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In this newsletter
- Upcoming events & invitation
- Introduction
- 2015: Your ideas are welcome
- Delta Alliance at the “Deltas in times of climate change”- conference in Rotterdam
- International Advisory Committee, September 2014
- Delta Approach: Towards a Comprehensive Framework for Adaptive Delta Management
- New Tool: AQUEDUCT – Global Flood Risk Assessment Instrument
- Regional delta training workshop Bangladesh
- Latest Status of Formation of Delta Alliance Wing - Myanmar and Participation of Delta Alliance Activities
- Our team in 2015. The international secretariat
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Introduction
This newsletter marks the start of a new era of communication with our Delta Alliance wings, delta management practitioners, researchers and policy makers. This is the first newsletter in a series of newsletters that will be available as announced by the International Advisory Committee of the Delta Alliance. You can also see our new and improved website by visiting www.delta-alliance.org to stay informed on specific Delta Alliance news, or general delta research related news items. If you wish to contribute to delta related discussions or just want to keep up to date with what’s happening: stay connected by linking yourself to the Delta Alliance Linked-In group.
Do you want to share news on your delta (research)? Please send your issues to: info@delta-alliance.org
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2015: Your ideas are welcome
You are invited to join our efforts to make deltas comparable and improve the exchange of knowledge and experience between deltas of the world.
Join us on our interactive poll on:
- the top 5 delta research themes in your delta,
- current composition of your national Wing (institutes and their fields of expertise)
- how you are connected to researchers and practitioners, in other wings and/ or deltas, with what deltas /wings you would like to connect and carry out research and exchange results in future.
We also look forward to hearing your ideas on what methods are suitable to start a lively, critical and constructive debate on research themes, delta management approaches and tools.
Currently the following Deltas are member of the Delta Alliance network. In 2015 we expect to increase this number.
* Argentina
* Bangladesh
* Brazil
* China
* Egypt
* Indonesia
* Kenva
* Mozambique
* Myanmar
* The Netherlands
* Taiwan
* USA-California
* USA-Louisiana
* Vietnam
Check our website in early January to complete the poll and join our Linked-In group to discuss the best methods for debate.
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Delta Alliance at the “Deltas in times of climate change”- conference in Rotterdam
The Conference ‘Deltas in Times of Climate Change’ (23rd-26th of September 2014) was a great success. Over the three days more than 1200 attendees were received from more than 50 countries who participated in Round Table discussions, sessions on the science behind climate change and practical workshops. The Delta Alliance contributed to this Delta Conference in different ways. In the plenary session of the Conference, the chair of the Governing board, Mrs Tineke Huizinga gave a statement over Delta Alliance. As chair of the international governing board of the Delta Alliance she commented” I feel committed to build connections between the deltas in order to share knowledge, to identify knowledge gaps, to generate new knowledge and to provide innovative solutions. The DA also organised an Advisory Board meeting to discuss the future perspectives of the Delta Alliance.
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International Advisory Committee, September 2014
The Delta Alliance held a dedicated session with the International Advisory Committee Board of the Delta Alliance the day before the Deltas in times of climate change conference began. Eight deltas were present namely; Argentina, Bangladesh, California, Mississippi, Egypt, Myanmar, Taiwan and the Netherlands). The wings were requisitioned to give a short introduction and to elaborate on 3 major issues of concern in their delta area. This inventory serves as input to establish strong ties between delta wings and work together with deltas that face the same challenges.
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Delta Approach: Towards a Comprehensive Framework for Adaptive Delta Management
We took the initiative to stipulate a framework for Adaptive Delta Management. On our website is a report that provides an overview of new approaches emerging in several deltas that can be labelled under the heading of Adaptive Delta Management (ADM). Adaptive management can be defined as a structured, iterative process of robust decision making in the face of uncertainty, with an aim to reduce uncertainty over time via system monitoring. Adaptive Delta management encourages an integrated and flexible approach to land and water management with the aim to reduce vulnerability and limit the risk of over- or underinvestment in future challenges such as flood risk management and freshwater supplies. The report shows that ADM is developing rapidly into a fascinating new type of decision making in an uncertain future. The reasons for using the new approach are convincing, the theoretical foundation is growing and the results on the ground are promising. Please share your additions to the report through the Linked-In group.
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New Tool: AQUEDUCT – Global Flood Risk Assessment Instrument
The World Resources Institute (WRI) will partner with Deltares, VU University Amsterdam, Utrecht University, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) and supported by the NL Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment to develop an online instrument that can measure flood risks at a global level and investigate the feasibility of it being used to measure progress in reducing those risks.
This flood risk oriented instrument is complementary to the existing framework of AQUEDUCT, which started as an instrument focusing on water scarcity, aiming to assist companies, investors, governments, and communities to better understand where and how water risks are emerging around the world.
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Regional delta training workshop Bangladesh
A delta training and planning workshop was held on19th to 23rd October 2014 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The objective of the workshop was the direct South – South exchange on objectives and challenges in delta planning taking into account similarities and differences among deltas in South East Asia. The 34 participants of the workshops had governmental, non-governmental and private sector backgrounds. In total 30% of the participants were alumni of Wageningen UR or UNESCO-IHE.
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Latest Status of Formation of Delta Alliance Wing - Myanmar and Participation of Delta Alliance Activities
At the request of the Global Water Partnership and the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project (BOBLME, coordinated by FAO) Delta Alliance is carrying out a detailed assessment of the vulnerability and resilience of the Ayeyarwady Delta in Myanmar. After a successful scoping mission in 2013, GWP and BOBLME/FAO decided to give its support also to the full assessment. From this, workshops were organised in close cooperation with the Irrigation Department (ID) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MOAI) at several locations in the delta earlier this year. Many other organisations were visited and provided useful information that is now currently being analysed. The final report will be published in January or February 2015.
At the same time the Delta Alliance Wing - Myanmar is being established and will be coordinated by the Irrigation Department. The Wing will also include universities, research institutions and NGOs.
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Our team in 2015. The international secretariat
Renske Peters, Director
Former Director of Water at the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, Renske is a member of the UNFCCC Climate Adaptation Committee who maintains excellent skills, enthusiasm, experience and international networks to consolidate the achievements to date. She will further develop and strengthen the Delta Alliance organisation and network.
petersrens@gmail.com
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Marjan Kreijns
Marjan Kreijns worked and lived in the Asian Delta’s from 2000-2011. Upon her return to the Netherlands she became the Head of the Project Management Department at the Delft University of Technology. Teamleader of the Valorisation Programme Deltatechnology & Water (VPdelta) which aims at accelerating innovation in deltatechnology and water management, both national and internationally.
m.s.kreijns@tudelft.nl
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Ivo Demmers
Since 2000, Ivo has been working in various functions in the private and not-for-profit sector on integrating spatial development, water, environment, policy and operational management principles in Deltas and riverbasins worldwide. Currently he is working at Alterra, part of Wageningen University and Research Centre on strengthening its position in the international water sector.
Ivo.demmers@wur.nl
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Martine Rutten
Martine is an assistant professor in Water Resources Management at Delft University of Technology. Her main research interest is the effective use of remote sensing, ground observations (including citizen science) and models for decision making. Works mainly in the deltas of the Netherlands, Myanmar and Vietnam on research and capacity building. Within the Delta Alliance she will focus on creating dialogue space to facilitate critical discussions on adaptive delta management approaches and tools.
m.m.rutten@tudelft.nl
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Maaike Maarse
Representative of Deltares in the Delta Alliance core team. Maaike works at Deltares (a knowledge institute for applied research) in the field of water, subsurface and infrastructure. Her background is Biology and Natural Resources Management. Currently working on subjects related to ecology, adaptation to climate change and flood risk management, both in the Netherlands and on international projects.
Maaike.Maarse@deltares.nl
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Nora van Cauwenbergh
Nora Van Cauwenbergh has over 7 years of academic and practical experience in river basin planning and governance in semi-arid regions. She completed her PhD in participatory decision support for natural resources management at Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. She continues to investigate governance structures, stakeholder processes and the relevance, accuracy and use of stakeholders' knowledge as compared to knowledge provided by modelling in decision support. At UNESCO-IHE, Nora van Cauwenbergh lectures various topics related to water resources planning and supervises MSc research in water management and water governance.
N.vanCauwenbergh@unesco-ihe.org
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Wim van Driel
Wim, a senior researcher with the research institute Alterra Wageningen UR stood at the cradle of the Delta Alliance in 2008/2009. He has, since then, been the programme manager of Delta Alliance. Wim wishes to take a sabbatical for most of 2015.
Wim will remain involved in certain specific projects, such as : the further development of the joint GWP-Delta Alliance Enabling Delta Life Initiative: a global programme of action on deltas; the vulnerability assessment of the Ayeyarwady funded by BOBLME/FAO; and the Delta Assessment project for the Transboundary Water Assessment Programme (UNEP-DHI and GEF).
Wim.vanDriel@wur.nl
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