occur to this extent in their hometown. That is one of the conclusions of a study conducted by the Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam and Deltares, following the July 2021 flood. Increasing risk awareness can lead citizens (and also governments) to be better prepared for floods, which can reduce damage and casualties in future events.

With the help of a flow model from Deltares and clever sailing, the Rotterdam Offshore Sailing Team (ROST) managed to achieve second place at the European Sea Sailing Championships on the Westerschelde near Breskens. Besides the young talent in the boat and good coaching of the sailing team, a decisive asset was knowledge about the currents in the dynamic area in the estuary of the Westerschelde.

More and more plants and animals can be found on the islands of the Marker Wadden. They include rare species such as the long-tailed duck, the little gull and the corncrake. At the KIMA conference in Amsterdam tomorrow, researchers will present five years of research on the Marker Wadden.

Meters of sea level rise are no longer a question of “if”, but “when”. For a low-lying country like The Netherlands, the impacts of sea level rise will be catastrophic if we don’t prepare now for the adaptation we will need in the future. In a recent study, Deltares explored options to sustain the Netherlands far into the future, with several meters of sea-level rise. This new study builds on previous Deltares research into consequences of accelerated sea-level rise (2018) and potential strategies (2019).

We are proud to announce that we are releasing a new classification of the world’s coastlines to improve coastal climate change adaptation at local, regional and national level and strengthen coordinated climate action worldwide.