Modern integrated river flood management for climate change in the Netherlands: the IJssel Delta project

Abstract

This paper describes a planning process combining river flood management with spatial planning. Within the IJssel Delta project, a river bypass in the river IJssel, one of the major Dutch rivers, is planned to reduce the risk of flooding in view of the expected climate change effects. The challenge for this project was to combine various developments (bypass, urban development, nature, leisure, infrastructure and agriculture) in the area into a single integrated spatial development plan, acceptable to all stakeholders. This included resolving spatial conflicts between separate developments regarding (i) flood protection, (ii) infrastructure and (iii) housing. During the planning process, various bypass alternatives were considered to determine the span width of possible solutions. Various technical issues related to the bypass design have been studied using the state-of-the-art methods. A participatory approach involving public and private stakeholders has been used to secure a widely accepted development plan. The plan has been adopted by the responsible authorities. It is now in the final stage and is scheduled for execution from 2013 onwards.

Keywords:

• Integrated river flood management
• flood protection
• spatial planning
• participatory approach
• collaborative approach
• climate adaptation

Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude for the valuable comments and contributions from Joost ter Hoeven, Guoping Zhang, Frank Dekker, Yvonne van Kruchten and Jan Oomen.