Visit Waterloopbos

Yesterday a delegation of the Irrigation and Water Engineering group went to the Waterloopbos. This forest used to be location for hydraulic test with scale models. The models have been abandoned for quite some time now, and nature is slowly taking over. At the moment an art project called ‘Drift’ has placed all sorts of artworks in the forest. A wonderful mix of surreal art, engineering nostalgia and large spiders. 

Waterloopbos

If you are ever visiting the Noordoostpolder, for whatever reason, do pay this forest a visit!

UPDATE: For more pics, made by Patricio Mena Vásconez, click here.

Wavemachines, photo (c) PMV 2012

Risky Uncertainty?

Last Friday I was asked to give a presentation at the Studium Generale session as a part of the Wageningen Annual Introduction Days. It was really challenging to keep a group of 90, just arrived, international students interested in flood risks and uncertainties, since we were competing with a very sunny friday afternoon freshly and the prospect of free drinks. Despite these boundary conditions, it was a very interesting and lively afternoon.

My short talk was about the question: What do past events and statistics tells us about the future? Venue of this session was the new meeting place at the campus called Impulse, really beautiful and more striking here at Wageningen University: excellent coffee!

Turmoil with regard to Bangladesh climate funds investments

Bangladesh, being one of the world’s most vulnerable deltas with regards to sea level rise and climate change, has been positioning itself as a ‘climate victim’. At the same time it also takes a pro-active role in investing in climate change adaptation and on his own has established the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) of more than $ 300 million. Next to that, the international community (notably DFID, USAID and the European Commission) have established the Bangladesh Climate Change Resilient Fund (BCCRF) of about $ 170 million. The latter funds is management by the Worldbank.

From the beginning there has been quite a lot of discussion as to how to invest the national BCCTF (in which projects or activities, but also via which channels). Lately, tensions rose as earlier promises from the Bangladeshi government, to distribute the funds via existing NGO’s, is being delayed. It led to a massive protest from the NGO community in Bangladesh.

At the same time, the first stand-alone project from the BCCRF funds has been signed recently and will invest $ 12.5 million in building climate resilient communities. We expect a phone call soon!

The agency of fish

Just found a lovely documentary on the decision to put the Haringvliet dam on a crack, then to cancel this decision, then to cancel the decision-to cancel this decision. The documentary is made by the local television station of the island Goeree Overflakkee (and unfortunately, but logically in Dutch). The most striking element of the documentary to me is the way in how the various interviewees are formulating how fishes, in this case mainly salmon, think. One person thinks the fish are afraid of the noise in the Rotterdam harbour, another is expressing what fishes think when they are swimming through a lock. 

It would be way to easy to suggest a resemblance between politicians making/cancelling decisions and the 3 second memory of fishes (though the Mythbusters claim this is false). This does make an interesting case for studying the agency of non-humans and principle of generalized symmetry.

The origin of... the Dutch Delta

Before I went on holidays in July, I worked on my research proposal, in order to submit it for the (lets hope) approval of my research school WASS. In preparatory discussions with my supervisors there was one recurring questions: What is a Delta? Is it an idea? A hydrological  unit? A geographical space? Where/when does it start or end?

When I returned to office from my holidays I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this august the Social Studies of Science journal published a special issue on water, with contributions from a.o. Wiebe Bijker on Water Cultures. Totally fascinating to read the introductory article 'Water Worlds' by Jessica Barnes and Samer Alatout. Similar to what I intend to do in my research, the authors translate the fascinating 'Body Multiple' (2002) by Dutch philosopher/anthropologist Annemarie Mol to the domain of water studies. Annemarie Mol who also this summer received the prestigious Dutch Spinoza prize.

Going through this special issue I had to think of this special issue of Technology & Culture focused entirely on the Dutch water management, technologies and politics, which was published 10 years ago (2002). In this special issue there was also a contribution by Wiebe Bijkers: The Oosterschelde Storm Surge Barrier: A Test Case for Dutch Water Technology, Management, and Politics. 

The two contributions by Wiebe Bijker to both these excellent special issues to me shows that apparently the Dutch Delta starts in Maastricht!

Welcome

Welcome to this blog! Via this blog we will keep you informed on the whereabouts of the 4 PhD candidates that are working on the project 'Communities and Institutions for Flood Resilience'. On this blog we publish posts about the research we are conducting, conferences we (intend to) visit, courses we do, etc. Basically all things and thoughts that we come across and find worthwile sharing with the world. Also we will invite MSc and BSc students, while doing their internships or thesis researches, and our supervisors to write guest post on this blog.

And of course: suggestions and comments are welcome!