Toespraak van de Prins van Oranje op conferentie 'Deltas in Times of Climate Change' te Rotterdam, 29 september 2010

Toespraak | 29-09-2010

Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,

I can't think of a better place to hold this conference than Rotterdam. This is a modern metropolis, where innovative ideas about town planning, architecture and water have always gone hand in hand. Rotterdam drew up its first water plan in the mid-nineteenth century. The city was being hit by regular outbreaks of cholera and urgent action was needed. Architect Willem Nicolaas Rose gave the city a new look and room for development by separating the Rivers Schie and Rotte from the city's waterways, and constructing canals, sewers and water wells.

Its location on the estuaries of the Rhine and the Maas has enabled Rotterdam to develop into what it is today: the largest port in the world outside Asia, and the Gateway to Europe. Rotterdam is truly Water City, famous for its bridges and its architecture.
But there is something the average visitor will not notice. Rotterdam could soon face problems as serious as the ones in the nineteenth century. You know exactly what I am talking about. I am talking about the problems faced by every delta in the world.

Sea-level is rising. So on one side, seawater is trying to find a way in. On the other, water from the rivers is seeking a way out. And river discharge patterns are changing more and more.

At the same time, the land is subsiding, while all over the world urban areas, population and economic capital are growing rapidly, especially in Delta zones.

As the mayor mentioned, more than three billion people now live in the world's deltas. The impact of climate change is making new demands on the safety, economy and living environment in these areas.

This summer, devastating floods in Pakistan made millions of people homeless. Nearly 2,000 people died. Harvests were lost, and vital infrastructure destroyed. It will be a long, long time before normal life returns to the stricken areas.

To call this a natural disaster or a climate problem is to deny the influence of mankind. The choices we make increase or reduce our vulnerability. Every time we build a house, construct a road or plant a tree, we need to consider the impact on our water system. Every one of our plans and projects should take water into account.

And, Rotterdam is certainly taking water into account. The city has identified the problem of rising water levels, and is set to deal with it. Rotterdam now has new ideas and new water plans.
To protect the city against flooding. To improve quality of life.

Plans already leading to action, in the spirit of this hard-working city. All kind of projects have taken shape. From redevelopment of harbour areas, water storage on roofs or in underground car parks to a climate-proof dike. There are even sunken landscaped plazas that catch and store rainwater. Again, Rotterdam has rolled its sleeves up and set to work.

And that is the main challenge we face here today, the main challenge facing every delta in the world: to take action before we are overcome by the changes that are coming our way. Let us be prepared. Prepared for the future.

I would now like to look at the action we need to take.

I'll do so from three viewpoints. First, I'll take a close look at the Netherlands. Then I'll focus on other deltas in the world. Finally I'll take a broader view, looking at how we can rise to the challenges facing the world as a whole.

If we take a close look at the low-lying Netherlands, we see a country that has been shaped over the centuries by human hands. We see an interplay between land and water. We see how the Dutch have battled with water and developed thanks to water.

With the completion of the Delta Project, the Netherlands never has been safer. Not a single life has been lost in a flood since 1953. That is something to be proud of. But it is no reason to sit back and relax. In the past few years, the Water Advisory Committee, which I chair, has given a number of recommendations concerning water safety in the Netherlands. It has called for safety policy to be updated and existing safety norms to be enforced. It has also stressed the need to secure short and long-term funding, and the importance of good water governance.
The Committee's recommendations still hold good. Climate change only increases the need to look ahead and prepare for the future. Fortunately, in adopting the National Water Plan, the government has shown that it takes water safety and the need for climate-proofing seriously.

This year, Mr Wim Kuijken started his work as Government Commissioner for the new Delta Programme. He presented his first plans last week. He will tell you more about them later this morning. The main themes of this new-style Delta Programme are safety and fresh water availability. But it's about much more than that. It is about the economy, the environment and social development. About how we can plan our country so that our children can live and work here in safety, now and in the future.
Cooperation is essential - between central government, the provincial and local authorities, the waterboards , knowledge centres, the business community and civil society. The challenge is daunting, but I am sure that with the new Delta Programme we can face the future with confidence.

If we now take a look beyond our borders, we can see what might happen to us if we don't take action. Hardly a week goes by without serious floods - far away, and closer to home. Pakistan, China, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Germany, France and Britain are just a few countries recently hit by flooding. And a shortage of water can also lead to problems. The devastating fires in Russia, caused by extreme drought, are still fresh in our memories.

Our National Water Plan has a special chapter on worldwide water problems, which the government is committed to tackling. It's called "Water Mondiaal", Global Water. Three themes play a central role - exchanging knowledge, helping to solve problems in other countries, and strengthening the position of the Dutch water sector.

To focus on knowledge exchanges, the Netherlands will have multiyear partnerships with five delta areas - deltas that are comparable to the Netherlands in terms of scale and vulnerability. They are in Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Mozambique and Vietnam. The Netherlands will work with stakeholders and government authorities and will exchange high-grade knowledge. Adaptation strategies will be sought to raise safety levels and create development opportunities in these delta areas. Agreements have already been made with Vietnam to work together to improve water management in the Mekong Delta. In Indonesia, the Dutch water sector is actively involved in tackling problems with rivers, flooding and sinking land in combination with the coastal development of Jakarta.

Other partnerships and networks will also be in the spotlight at this conference. They include Connecting Delta Cities, the Delta Alliance and the C40 Cities, all of which seek to resolve Delta challenges in the same spirit as "Water Mondiaal". I truly hope that you will succeed in learning from each other and in building new alliances aimed at further cooperation in and between our deltas.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Exactly two months from today the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - COP16 - will be held in Cancún. You will no doubt recall the high expectations we all had of COP15 in Copenhagen. But no agreement could be reached on emission reductions and mitigating measures. Water and adaptation hardly came into the picture. I hope that we can now move forward in Cancún.

Once again, curbing greenhouse gas emissions will be at the top of the agenda. But even if crystal-clear agreements are reached on that issue, we will still have to adapt to the demands water makes of us. So at COP16, water and adaptation must be prominent on the agenda.

This focus on water and adaptation will need to take tangible shape. It will have to be reflected in partnerships, funding mechanisms, exchanges of knowledge and experience and, most importantly, concrete measures at regional, national and local level.

Adaptation to climate change is urgently needed. Water plays a pivotal role, but many politicians have yet to recognise it. As a result, adaptation measures in water management are often underrepresented in national plans and international investment portfolios. So significant investments and policy shifts are needed. The costs are high, but are greatly outweighed by the benefits. In the Netherlands, an extra billion euros a year is needed for the Delta Fund. The World Bank recently estimated the annual cost of climate adaptation in developing countries alone at 70 to 100 billion dollars a year between now and 2050.

Many large organisations are working within the UN framework to develop climate adaptation strategies. I mentioned the World Bank, but no fewer than 26 UN agencies are working together in the UN-Water coordination platform. The UN-Water Task Force on Climate Change has drawn up guiding principles for measures on water and adaption. I would like to share them with you.

We have to mainstream adaptation within the broader development environment. Water and adaptation measures are closely linked to infrastructure development, economy, health, agriculture and energy issues.
We have to strengthen governance and improve water management.

But let us not reinvent the wheel. Integrated Water Resources Management is a strong tool for linking water with other sectors. We also have to join hands across borders. The UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, which I have the honour to chair, clearly states that the impact of climate change on the world's shared freshwater resources increases the need for viable transboundary management instruments.

We have to invest in sustainable, cost effective and adaptive water management and in technology transfer. Let us build long-term resilience through stronger institutions and investment in infrastructure, in sound ecosystems and human capital.

Finally, we have to develop adaptation strategies tailored to the needs of each delta. And we can get started with 'no regrets' measures, which have a positive impact on development and are climate proof. To do this, of course, we have to create innovative funding mechanisms as a basis for adaptation in water management. And that requires political will.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We share a common goal: to keep water on our side and make it work for us, but also to keep it at bay.

This is no easy challenge at a time of cutbacks. But prevention is better than cure. If we fail to invest in a safe future the cost will be much higher. And if we look ahead, we will be rewarded with work and prosperity.

Cooperation, solidarity and exchange underpin a climate-proof future for our deltas. In the next few days you will have the opportunity to work on all three. You will meet experts in your own field and other disciplines - not just from your own country but from other parts of the world, too. I hope this inspires you to work together on concrete proposals for partnership projects, 'no regrets' measures and adaptation strategies.

I am convinced that our joint efforts at this conference will bring us a step closer to a safe and prosperous future of the world's deltas.

I wish you every success.
Thank you.