Friday, March 6, 2015

Is This the Dutch Engineering Century?

From a press release announcing Indonesian and Dutch efforts to combat the impacts of climate change.  Many other countries will turn to the Netherlands for aid and support.

"The 5 million euro initiative is the leading international case of the “Building with Nature Innovation Programme”. This public-private partnership aims to stimulate sustainable coastal engineering approaches that make use of the natural protection provided by ecosystems like mangroves and salt marsh habitats. It represents the transition of traditional infrastructure designs that typically fight against nature, towards solutions that work with and alongside nature .The latter are often more cost-effective, while bringing more prosperity to the local economy such as through enhanced fisheries and carbon storage.

Thirty million people suffer from coastal flooding and erosion hazards, affecting 3,000 villages in Northern Java. The problems largely result from the removal of mangrove belts for aquaculture development, unsustainable coastal infrastructures, and groundwater extraction. In some places more than 3 kilometers of land has already been taken by the sea and entire villages have been engulfed. Many people experience a major loss in income, reaching up to 60-80% in some villages. The agri- and aquaculture sectors, key economic engines in Indonesia, also suffer multi-billion losses."

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