Delta Programme

Choosing, distributing and adapting

A farmer in Zeeland looks out over his arid fields and concludes that he has lost half his crop of onions. Two motorways have been flooded over a distance of several hundred metres hundreds of feet after heavy rain. Houses in Enschede have been declared uninhabitable after a cloudburst in the middle of the summer because water has come up through the floor and skirting boards.  

These are just some examples of the effects suffered by people because of the climate of the future. A climate with peak rainfall, longer dry and hot periods, and salt water displacing fresh water for agriculture and nature. 

The Netherlands has a long tradition of controlling water. With dikes, locks, pumping stations and dams, we have always adapted to new conditions. The effects of climate change are forcing us to act again. By making changes to the water system, spatial planning and land use, we can make the Netherlands resilient to extreme precipitation and prolonged drought. 

Goal of the national Delta Programme 

The Netherlands has to be climate-resilient and water-robust by 2050. This means that flood risk management, freshwater availability and spatial planning must be in order. Only then can our country continue to cope properly with the effects of climate change. 

With knowledge institutes, business and stakeholder organisations, the government is working on the delta in a new way:  

• new standards for flood risk management have applied since 2017. The government looks not only at the probability of flooding but also at the possible consequences (this is known as the risk approach). The extent of the consequences determines the stringency of the standards.  
• A clear picture needs to be established of the availability of fresh water for agriculture, industry and nature. The Netherlands needs to become increasingly resilient to freshwater shortages.  
• Spatial planning in the Netherlands needs to be more climate-resilient and more water-robust. 

The Delta Programme sets out a strategy for the future. How can we protect the Netherlands from flooding; how can we ensure that we have enough fresh water? And how can we ensure that spatial planning is water-robust and climate-resilient? That strategy includes a range of components: 

• The delta decisions: are national frameworks that apply throughout the Netherlands.  
• The preferred strategies: provide direction for tailor-made measures for the areas in the Delta Programme in the Netherlands.  
• The delta plans: include concrete measures for the implementation of the policy and planning for these measures.  
• The Delta Programme: describes the progress made on the elaboration and implementation of the delta decisions, preferred strategies and delta plans. Proposals for possible changes to the delta decisions and preferred strategies are also included in the annual Delta Programme, which comes out on Prinsjesdag (the state opening of Parliament in the Netherlands).  

The Delta Decisions

• Delta Decision for Flood Risk Management: for protecting people and the economy against flooding from the sea, the large rivers, and the large lakes.  
• Freshwater Delta Decision: for limiting water shortages, making good use of fresh water and coping with shortages.  
• Delta Decision for Spatial Adaptation: for the development of water-robust and climate-resilient areas, both urban and rural.  
• Delta Decision for Major rivers and deltas (Dutch): options for flood risk management and fresh water in the Rhine-Meuse delta.  
• Delta Decision for the IJsselmeer area: options for flood risk management and fresh water in the IJsselmeer area.  

The Sand Decision complements the Delta Decisions. It defines the goals and the implementation of sand nourishment in the Netherlands. The underlying principle for the Sand Decision is: ‘soft where possible, hard where needed.’ 

The Delta Plans 

• Delta Plan for Flood Risk Management
• Freshwater Delta Plan
• Delta Plan for Spatial Adaptation

Delta Act (since 1 January 2012) 

The statutory agreements about the Delta Programme are set out in the Water Act. The Act also includes information about the Delta Fund and a description of the role of the Delta Commissioner.  

Delta Fund 

The national government finances the measures in the Delta Programme from the Delta Fund. Other partners also contribute. Until 2050, the Delta Fund is expected to have € 29 billion available for the Delta Programme, while € 38 billion is needed.  

The agendas for a water-robust and climate-resilient country are expanding and the costs are increasing accordingly. The Delta Commissioner is concerned about the rising budgetary tension, not least because it puts further pressure on operational capacity. If the budgetary pressure continues to increase in the years ahead and/or operational capacity in the market continues to be an obstacle, potentially drastic decisions may be needed with a negative impact on the effectiveness of the Delta Programme. 

Delta Commission 

The government established a Delta Commission in 2007 that was led by former minister Cees Veerman. In 2008, the Commission issued an advisory report on flood risk management and freshwater supplies in the Netherlands. It pointed out that the situation in the Netherlands was not acute, but that it was urgent.  

Safe homes, work and leisure 

Before the Commission looked at flood risk management in the Netherlands, agreements dating back to the 1960s applied. It was high time for new agreements. The Commission studied topics such as water, housing, work, leisure, agriculture, nature, infrastructure and space. The central question was: how can the Netherlands continue to be protected from flooding, freshwater shortages and extreme weather? The objectives were for everyone to live, work and enjoy leisure activities in the Netherlands safely, now and in 50 and 100 years from now.  

Recommendations 

The Commission’s advisory report included twelve recommendations relating to, among other things, the integrity of the dikes in the Netherlands, construction in areas with a higher probability of flooding, and the administrative, organisational, and financial aspects of measures to prevent flooding. The full recommendations from the Delta Commission can be found in the report ‘Working together with water’. The cabinet adopted the recommendations. This resulted in the Delta Programme we have today, including the Delta Commissioner and the Delta Fund.