Dutch flood risk management

I recently wrote a short opinion piece about the new Dutch flood risk management, with a fellow researcher from the University of Amsterdam (Emmy Bergsma). It builds upon the work we did in BASE for D2.2, and the analysis I did of Dutch adaptation policy. Flood risk policy is the main developed pillar of Dutch adaptation policy. And Emmy Bergsma's research compares flood risk management in the Netherlands and the USA. The opinion piece has just been published in one of the major Dutch quality newspapers, Trouw.

In short, it's about the upcoming changes in Dutch flood risk management. The Dutch government has decided to make Dutch flood risk management more cost-efficient. That may sound very reasonable and appropriate at first sight. But the lack of public and political discussion about the consequences of that decision is striking. What it will mean is that people living densely populated areas will be entitled to higher protection levels than people living in rural areas. In addition, people living in rural areas will have to organize and fund protection measures themselves, something which used to be collectively organized in the Netherlands, and whilst these regions have not yet been actively informed. The lack of public and political debate about this new flood risk policy jeopardizes the legitimacy and effectiveness of it.