Third Annual Workshop on Decision-making Under Deep Uncertainty
The third annual “Decision-making Under Deep Uncertainty” workshop will be held on 3-5 November, in Delft. The first two workshops were organised by the World Bank and the RAND Corporation, respectively. This year’s working session is organised by Delft University of Technology, the research institute Deltares, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education and Radboud University, in collaboration with the Delta Programme Commissioner’s staff.
In the Delta Programme, the choice was not to ignore uncertainty regarding socio-economic developments and the climate but to explicitly take it into consideration when making decisions. The method developed to this end is known as Adaptive Delta Management, described in the DP2015 as: a pragmatic approach for dealing with developments when the course they will take is clear but the speed at which they will move is uncertain.
The application of this method resulted in “‘adaptive strategies” which can be accelerated or halted as needed, allow room to shift to alternative strategies, and keep several long-term options open.
This adaptive approach has been warmly received internationally, both within and outside the domain of climate adaptation. In early November, some 70 scientific experts and experiential experts from all over the globe will come to Delft to share their ideas about this approach and other ways of dealing with uncertainty.
On behalf of the Delta Programme, Pieter Bloemen will talk about the lessons learned from the application of the adaptive approach in the Delta Programme and the challenges he foresees for the future.