Time f or Pr event ive Act ion!

Set t ing t he Scene: Wat er Relat ed Disast er Risk

Reduct ion16 – 01 - 2015

UN-Wat er - Zar agoza

Niels Vlaander en

Worldwide increase of f lood frequency and damage

16 January 2015

• Mor e f loods, mor e damage, incr easing r isk

• Dr ought s

Causes

16 January 2015

• Populat ion gr owt h• Ur banisat ion• Climat e change, • I nadequat e land & wat er management

Royal Colloquium: Cities at Risk Royal Colloquium: Cities at Risk –– A Warmer World and the Big Chill for Urban PlannersA Warmer World and the Big Chill for Urban Planners

Wolfgang Kron: Wolfgang Kron: Don‘t leave the cities alone . . .Don‘t leave the cities alone . . .

World population

Population Trends

AD

1927: 2bn

1960: 3bn

1974: 4bn

1987: 5bn

1999: 6bn

2012: 7bn

2026: 8bn

2043: 9bn

1804: 1bn

Lessons learned

16 January 2015

• I mpor t ance of awar eness / Sense of ur gency• I nvest in under st anding t he pr oblem and

adopt ing adapt ive appr oaches• Take pr event ive measur es:

Pr event ion pays!• Zer o r isk doesn’t exist

Message 1Climat e shif t s and ot her global changes ar e alr eady impact ing wat er -r elat ed disast er s

16 January 2015

Message 2Disast er Risk Reduct ion, Wat er Resour ces Management and Climat e Adapt at ion should no longer be t r eat ed as separ at e t opics

Message 3 Use new data and tools; optimize risk awareness and emergency planning

Message 4Risk reduction, preparation and prevention pay of f in terms of reduced loss of lif e, avoided damage, and long-term economic growth and stability

16 January 2015

Message 5 Integrate risk prevention & long- term planning: create opportunities for synergies with planned investments, incl. plans for adaptation to climate change

Message 6Uncertainties are no excuse for inaction: be f lexible and adaptive

16 January 2015

16 January 2015

The Delt aplan r evisit ed

Changing per spect ives in t he Net her lands’ f lood r isk r educt ion

philosophy

Global Trends

16 January 2015

• Mor e f loods, mor e damage, mor e r isk

• Due t o populat ion gr owt h, ur banisat ion, climat e change, inadequat e land & wat er managementRoyal Colloquium: Cities at Risk Royal Colloquium: Cities at Risk –– A Warmer World and the Big Chill for Urban PlannersA Warmer World and the Big Chill for Urban Planners

Wolfgang Kron: Wolfgang Kron: Don‘t leave the cities alone . . .Don‘t leave the cities alone . . .

World population

Population Trends

AD

1927: 2bn

1960: 3bn

1974: 4bn

1987: 5bn

1999: 6bn

2012: 7bn

2026: 8bn

2043: 9bn

1804: 1bn

Wat er & The Net her lands: Long t er m hist or y

16 January 2015

1580 1700 2000

1953 Disaster

16 January 2015

Const r uct ion of dams and bar r ier s

Changed perspective in the Netherlands• From fighting against water to living with water• Pro-active approach, building resilience

16 January 2015

The Deltaplan revisited: f rom f lood protection to integrated risk management

• a minimum saf et y level f or each cit izen in t he Net her lands (a pr obabilit y t o die due t o a f lood of at most 1/ 100,000 per year ),

• t he int r oduct ion of a new set of saf et y st andar ds f or t he Dut ch f lood def ences based on a societ al cost -benef it analysis,

• count er act ing social disr upt ion in case of f looding, and

• pr ot ect ing vit al and vulner able inf r ast r uct ur e. 16 January 2015

The Deltaplan revisited

• Legislat ion – Pr ogr amme – Fund – Commissioner - I mplement at ion

• For war d-looking – f lexible adapt ive appr oach• Mult i- layer saf et y• Mult ilevel gover nance• Par t icipat ion • I nt egr at ed r isk management

16 January 2015

Building with nature

16 January 2015

From concept to action

16 January 2015

• DRR – WRM – Climat e Adapt at ion – Development should go hand in hand (NL -DRR f acilit y)

• Connect nat ional exper iences t o int er nat ional f r amewor ks (cooper at ion Nl – OECD, NL – WB)

• Assur e basic r equir ement s: f unding, good gover nance, st akeholder involvement , capacit y

Messages• Be pr epar ed f or mor e ext r eme event s and even higher impact s of

disast er s.• Disast er Risk Reduct ion, Wat er Resour ces Management and Climat e

Adapt at ion should no longer be t r eat ed as separ at e t opics• Use new dat a and t ools f or r isk assessment t o ident if y and

pr ior it ize act ions. I mpr ove pr epar edness of cit izens in t er ms of r isk awar eness and emer gency planning

• Risk r educt ion, pr epar at ion and pr event ion ar e sensible invest ment s t hat pay of f in t er ms of r educed loss of lif e, avoided damage, and long-t er m economic gr owt h and st abilit y.

• Risk pr event ion should be int egr at ed wit h long-t er m planning and cr eat e oppor t unit ies f or syner gies wit h planned invest ment s, including plans f or adapt at ion t o climat e change.

• Uncer t aint ies ar e no excuse f or inact ion: be f lexible and adapt ive16 January 2015

Thank you!

16 January 2015