What does the Delta Act cover?
The Delta Act stipulates that a Delta Programme must be drafted annually. The aim is to ensure that the Netherlands is adequately protected against flooding and well adapted to extreme climate effects, and that it has good freshwater supplies. The Act also stipulates that there must be a Delta Commissioner to direct the drafting and implementation of the Delta Programme. It also provides for a Delta Fund as one source of financing for the Delta Programme.
Between now and 2037, the size of the Delta Fund will be an average of more than € 1.25 billion a year, of which over 55 percent will be available for investments. Almost 45 percent is needed for regular management and maintenance, and overhead costs. The Delta Fund will be replenished between now and 2037 and renewed annually for one year at a time.
The Delta Act has been in effect since 1 January 2012. In order to bridge the period between the introduction of the bill and its final enactment, the cabinet had previously – at the request of a broad majority in the House of Representatives – arranged for the appointment of a Delta Commissioner in a decree and stated that a Delta Programme should be established. Wim Kuijken, who had just been appointed as the Delta Commissioner at the time, presented the first Delta Programme in September 2010. In 2017, he was reappointed – in accordance with the Delta Act – by Royal Decree as Delta Commissioner for another seven-year term. In January 2019, Kuijken was succeeded by the second Delta Commissioner, Peter Glas.