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Building with Nature: in search of resilient storm surge protection strategies

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Abstract

Low-lying, densely populated coastal areas worldwide are under threat, requiring coastal managers to develop new strategies to cope with land subsidence, sea-level rise and the increasing risk of storm-surge-induced floods. Traditional engineering approaches optimizing for safety are often suboptimal with respect to other functions and are neither resilient nor sustainable. Densely populated deltas in particular need more resilient solutions that are robust, sustainable, adaptable, multifunctional and yet economically feasible. Innovative concepts such as ‘Building with Nature’ provide a basis for coastal protection strategies that are able to follow gradual changes in climate and other environmental conditions, while maintaining flood safety, ecological values and socio-economic functions. This paper presents a conceptual framework for Building with Nature that is used to evaluate coastal protection strategies, based on a case study of the Holland coast in the Netherlands. The added value and the limitations of these strategies are discussed.

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Notes

  1. The dunes—with fresh groundwater lenses in a salt groundwater environment—are used to filter and purify fresh river water and store it for use as drinking water.

  2. The coalition members included the province of South Holland, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, Rijkswaterstaat (the state water management agency), the municipalities of The Hague, Westland and Rotterdam, the Delfland water board and the Milieufederatie Zuid-Holland (an environmental NGO).

  3. Assuming that the 20 million m3 of sand will stay within the coastal cell and will be evenly distributed over the entire coastal profile, the Sand Engine will ultimately yield some 50 m of coastal progradation in the cell.

  4. This observation is based on a cost of sand of €2.5/m3 in 2011 for the Sand Engine (compared with €6/m3 for regular nourishments) using a discount rate of 5.5 %.

  5. In the meantime, the channel has been closed artificially and replaced with another one further from the beach. It was considered to constitute an unacceptable danger to people using the beach.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the valuable comments and suggestions made by the anonymous reviewers and the editor of this special issue. The Delfland Sand Engine case study presented in this paper has been developed as part of the innovation programme Building with Nature, which runs from 2008 to the end of 2012. It is funded from various sources, including the Subsidieregeling Innovatieketen Water (SIW), funded partly by the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, and partly by contributions from members of the EcoShape consortium. The programme receives co-funding from the European Fund for Regional Development and the Municipality of Dordrecht.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    E. van Slobbe

  2. EcoShape Foundation/Deltares/Delft University of Technology, Burgemeester de Raadtsingel 69, 3311 JG, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

    H. J. de Vriend

  3. EcoShape Foundation/Royal Boskalis, Burgemeester de Raadtsingel 69, 3311 JG, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

    S. Aarninkhof

  4. School of Management and Governance, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands

    K. Lulofs

  5. Deltares/University of Applied Sciences, Hogeschool Zeeland, PO Box 177, 2600 MH, Delft, The Netherlands

    M. de Vries

  6. ARCADIS Nederland/Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, PO Box 4205, 3006 AE, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    P. Dircke

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  1. E. van Slobbe
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  2. H. J. de Vriend
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  3. S. Aarninkhof
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Correspondence to E. van Slobbe.

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van Slobbe, E., de Vriend, H.J., Aarninkhof, S. et al. Building with Nature: in search of resilient storm surge protection strategies. Nat Hazards 65, 947–966 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-012-0342-y

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