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Today, on Prinsjesdag, the new plans of the Dutch Cabinet were announced. The Delta Commissioner also presented his new plans to the government in the new Delta Programme. The Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ's strategic programme Pathways to Sustainability contributes through its Water, Climate and Future Deltas knowledge'hub' with essential knowledge for sustainable long-term delta development and to make short-term decisions in deltas such as the Netherlands 'future proof'.

We are not only looking at water, but apply an integral multidisciplinary approach. Understanding the interaction between the physical system of the delta and its consequences for the people who live there and vice versa are important for taking the right decisions and implementing them.

A recent case study in het Groene Hart shows that an acceleration of the change of course, which has already started in some places, is necessary to limit subsidence. In the case of spatial development, the water system must once again become more manageable; we will have to use part of the area differently, and we must consider whether the benefits of a new use can be expressed not only in economic terms, but also in terms of natural values, biodiversity or CO2 storage. We could also consider using administrative changes as a 'tool' to find a solution. 

Rising sea levels, subsidence and a decrease in sediment supply threaten deltas around the world, while many people live there. These areas are important economically, provide a large proportion of our food and are developing rapidly. The population is increasing, cities and industry are expanding and infrastructure is being built. In an interdisciplinary team, we are developing different pathways along which deltas can develop under different future scenarios. In doing so, we look not only at technical measures and their effects, but also at the socio-economic and administrative context that help determine to what extent various measures will be feasible in practice. The challenge here is always to ensure that you take precisely those measures that already take the long-term perspective into account.