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Widely supported guidelines for nature-based solutions in flood risk management
In collaboration with over twenty-five international institutions, Deltares developed guidelines for the effective implementation of nature-based solutions for flood risk management. The guidelines highlight process steps and principles that aim to optimise projects for the reduction of flood risks by introducing nature-based elements. The guidelines will be tested in practice in next year by both bilateral donors and international organisations.
Environmental compensation for port extension : the case of Rotterdam harbor and nature compensation, policy and practice
The port of Rotterdam recently built a large extension, Maasvlakte 2. It was built in an area with valuable coastal ecosystems belonging to the EU Natura 2000 network of European conservation areas. The construction and use of Maasvlakte 2 causes considerable damage to existing Natura 2000 sites. According to EU regulations this damage should be compensated by creating new nature. In the case of Rotterdam, the compensation was twofold: a marine and a terrestrial part. The paper describes the design and the actual lay-out of the compensation works. It also reports on the monitoring that is ongoing to assess the damage to existing nature and the quality of the new (compensated) nature.
The Giving Delta : a "systems approach" to a consolidated and sustainable Lower Mississippi River Delta
While generating prosperity for many generations, more than a century of levees-only policy for the training of the Mississippi River to limit riverine flood risk, and river management designed to safeguard navigation, has resulted in massive land loss that threatens communities along the Gulf coast including New Orleans. It has long been recognised that this approach would need to be adjusted, since the consequences of the current strategy, for this and future generations, are increasingly apparent, with the negative impacts increasingly outweighing the positives. To this end, the "Changing Course Design Competition" was established reflecting a growing understanding of the scale and complexity of challenges we will face with increased sea level rise and climate change, both in Deltas and more generally across the globe. This paper outlines the Giving Delta response to the Changing Course Design Challenge, a framework developed by a partnership between US and European private sector, Academic Institutions and Centers of Excellence. Our “design-with nature” approach results in a radical retooling of the management of the Mississippi River and integrated investment strategy as the primary decision drivers. Instead of completely restoring the Mississippi Delta to its natural landscape, a bold, innovative “systems approach” was established in linking the specific needs of the region’s ecosystem, economy and community.
Shifting the discharge mind-set from harmful to habitat : exploring inventive designs and benefits of underwater discharge structures
With the aim to protect the marine environment, regulations have been set to regulate the brine discharges, and defining environmental criteria in the area close to the outfall. It was however noted, that such criteria are often adopted from generic benchmarks and sometimes from unadoptable locations. Robust and in situ research on the effects of the brine effluent on the marine environment is also lacking. Recent surveys however suggest that the ecological impact of brine outfalls can be very limited or even result in an improvement of biodiversity and marine abundance on the outfall structure. Such observations suggest that some environmental criteria may be archaic, which may result in needlessly expensive outfall designs.
Tubifex worms improve densification rates and the strengthening of soft sediments and mine tailings
Laboratory tests on oil-sand fluid fine tailings proved that Tubifex worms improve densification by up to 60%. This nature-based technology represents a potential alternative to chemical additives such as flocculants. The potential applications of Tubifex augmentation include tailings basin closure, land reclamation and flood defence projects.
Opzet monitoringsplan voor ecologische meerwaarde van het Wervenpark in Dordrecht
Het Wervenpark in Dordrecht wordt ontwikkeld volgens de principes van Bouwen met de Natuur (Building with Nature). Dit voormalige bedrijventerrein wordt ingericht als getijdenpark waar een natuurlijke dynamische intergetijdenzone wordt gerealiseerd. In dit rapport wordt beschreven hoe de effecten van een dergelijke inrichting in zoetwatergetijdengebied op de ecologie kunnen worden gemonitord en gewaardeerd. De generieke opzet van een monitorsplan wordt weergegeven. Achtereenvolgens worden de verschillende stappen besproken: beschrijving van de maatregel en verwachte effecten; monitoringsvragen; te monitoren parameters; monitorprogramma; optimalisatie monitorprogramma en kostenafweging monitorprogramma. Hierna wordt nader ingegaan op de waardering van de resultaten, en wordt specifiek behandeld hoe het begrip 'connectiviteit' beoordeeld kan worden.
Deformations and damage to buildings adjacent to deep excavations in soft soils : literature survey F531
Vegetation modelling to assess the development and performance of nature-based flood defences
The assessment of the performance and development of nature-based flood defences and natural/semi-natural systems requires efficient quantitative tools. Drawing on experience with these systems and software, we developed an open source tool for biophysical modelling based on Python, Delft Flexible Mesh and XBeach.
Advancing disaster risk reduction through the integration of science, design, and policy into eco-engineering and several global resource frames
By the later part of the 21st Century, our planet will be faced with compelling climatic circumstances requiring tradeoffs to maintain viable environmental conditions and standards of living. The prognosis for people near coastlines and waterways is particularly dire without decisive actions that capitalize on shared strengths such as ecosystems. One clear opportunity is the regenerative services and co-benefits of natural infrastructure that reduce the impacts of environmental disasters as magnified by climatic change. Certainly, nature-based solutions are increasingly being viewed as critical actions to reduce societal risk. However, to advance the use of natural infrastructure through eco-engineering, there is a need to clarify the science regarding risk reduction effectiveness, develop agreeable principles, standards, and designs, and grow a demonstration site network responsive to circumstances faced by communities around the globe. In addition, there is a need to consider the legal, policy, and regulatory obstacles and opportunities for natural infrastructure within local to national contexts (i.e., science-based building codes, architectural design criteria, incentive policies, etc.). Ultimately, the integration of science, designs, and policy coupled with installation within several globally recognized resource frames (IWRM, ICZM, etc.) will help establish eco-engineering standards. Supportive coastal, river, and urban examples from around the world are used to illustrate the current state of knowledge, model this integration of science, design, and policy, serve as initial “benchmark site”, and finally help define guiding principles for the emerging field of eco-engineering.
Challenges in developing sustainable sandy strategies
Sandy nourishments are worldwide applied along sandy shores as maintenance strategy and to enhance the values of coastal areas. In this context, there is a challenge in developing competitive sandy strategies that optimally suit local demands and needs. Within the Building with Nature innovation program three pilots projects based on sandy strategies are explored and discussed in this paper. The pilot projects are based on existing concepts reinvented for new environments in which the challenge is to better suit a local context with respect to conventional approaches. This obviously is a design challenge in which the capacity to 1) develop designs with controlled morphodynamics and 2) engineer with vegetation are both critical.