LAC: Disaster Risk Management and Climate Adaptation
Innovative, science-based approaches to Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Adaptation are helping to strengthen resilience across Latin America and the Caribbean. By working with governments, institutions, and communities to understand and address vulnerabilities in water systems, Deltares contributes to the development of robust and feasible strategies to cope with natural hazards such as floods, droughts, and coastal erosion. The emphasis is on empowering local stakeholders with the knowledge and tools needed to build safer, more climate-resilient futures.
Through regional and global partnerships—such as the International Panel for Deltas, Coastal Areas, and Islands (IPDC)—Deltares contributes to strengthening climate resilience and transformational water governance. Our work integrates cutting-edge modelling tools, nature-based solutions, and capacity building to support informed decision-making under uncertainty.
Examples of our work
The International Panel for Deltas, Coastal Areas, and Islands (IPDC)
IPDC is a global initiative dedicated to enhancing the resilience of deltas, coastal regions, and islands in the face of climate change. In Colombia, IPDC is supporting the country’s NDC goals through several targeted projects identified during a national climate adaptation workshop with the Ministry of Environment and key coastal stakeholders.
Coastal erosion emerged as a major concern, leading to three initiatives:
- A modular diploma program led by IHE Delft, to strengthen the technical capacities of national, regional, and local actors in modelling and monitoring for environmental risk reduction and adaptation to the changing climate in Colombia’s marine-coastal zones.
- A quantitative morphodynamic analysis of the Caribbean coastline of Colombia, to identify locations at risk of coastal erosion under a changing climate and assess the impact of potential interventions.
- The development of an NbS portfolio for prioritised location in the archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina.
Contact person: Marta Faneca.
BRIDGE: Water Risks and Institutional Investors – New Approaches to Improve ESG Data (Brazil)
In this project, commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands (Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat), Deltares mapped water-related risks across industrial sectors and specific investments portfolios in Brazil. The project generated valuable knowledge and insights to support more sustainable practices and strengthen risk management for institutional investors.
By integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data with hydrological risk assessments, it contributed to the development of more resilient investment strategies - aligning financial decision-making with water security and climate adaptation objectives.
Contact Person: Viviane Malveira Cavalcanti.
WaterLOUPE - Assessing water scarcity risks now and in the future (Colombia, Argentina)
The WaterLOUPE tool tracks data relating to social, economic and climate factors that affect fresh water availability in river basins and displays the information on a highly visual, user-friendly dashboard.
The scientifically sound tool is easily accessible for all user groups and provides scenarios extending to a thirty-year time horizon. It runs the risk assessment for each actor-group separately, instead of providing one generic risk assessment per basin.
Contact person: Marta Faneca.
Stormwater management in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, Deltares led a comprehensive urban flood risk management initiative under the Bolivia Urban Resilience Technical Assistance Programme, financed by SECO and implemented by the World Bank. The project involved developing a detailed flood risk profile using hydrologic, hydraulic, and risk modelling tools such as wflow, Delft 3D FM, and Delft-FIAT.
It assessed current and future flood hazards across multiple climate scenarios and return periods, and integrated Nature-based Solutions (NbS) into mitigation planning. The project also included capacity-building workshops to transfer technical skills to local professionals, ensuring sustainable implementation and long-term resilience.
Contact person: Natalia Leon Barrios.
