In the project Heritage uncovered; Tow barge canals in a water management context, the future value of tow barge canals for climate adaptation has been studied. The project focused on the area between the cities Leiden, The Hague, Delft, Rotterdam and Gouda, with a surface area of km2, and the tow barge canals the Vliet, the Schie, the Gouwe and the Old Rhine. Until 900 CE the areas was mostly peat swamp. Since then, it has been drained for agriculture. This has resulted in economic growth and the development of cities in the 13th Century. A side effect of drainage was land subsidence. In addition, peat was mined to supply the cities with fuel. To limit waterlogging, large drainage canals were dug, such as the Vliet and the Schie. In the 17th Century, many of these were modified to function as tow barge canals connecting the major cities. It is expected that the water management challenges in the area will increase as a result of climate change. According to the climate scenarios for 2100 of the Royal Meteorological Institute, both heavy rainstorms and periods without any rainfall will become more common. On top of this, there are plans to build many new houses. To prevent an increase in flood and drought problems, more temporary water storage can be created, but no less than 34 mln m3 of additional storage would be needed. 7.5 mln m3 additional storage can be created in the different polders, primarily to cope with peak rainfall events, while east of the town of Zoetermeer a new lake with 26.5 mln m3 of temporary storage can be created to supply water in drought periods, called the Bent lake (Bentmeer). Assuming 2 m difference between the highest and the lowest water level, the Bent lake would need to have a surface area of 13.3 km2. It can offer excellent opportunities for recreation and nature. To transport water in and out of the Bent lake, a connection to the Rotte river in the south and the Old Rhine (Oude Rijn) in the north has to be made. This would restore an old shipping route. For the connection to the Old Rhine three options have been explored and for one of these a spatial plan has been made. In this option the Bent lake is connected to the existing Benthuizer canal (Benthuizervaart) and the Benthuizer canal is connected via a new canal to the existing Hoogeveense canal (Hoogeveense vaart), (see figures 15 and 16). Along parts of the new canal futuristic “green” appartements will be built with a view either on the canal or over the surrounding polders. To limit height differences for boating, the new canal will be constructed above the level of the polder. The new apartment buildings along the canal will also be built at a higher level, which will make them less vulnerable to flooding (see figure 1). In all options the old tow barge canals are essential for transporting water to and from the Bent lake and discharging excess water onto the main rivers and the North Sea. In addition, they are a good entry point for telling the history of the landscape and reflecting on possible futures. It is proposed to construct a tow path along the new canal and make a replica of an original tow barge. This barge will be called the “Climate Barge” (Klimaatschuit) and can be used as a floating exhibition space and a location for future discussions. The proposals in this report have not yet been developed in detail and the future is still very uncertain. Yet, we cannot wait until there is certainty. If sooner or later large-scale temporary water storage in this part of the country will be needed, space for this has to be reserved quite soon. The costs will be high, but the costs of inaction will be high too. And it offers new opportunities. @en

In het project Erfgoed onthult; Trekvaarten binnen het waterverband is gekeken naar de toekomstwaarde van trekvaarten voor klimaatadaptatie. Het project richt zich specifiek op het gebied tussen de steden Leiden, Den Haag, Delft, Rotterdam en Gouda met de trekvaarten de Vliet, de Schie, de Gouwe en de Oude Rijn. Tot het jaar 900 was dit gebied grotendeels een veenmoeras. Daarna is het ontwaterd voor de landbouw. Dit leidde tot economische groei en de opkomst van de steden in de dertiende eeuw. Een neveneffect van ontwatering was bodemdaling. Bovendien werd er veel veen afgegraven voor de energievoorziening van de steden. Om het gebied droog te houden, zijn er in de middeleeuwen afwateringskanalen gegraven, zoals de Vliet en de Schie. Deze zijn in de 17e eeuw aangepast om als trekvaart tussen de steden dienst te kunnen doen. In de toekomst zullen de waterproblemen in het gebied toenemen. Naar verwachting zullen in 2100 extreme regenbuien nog extremer worden en zullen er vaker lange periodes zonder regen zijn. Tegelijkertijd zijn er plannen om veel nieuwe huizen te bouwen. Dit alles kan leiden tot veel meer wateroverlast en grotere droogteproblemen. In dit project is gekeken of extra tijdelijke waterberging een oplossing kan bieden voor deze problemen. Dat is zo, maar dan is er wel 34 miljoen m3 aan extra berging nodig. Voorgesteld wordt om in de verschillende polders 7,5 miljoen m3 aan nieuwe waterberging aan te leggen, vooral voor de opvang van piekbuien, en daarnaast ten oosten van Zoetermeer een Bentmeer aan te leggen met 26,5 miljoen m3 waterberging als extra bron van zoetwater tijdens droogtes. Uitgaande van twee meter verschil tussen het hoogste en het laagste waterpeil, zal het Bentmeer een oppervlakte moeten krijgen van 13,3 km2. Dit biedt uitgelezen kansen voor recreatie en natuurontwikkeling. Om het water het Bentmeer in en uit te krijgen, zal een verbinding aangelegd moeten worden met de Rotte in het zuiden en de Oude Rijn in het noorden. Hierdoor zou een oude scheepvaartverbinding tussen de Rotte en de Oude Rijn hersteld worden. Voor de verbinding met de Oude Rijn zijn drie opties bekeken. Voor één van deze opties is een ruimtelijk schetsontwerp gemaakt. In deze optie wordt het Bentmeer verbonden met de Benthuizervaart en wordt de Benthuizervaart via een nieuw te graven vaart verbonden met de huidige Hoogeveense vaart. Deze laatste staat in verbinding met de Oude Rijn (zie de figuren 15 en 16). Langs een deel van denieuwe vaart zullen futuristische “groene” appartementen aangelegd worden met uitzicht over de polder of de vaart. Om de hoogteverschillen voor de scheepvaart niet te groot te maken, kan de Hoogeveense vaart verhoogd aangelegd worden. De appartementsgebouwen langs de vaart kunnen dan ook hoger aangelegd worden, wat ze minder kwetsbaar maakt bij overstromingen. In alle drie de opties spelen de trekvaarten een essentiële rol voor het transport van water uit en naar het Bentmeer en voor het lozen van overtollig water uit het hele gebied op de Nieuwe Waterweg en de Noordzee. Daarnaast zijn de trekvaarten een goede insteek om de geschiedenis van het landschap te vertellen en te reflecteren op mogelijke toekomsten. Om die reden wordt voorgesteld om langs de nieuwe vaart een jaagpad aan te leggen zodat er met een trekschuit – de “Klimaatschuit” – op gevaren kan worden. Deze kan dienen als varende tentoonstellingsruimte en als locatie voor toekomstdiscussies. De voorstellen in dit rapport zijn nog niet in detail uitgewerkt en de toekomst is onzeker. Wij kunnen echter niet wachten totdat er zekerheid is. Als we vroeg of laat grootschalige waterberging in Zuid-Holland nodig hebben, moeten we daar nu al over nadenken en snel ruimte reserveren. De kosten zullen hoog zijn, maar de kosten van inactie kunnen nog hoger zijn. Bovendien liggen er ook nieuwe kansen.@en

Environmental changes can result in dramatic increases in human migration as households become unable to adapt to such changes. Addressing environmental migration is a complex puzzle that can become a wicked problem. Despite the growing literature on the nexus between environmental change and migration, the inextricable link between nature and society has made it difficult to establish causal relations between the two. To examine the relationship between environmental change and migration, it is necessary to develop a conceptual model that includes environmental changes as potential causes of rural-urban migration (RUM). Such a model should be built on an enhanced understanding of the different factors that stimulate environmentally induced RUM. This paper proposes such a model, focusing on loss of agricultural land, loss of agricultural productivity and the economic repercussions of these losses. The model is based on the model of Perch-Nielsen et al. but extends this model by incorporating additional factors. In our model, the three leading causes of RUM are climate change, human maladaptive activities, and hydro-climatic disasters (the push factors). In addition, there may be pull factors in the cities. RUM may be counteracted or reduced by governmental policy and individuals' characteristics. The model was applied to Iran. The results show that the model can help to bridge the knowledge gap regarding environmentally induced RUM and may inform policymaking on RUM and related issues, such as environmental management and adaptation to climate change.

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In de voorgaande hoofdstukken stond de vraag centraal hoeveel invloed de ingezetenen van een waterschap hebben op de besluit­vorming door het waterschapsbestuur. In dit hoofdstuk staat de vraag centraal welke speelruimte de waterschapsbesturen hebben. Kunnen zij een eigen beleid voeren of zijn zij met hand en en voeten gebonden aan wet- en regelgeving en aan nationaal en provinciaal beleid? Om deze vraag te kunnen beantwoorden, zal aandacht be­steed worden aan de wettelijke taken en doelstellingen van de wa­terschappen en hun juridische bevoegdheden. Verder zullen hun financiele middelen en hun relatie met andere partijen aan bod komen. De conclusie van dit hoofdstuk is dat wat betreft de speel­ruimte van het waterschapsbestuur het glas voor driekwart vol is. @en

Dit boek is een herziening van het boek Nederlands waterrecht voor niet-juristen uit 2019. Het behandelt niet alleen het huidige waterrecht, maar ook het waterrecht na inwerkingtreding van de Omgevingswet. Alle aspecten van het waterbeheer komen aan bod: de bestuurlijke organisatie van het waterbeheer, het waterkwaliteits- en -kwantiteitsbeheer, drinkwater en afvalwater, natuurbescherming, Europees waterrecht, ruimtelijke ordening, crisismanagement, financiering en rechtsbescherming. Het boek vereist geen juridische voorkennis en is geschikt voor iedereen op academisch of HBO niveau die geïnteresseerd is in het waterrecht en het waterbeheer.@en

This article discusses the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the Netherlands and shows how law and politics combine in river basin management. Initially, the implementation of the WFD in the Netherlands was approached as a technical and administrative issue, handled by water quality and ecology experts, but, in 2003, this approach was broken open by the agricultural sector, who feared stricter regulation. Subsequently, the environmental objectives of the WFD were set as low as possible and they play no role when authorising new projects. In July 2015, however, the European Court of Justice determined that the environmental objectives have a binding effect and that Member States have to refuse authorisation of projects that jeopardise the achievement of these objectives. This example shows the important role that law as a social phenomenon or “field” can play in river basin management, provided the courts enjoy sufficient social and political support and function relatively independently, as they do in the Netherlands. The article discusses the origin of the juridical field and its relation with politics and concludes that, to understand river basin management fully, it is essential to understand how (water) law functions.

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Social learning, especially triple-loop social learning involving institutional and governance changes, has great potential to address urban water issues such as flooding, drought, and pollution. It facilitates urban transition and the adoption of more systemic approaches and innovations. Social learning in water governance is a growing field, but the triple-loop learning concept remains vague and underexplored. Additionally, the focus is often on how social learning can contribute to progress with little attention being paid to barriers to learning. The aim of this paper is to increase understanding of triple-loop social learning to improve the "learning infrastructure". It investigates key learning barriers for realizing green (livable) and adaptive cities in Malmö and Gothenburg, Sweden. Integration of nature-based solutions in spatial planning and development of these cities has been slow. The results found three types of barriers contributing to this: systemic (disconnecting parts with the whole); opacity (reducing communication between error detection and correction); and process-related (reducing the adoption of innovations). The paper contributes to understanding the social learning barriers for implementing planning. These insights could help overcome "adaptation inertia" and speed up policy learning towards sustainability and resilience.

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Dit boek biedt een algemene inleiding op het Nederlandse waterrecht voor niet-juristen. Het behandelt niet alleen het huidige waterrecht, maar ook hoe dit tot stand komt en wat het belang voor de praktijk van het waterbeheer is. Alle aspecten van het waterbeheer komen hierbij aan bod: de bestuurlijke organisatie van het waterbeheer, het waterkwaliteits- en -kwantiteitsbeheer, drinkwater en afvalwater, natuurbescherming, het Europese waterrecht, de ruimtelijke ordening, crisismanagement, financiering en rechtsbescherming. Alle gebruikte juridische begrippen worden duidelijk uitgelegd. Het boek is geschikt voor iedereen op academisch of HBO-niveau die geïnteresseerd is in het waterrecht en het waterbeheer.@en

Diffuse Water Pollution from Agriculture (DWPA) and its governance has received increased attention as a policy concern across the globe. Mitigation of DWPA is a complex problem that requires a mix of policy instruments and a multi-agency, broad societal response. In this paper, opportunities and barriers for developing co-governance, defined as collaborative societal involvement in the functions of government, and its suitability for mitigation of DWPA are reviewed using seven case studies in Europe (Poland, Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands and UK), Australia (Murray-Darling Basin) and North America (State of Minnesota). An analytical framework for assessing opportunities and barriers of co-governance was developed and applied in this review. Results indicated that five key issues constitute both opportunities and barriers, and include: (i) pressure for change; (ii) connected governance structures and allocation of resources and funding; (iii) leadership and establishment of partnerships through capacity building; (iv) use and co-production of knowledge; and (v) time commitment to develop water co-governance.

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Values, defined as principles or standards of behaviour, are crucial for understanding 5 how individuals, groups, organisations and whole societies interact with their water systems. Values can be used to judge and justify actions (ideal values) and they can be enacted in practice and embodied in water laws and water infrastructure (actual values). Moreover, they can be individual or social. Depending on the type of value, different measurement methods can be used. For research into the co-evolution of human and water systems, discourse analysis of cultural texts such as newspaper articles is a good 10 method since such texts are often available for longer periods. For comparative research, data from the World Values Survey or the European Social Survey may be used. To achieve progress, future socio-hydrological research should take as its starting point the main social groups and organisations in the area of concern and study 1) how these have evolved, 2) how their interactions with each other and with their physical environment have evolved, and 3) how they influence and are influenced by the prevalent social values and management institutions. @en

The Dutch water boards perform essential tasks for the Netherlands and generally effectively, yet they have often been called old-fashioned, ineffective and expensive. This paper describes and analyses the discussions on the water boards since 1953 in order to increase insight in the factors that influence institutional change in water management. In this period the water boards have changed a lot: their number has been reduced from 2670 to 24, they got new tasks, and more groups are now represented and contribute financially. But they have also successfully resisted proposals to abolish them or cancel the reserved seats for specific groups. Change occurred when groups with a vested interest in the water boards, such as agriculture, saw the change as strengthening the boards, and when these groups were relatively weak and could be overruled. In other cases there was continuity. One of the factors influencing the strength of these groups was their influence on public discourse via, for instance, the many advisory bodies with water board experts on them.@en

River basins are difficult units to manage. Society is generally not organized on the basis of river basins, yet river basins are important units for society and vice versa. This paper discusses the development and effectiveness of river basin management, using the Great Ouse Basin in the east of England as an example. Because of conflicting interests between upstream and downstream areas in this basin, it took some 70 years, from 1850 to 1920, to establish the first basin-wide management body, and because of these interests this body was initially not very effective. Over the years management was scaled up until in 1989 a national rivers authority was established. A fundamental issue was the lack of a sense of community at the basin scale. This could have mitigated the conflicts of interests and facilitated better cooperation. The paper recommends more research on the role of community in river basin management and suggests to extend the notions of ‘institutional’ and ‘socio-ecological fit’ to include ‘community fit’.@en

This study investigates the impact of an exhibition on natural hazards on risk awareness of the inhabitants of the Ubaye Valley in southern France. Risk communication practices need to be effective to contribute to disaster reduction, but their impact is rarely evaluated. Using a pre-test/post-test research design as well as a longitudinal study, changes in awareness of adults, teenagers and children were measured. The responses to a questionnaire were analyzed using non-parametric tests. The questionnaire dealt with several factors determining or influencing awareness: attitudes to risk, previous experiences of emergencies, exposure to awareness raising, ability to mitigate/prepare/respond, worry level, self-reported awareness, hard knowledge and demographic characteristics. Generally, risk awareness was higher after visiting the exhibition. The exhibition had most impact on visitors that had experienced few natural hazards or that were little informed a priori. In contrast to teenagers and children, the awareness of adults increased only for risk in general and not for specific natural hazards. Moreover, the results show that the exhibition was more effective in raising awareness of the hazards that occur rarely. For more frequent and more locally occurring hazards, such as debris flows, other means of communication should be considered.

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The Upper Wadi Fara' basin, located at the West Bank, Palestine, has an average annual rainfall of 500 mm, which occurs only during winter. Agriculture uses stored soil water and complimentary irrigation from groundwater. Water harvesting (WH) and managed aquifer recharge (MAR) therefore is essential for sustainable water resources management in the basin. This study focuses on the comparison between two methods to determine best practices for WH/MAR. The first method uses the change in water productivity and can be considered a one parameter cost benefit analysis (CBA). The other method concerns the multi year water allocation system (MYWAS), which uses water demand curves to evaluate economic scenarios. It is concluded that the highest cost effectiveness of WH/MAR measures in upper Wadi Fara' basin is reached when water is stored as soil water. However, this is a politically disputed measure in the Israel-Palestine shared aquifer. Both models are useful tools in decisive stakeholder participation processes@en

Volgens een oude zegswijze heeft God de wereld geschapen, maar de Nederlanders Nederland. En hoewel “scheppen” misschien niet het juist woord is, zit hier een kern van waarheid in. Vooral het noorden en westen van het land zijn het resultaat van menselijk ingrijpen, van grootschalige ontginning van veengebieden, landaanwinning, droogmaking van meren en herbedijking van overstroomde gebieden. In dit artikel staat de vraag centraal wie het land hebben vormgegeven en wat hun motieven waren. Voor de 16e eeuw en later zijn wij hierover goed ingelicht, maar niet voor eerdere eeuwen.1 Om hier wat aan te doen, beschrijft dit artikel de bedijking van de polder Charlois in 1460. In 1913 heeft R. Bijlsma hier al over gepubliceerd en in 1921 W.F. de Waal, maar deze auteurs wisten niet dat er een lijst overgeleverd is van de participanten in de bedijking.2 Bovendien zijn er sindsdien vele bronnen toegankelijk gemaakt die ons helpen een beeld te vormen van de participanten en hun netwerken, zoals de leenrepertoria die in het tijdschrift Ons Voorgeslacht gepubliceerd zijn.3 In dit artikel zullen wij eerst de voorgeschiedenis van de polder Charlois en de uitgifte in 1460 behandelen. Hierna komen de participanten in de bedijking, hun netwerken en hun motieven aan bod. Het artikel sluit af met een korte conclusie, die de bedijking van Charlois in breder perspectief plaatst en enige suggesties voor verder onderzoek geeft.@en

In environmental management there is often discussion on the allocation of responsibilities. Such discussions can continue for a long time and can form an obstacle for effective action. In this article twelve normative principles for the allocation of responsibilities are identified, coming from three different sources: the arguments used in discussions on responsibilities, Dutch and European law, and the environmental management literature. The principles are (1) capacity, (2) lowest social costs, (3) causation, (4) interest, (5) scale, (6) subsidiarity, (7) structural integration, (8) separation, (9) solidarity, (10) transparency, (11) stability (but not standstill), and (12) acquired rights. These principles point to fundamental tensions in environmental management and sometimes conflict with each other. At the same time they may help to resolve conflicts by providing common points of reference that are independent from the often conflicting interests of the discussants.

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