Netherlands Flood Control System

Ilvy njiokiktjien for the new york times.

Netherlands flood control system. Flood defenses only last if there is adequate funding for maintenance and regular. Flood control is an important issue for the netherlands as due to its low elevation approximately two thirds of its area is vulnerable to flooding while the country is densely populated. What s more the netherlands is second only to the united states in agricultural exports. Flood management in the netherlands has been successful the last 60 years because of adaptive changes in our organizational legal and financial tools and institutions.

It comes as many parts of the world are feeling the e. One half of the netherlands is flood prone and about one quarter is below sea level. After hurricane katrina the us state of louisiana sent politicians to the netherlands to take a tour of the complex and highly developed flood control system in place in the netherlands. Flood risk management and water management are integrated in the netherlands.

With a bbc article quoting experts as saying 70 percent more people will live in delta cities by 2050 the number of people impacted by a rise in sea level will greatly increase. World leaders and scientists are meeting in germany for cop23 the annual un climate change conference. The netherlands exports flood control expertise the netherlands has for centuries dealt with flooding and high waters by developing innovative water management techniques and technologies and in recent years other countries have been tapping this dutch expertise. The netherlands flood defenses a sculpted landscape of dunes dikes dams barriers sluices and pumps designed to repel the twin threats of ocean storm surges and river flooding are light.

Flood control in netherlands following a flood during the early 1500s dutch inventors in the netherlands began to create various infrastructures to protect the country from similar floods. These infrastructures help prevent long term flooding and disasters within the country aimed at protecting the country from floods for up to 10 000 years. The netherlands have built their flood protection systems to the point that the chance of failure in any given year is one in 10 000 which zevenbergen says is the most stringent system on the.