Handbook for Building with Nature
Worldwide there is increasing interest in the use of natural processes and landscape elements such as beaches, dunes, marshes and secondary channels as measures for protection against flooding. Rijkswaterstaat is working together with USACE (US) and the Environment Agency (UK) on a joint handbook for "Natural and Nature Based Features for flood risk management". By sharing this manual we share our knowledge and we learn from each other. Other partners include Dutch and American dredgers, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and nature organisations.
Symposium in California
On September 21, a symposium took place at the University of California Santa Cruz to share the interim results with local stakeholders of USACE. Rijkswaterstaat shares knowledge and examples of ‘Building with Nature’ at this symposium. Examples of these projects are Room for the River, the Houtrib dyke and the Sand Motor. Rijkswaterstaat also shares this knowledge in the Interreg Building with Nature project.
Joint evidence base
Such examples are crucial to compare and learn from, because ‘Building with Nature’ is still very much in development. By doing so, the countries build a joint evidence base on the development, application and effectiveness of these types of measures. By jointly tackling this each partner in the project learns faster. A joint project works like a mirror, you see more solutions for similar problems. And that always makes us think: what can we improve?