Delta Commissioner presents Delta Programme at international conference on water and the climate
On 14 July, with an audience of 500 in attendance, Delta Commissioner Wim Kuijken opened the 7th GEWEX conference in The Hague.
GEWEX is an international research programme that looks at the interaction between climate change, extreme weather and issues involving water shortages and excess water. The results of this research programme provide valuable input for the periodic IPCC reports on the causes and consequences of climate change. The programme is sponsored by international organisations including NASA, NOAA, UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This year, the Netherlands was the conference organiser, more specifically Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR), in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) and Delft University of Technology.
After a word of welcome by Prof. Martin Kropf, Rector Magnificus of WUR, the Delta Commissioner spoke about the reasons for the Delta Programme and its aims and working method. He paid particular attention to the development of adaptive strategies and the role of the delta scenarios in these strategies, particularly regarding the freshwater supply. In his presentation, the Delta Commissioner illustrated how researchers, authorities and stakeholders in the Netherlands are working together on issues involving climate change and water management.
