On 24th of November a colloquium on strategic and adaptive delta planning was held at Delft University of Technology. This colloquium focused on the challenge of urbanizing deltas in developing countries that need to adapt to face rapid changing environmental conditions. The question that was addressed during the day was how to develop long-term and integral delta strategies, while acknowledging differences in physical, socio-economic, cultural and governance settings and a context of deep uncertainty of these highly dynamic delta regions.

During the colloquium the first results of several NWO Urbanizing Deltas of the World research projects were presented . Examples from adaptive and integrative strategies for Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Mekong Delta and groundwater management in peri-urban regions in India’s Ganges delta were shown and discussed. The presentations can be found at the DA website: http://www.delta-alliance.org 
More information can be found on the NWO Urbanizing Deltas website.

The main conclusions that could be drawn based on the presentations and the lively discussion that followed is that it is difficult to change the course towards more sustainable pathways because of vested interests, economic lock in and institutional barriers. However, a better understanding of the root causes of risk and mechanisms that ‘produce’ unsustainable behaviour is needed to develop effective strategies and interventions. Also, more focus is needed on how to use local knowledge and effective learning processes, for example in training workshops. Additionally, there should be a shift in focus from adaptive towards development and opportunities. In the end, successful adaptation strategies for urbanized deltas need not only to focus on flood risk reduction but also to deliver wider benefits for society.  

The NWO UDW project 'Strategic Delta Planning' (2014-2019) led by UNESCO-IHE is nearly halfway. Proposals of the PhD researchers have been approved and first academic and practical findings of the project's understanding of strategic delta planning and experiences in training delta professionals in south-east Asia have been published. 

1. MOTA paper by Phi et al., MOTA articulates major implementation issues of strategic delta planning. Although plans may look good on the drawing board they may never materialise as motivation and ability of actors are far away from what is needed to implement a plan.
2. Hourglass paper by Seijger et al., the paper explains our interpretation of strategic delta planning, and tests the Hourglass framework, a framework to analyse planning and implementation of strategic delta plans.  
3. Report of ‘Participatory Planning Tools for Strategic Delta Planning & Management’ training workshop, the workshop familiarised international delta professionals with concepts and participatory tools of strategic delta planning. The workshop was held in Ho Chi Minh City, in total 45 people from 6 countries participated. 

For more information visit http://strategic-delta-planning.unesco-ihe.org.