Hans Kuipers representing the Netherlands for the TOPSOIL Policy Week
Water policy and climate change
Representing the Province of Drenthe, Executive Board Member Hans Kuipers is responsible for - amongst other things - water related issues and climate adaptation. He recognizes the increasing importance of water policy as a result of climate change. “We face serious drought in the summer months and such periods are occurring more and more often. The beautiful province of Drenthe is particularly vulnerable, because of our sandy soils.”
Following partner examples
Drenthe also has a lot of fresh groundwater, ‘our Blue Gold’, as Kuipers like to call it. “We need to protect our water and that’s why it’s important to understand the effects of climate change on our environment. TOPSOIL has been of great value to us, particularly in terms of knowledge exchange and the joint approach to tackling shared problems. We had helicopter to map the ground structure in the Drentsche Aa, using the knowledge of our Danish partners, for example. The results form the basis for the design of new policies around irrigation and drainage, copying our German colleagues’ example. What’s more, the saline groundwater along the whole Dutch coast is now being mapped, following the Belgian case.”
Blue & green transition
The challenges posed by climate change are the same across Europe. By sharing knowledge and potential solutions, there are multiple opportunities for not just a blue transition in water policies but also a green transition for agriculture.
Watch the full video below