Martijn van Staveren

Hi! Welcome to our blog! I intend to write here about 'dealing with delta floods' which is the overall theme of my PhD research programme. In addition, I write blog posts about other, related activities in the field of delta management, floods, disaster risk reduction etcetera. I'm with the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen UR. Welcome to leave comments or contact me for more information: martijn.vanstaveren[a]wur.nl.

Background
Trained as a civil engineer in Delft (Technical University) and Amsterdam (Higher Professional Eductation). Between 2005 and 2007 I studied International Land and Water Management at Wageningen UR. My first years of work were with the Netherlands Water Partnership (eg with Lennart Silvis and Corné Nijburg), being involved in national and international projects and events in the field of delta management. Currently I work as an 'AiO' with Wageningen UR and conduct my PhD research (2012 - 2017). I'm still involved with the Netherlands Water Partnership as contact person for the bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and the Netherlands in the field of water.

Flood management strategies and controlled flooding in the Dutch, Bangladesh and Vietnamese deltas

The 'traditional' approach of responding to delta floods with large scale infrastructure and full flood control is, especially in the Dutch delta, now complemented by strategies that have a different attitude towards natural processes and ecosystem dynamics. The Room for the River program is instrumental in proposing the almost un-Dutch measure of 'de-poldering' former agricultural polders, and reconnect them to the river floodplains. This may provide the required space to reduce peak discharge levels, while yearly flooding is expected to positively influence the river wetlands and delta ecosystem.

In the two Asian deltas, controlled flooding was, or is, still an inherent element of the agricultural and water system. In Bangladesh, Tidal River Management developed as an intervention to restore tidal floods in the southwest delta as a response to the negative impacts of flood prevention infrastructure in the region. In Vietnam, the yearly overland flow and flood-facilitating August dikes support the Mekong's rice production, but calls for full flood protection are being voiced.

This research investigates how 'dealing with delta floods' is taking shape in three of the largest world deltas, by zooming in on how flood management approaches aimed at 'controlled flooding', or 'de-poldering' are taking shape in the three deltas. It aims to shed light on how this takes shape, and reflects on its potential contribution to achieving flood resilient deltas and delta communities.