New land, sustainable prosperity, built on tradition

We want to turn the debate about the consequences of sea level rise from ’threats’ to ‘opportunities’. We must use the time that remains until sea level rise and weather extremes take drastic forms to prepare for a new future. Out of the vicissitudes of water, wind and soil, our ancestors single-handedly built a country in this delta where we can live safely and in prosperity. We want to preserve the country and increase its beauty. Even when nature presents us with major challenges such as prolonged droughts, rising sea levels and high and low water levels in the rivers.
Of course, man-made global warming must be curbed. But even if we stopped globally with greenhouse gas emissions, sea level rise would continue for centuries. Therefore, adjustments are needed that require sacrifices from everyone, but it also gives us the opportunity to build a new country.

After all, we also see an ever-increasing demand for space from housing, the economy and nature.
The large demand for space due to water can be limited by installing pumps at the river mouths, but this requires pumps with a capacity of at least 15,000 m3/s, bear in mind: 60 times the size of the pumping station at IJmuiden/Amsterdam, already the largest in Europe. It is uncertain whether the future electricity grid can guarantee the required security of supply for these mega-pumps.
Another ‘solution’ is to give up the west of the Netherlands to the sea and withdraw to the east of the country. That choice demands an unimaginably high price in humanitarian sacrifices and destruction of productive capital. It is highly questionable whether there is social and financial support for this.

Imagine a row of loose islands off the coast, interconnected by dams, locks and pumps. Due to the temporary buffering of river water in the coastal lakes, the pumps do not have to be started immediately if a problem arises. They can also take a longer time to pump out. Should the pumps fail, thanks to the large collection basins, we have plenty of time to collect the river water. In the event of an unexpected catastrophe (such as a hurricane with major consequential damage, for example to the energy supply), we can store the water for a while, even if the pumps are temporarily out. We call this passive safety.

Contemporary hydraulic engineering focuses on collaboration with nature itself. Better building using  the forces of nature instead of building against the forces of nature. The new coastline will be realized using currents and sedimentation. The Netherlands has this knowledge partly thanks to projects such as the Sand Motor on the South Holland coastline and the Marker Wadden created with sludge from the IJsselmeer.

5. The new coastline can be extended towards Flanders and Germany to form a ‘European Seawall’.

6.  The plan offers space for a multitude of free-riding functions such as nature, housing, agriculture, ports and logistics, fish farms and energy transition, including hydrogen production and storage;

7. It is adaptive: the implementation can grow with the actual sea level rise and river discharges. Pumps, locks and sea walls can be expanded by building, extending, widening and raising them.

Abroad, The Netherlands will reaffirm its reputation as having the best hydraulic engineers in the world. Sea level rise is therefore not only a threat, but also an opportunity. An opportunity to finally find a structural solution for Schiphol Airport, for clean energy, for housing construction, for the creation of new nature, and for several items from a political infrastructural wish list through a smart combination of functions.
This plan represents a radical change of the current coast and its inhabitants. We must be well aware of that. It is therefore not just ‘building with nature’, but also ‘building with the residents involved’. A ‘supporting base’ should not be an empty term. For example, by forming area coalitions, as is now the case in the Southern Delta, where residents, users and area owners in sub-areas on the edges of the coastal section seek connections together in an area coalition and think about the opportunities and possibilities for people and nature in their area.

Start now

A sea level rise of more than 2 meters in 2100* makes it necessary to invest now in preparations for the seaward solution, which offers the inhabitants of the Netherlands security and prosperity for generations to come. Thinking about solutions for sea level rise is currently tending towards the east or towards high, wide dikes and pumps in the interior, while there are also other (in our opinion: better) options. It should seriously examine our society.
Building with Nature is an important principle on which the construction of the second coastline is based. But this construction method takes time.
This is a daring plan, for sure. But with climate change in mind, our low-lying country by the sea must prepare for the future. Cornelis Lely’s Zuiderzee Plan and Johan van Veen’s Delta Plan were also daring plans, they all encountered resistance in their own way. But with that, the Netherlands has become the safe, prosperous country it is today.

*In the worst case scenario, according to the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was published between August 2021 and April 2022. The IPCC consists of 721 experts from 90 countries.