Bregje van Wesenbeeck

Nature-based flood risk mitigation and ecosystem assessment

+31(0)88335 8312

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Dr. Bregje van Wesenbeeck is the scientific director of Deltares, a Dutch research institute for water management, and a senior expert in nature-based solutions. She also is an associate professor at the Delft University of Technology in nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation for climate change and disaster risk reduction. Her research focusses on biogeomorphological interactions in deltas with a focus on salt marshes and mangroves and she teaches natural process understanding throughout the curriculum of TUD. She initiated testing programs of vegetated coastal and river landscapes under extreme conditions. This work is used to improve numerical models to increase reliability and predictability of NbS functioning. In addition, she investigates effective restoration of coastal habitats. She strives to both strengthen the scientific foundation and further practical application of nature-based solutions. At Deltares she has over 15 years’ experience in working with development banks, UN, NGO’s and governments in Asia, Africa, USA and the Netherlands, for whom she provides advice on flood risk reduction, erosion mitigation and climate change adaptation. She uses her system knowledge and project experience to evaluate feasibility of intervention strategies in different coastal, riverine and urban environments. As scientific director she chairs the science council of Deltares, which advices on quality and direction of the work and organization. She is an inclusive, patient and pragmatic team leader with experience in leading multidisciplinary and multicultural teams.

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Working experience

2012 - Present Deltares Senior researcher/advisor at Deltares.
2008 - 2011 Deltares Researcher/advisor at Deltares.
2006 - 2007 NIOO Coordination of project on creation of Japanese Oyster reefs as a mechanism for coastal defense at the NIOO.
2002 - 2007 Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and Brown University PhD research at the Netherlands Institute for Ecology (NIOO), Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG) and Brown University. Main topic: Structuring role of interactions between species and the environment in salt marsh pioneer zones. Promotores: Dr. J.P. Bakker, Dr. P.M.J. Herman and Dr. M.D. Bertness.
2001 - 2002 Province of Noord-Holland Water & Green department of the Province of Noord-Holland. The project implied an extra impulse for policies on nature and water in a part of the urban agglomeration area of the Netherlands.