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Interview — The Dutch make room for the river

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Article Published 30 Aug 2018 Last modified 29 Aug 2023

7 min read

Photo: © Rijkswaterstaat the Netherlands / Werry Crone

Nature and water go hand in hand. This is the thinking behind the Dutch Room for the River programme. This back-to-basics approach now serves as a global model in terms of water management and protection against increased risks of flooding linked to climate change. The most recent extreme floods in 1993 and 1995 served as a wake-up call, according to Willem Jan Goossen from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. We asked him what the programme represents in terms of sustainable flood protection.