Organisation

The core of the Delta Programme is a national approach, with room for regional interpretation and the involvement of all parties. The national government, provincial and municipal authorities, and water authorities have shared responsibility and shared ownership. At the regional level, the partners work in individual areas with tailored strategies to elaborate and implement the agendas of the Delta Programme. 

Area-specific collaboration and implementation

The regional administrative alliances of the government authorities are of major importance for the discussion of the delta agendas in conjunction with other area agendas. The scope of the agendas and how they are implemented vary from area to area. The administrative involvement therefore varies as well depending on the region and theme. 

Each agenda in the Delta Programme – flood risk management, fresh water and spatial adaptation – has specific, logical, regional boundaries with a corresponding administrative agenda. The authorities concerned also organise the support activities. The main tasks involve the implementation and further elaboration of the delta decisions and preferred strategies, informing the Delta Commissioner about progress and submitting recommendations about the annual proposal for the Delta Programme. The administrative consultation platforms for the IJsselmeer area  and Southwest Delta discuss flood risk management, fresh water and spatial adaptation. Since 2024, Central Holland has been represented as an area in the Delta Programme and it has an area consultation platform: the Central Holland Administrative Platform. 

Delta Programme Steering Group

At the national level, the Delta Programme Steering Group provides administrative embedding and recommendations for the Delta Commissioner. The steering group includes directors of the umbrella organisations of provincial and municipal authorities, and water authorities, the chairs of the area consultation platforms and the directors-general of the ministries concerned. The ministries are the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (including Rijkswaterstaat), the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, and the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth. The Delta Commissioner chairs the Delta Programme Steering Group.  

Generic themes

The administrative coordination of the three themes is organised in several ways: 

• Flood risk management: The central focus of the Flood Risk Management Administrative Consultation Platform (BOWV) is on the national policy for flood risk management in the short and long term. The BOWV advises the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Delta Commissioner and the Delta Programme Steering Group about, for example, the interaction between flood risk management and other themes, and strategies in the DP areas.  
• Fresh water: The Freshwater Administrative Platform (BPZ) is the coordinating administrative body for fresh water in the six freshwater regions and Rijkswaterstaat (for the main water system). In addition, the BPZ is responsible for the Freshwater Delta Decision and the Freshwater Delta Plan.  
• Spatial adaptation: The Spatial Adaptation Steering Group is the coordinating administrative platform for the elaboration of this topic and is responsible for the Delta Plan for Spatial Adaptation.  

The freshwater agendas are implemented through the freshwater regions. The spatial adaptation agendas are implemented through the working regions (Dutch). The demarcation of these areas varies in some respects from that for flood risk management. 

Flood risk management

Seven area consultation platforms are currently active in the area of flood risk management: the Wadden area administrative consultation platform, the Southwest Delta area consultation platform, the IJsselmeer area administrative platform, the Rhine administrative platform, the Delta Programme Steering Group for the Meuse, the Rhine Estuary-Drecht Towns area consultation platform (see map) and the national Coast consultation platform. The area consultation platforms make sure there is coordination about transitional areas such as the IJssel-Vecht delta, Alblasserwaard and Krimpenerwaard, and the Amsterdam region.  

Flood risk management measures are largely implemented through the Flood Protection Programme (Dutch) (HWBP). The HWBP programme directorate, an alliance between water authorities and Rijkswaterstaat, provides coordinated programming.   

For the rivers, the national government and regional parties are working together in the national Room for the River 2.0 programme (RvdR 2.0, formerly Integrated River Management). RvdR 2.0 is working on measures to restore river beds and make room for high discharges. The aim is to have a future-resilient river area by 2050 that works well as a system and that can be used for multiple functions. That will provide an integrated approach for the agendas of flood risk management, water quality, navigability, freshwater availability, nature, and spatial and economic quality. And for anchoring the approach in a policy framework, including a programme of measures. The 2028-2033 National Water Programme will draw up the national river policy resulting from RvdR 2.0 in 2027. The administrative coordination of RvdR 2.0 goes through the RvdR Steering Group, on which the Rhine Administrative Platform, the Delta Programme Steering Group for the Meuse and the Delta Commissioner are represented.  

Fresh water

Six freshwater regions (see map) and Rijkswaterstaat (for the main water system) are working on the elaboration of the Freshwater Delta Decision and the implementation of the Freshwater Delta Plan. Consultations about fresh water in the High-Lying Areas with Sandy Soils (East), High-Lying Areas with Sandy Soils (South), the River Area, the Western Netherlands and Northern Netherlands take place in regional administrative consultation platforms (RBOs). In most regions, fresh water is linked to spatial adaptation and water quality. The IJsselmeer Area Administrative Platform and the Southwest Delta Area Consultation Platform discuss flood risk management, fresh water and spatial adaptation. The Freshwater Programming Office prepares the programming for the freshwater measures. The government authorities and regions work together here. 

Spatial adaptation

The ambitions, agreements and actions in the Delta Plan for Spatial Adaptation require intensive collaboration between municipal, provincial and water authorities, and the national government. The partners base their joint activities – particularly in the area of implementation – on a country-wide classification consisting of 45 working regions (see map). The government authorities in a working region jointly identify vulnerabilities to problems with excessive water, heat, drought and flooding. Working with citizens, businesses and stakeholdere organisations, they set the ambition for reducing vulnerability. They also implement measures for this purpose. The working regions monitor progress for the benefit of their own local administrative authorities. Seven existing area consultation platforms (Dutch) report on progress with respect to the Spatial Adaptation Delta Plan on the basis of that information for the purposes of the Delta Commissioner’s annual progress report (c.f. the Spatial Adaptation progress report). Area consultations further coordination with the other agendas of the Delta Programme.  

International transitional areas

Consultations in the area of all themes about international transitional areas take place in the international river commissions and the bilateral cross-border alliances. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management coordinates these consultations. The Delta Programme also participates in catchment-wide river knowledge development.