On 31 January, Delta Commissioner Wim Kuijken spoke at the “Get the Solutions Flowing” symposium organised by Wetlands International, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the municipality of Rotterdam. The aim of the symposium was to arrive at an action plan to further natural water infrastructure.
The Delta Commissioner explained how his approach to realising the goals of the Delta Programme, water safety and ensuring an adequate fresh-water supply, is based on the utilisation of natural processes. The Delta Programme explicitly offers opportunities for linking together ambitions regarding ecology with those involving the economy.
Wim Kuijken called for intelligent combinations of public and private funding and the development of business cases that link ecology and the economy. In addition, the Delta Commissioner is looking at market participants to increase opportunities for using natural water-safety measures by working on measures that deliver cost savings as well as ecological value.
‘My message, on the eve of the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the catastrophic flood, is that we have a common duty to protect ourselves from floods. We must not allow our safety to be threatened. Furthermore, we have the opportunity to use our wetlands not only for their ecological and economic value, but also for the contribution they can make to water safety, water quality and water availability, and thus to the Delta Programme,’ according to Wim Kuijken.