Dutch Coastal Engineering Projects: Past Success and Future Challenges

Abstract

The Netherlands is situated in a low lying delta region along the North Sea coast in Western Europe. Over many centuries the Dutch have fought against flooding from both the rivers and the sea. Failures resulted in losses of land and a desire to reclaim these lost lands. Successes resulted in the development of new technologies. Two projects of the 20th century epitomize the success of the Dutch in the areas of flood protection and land reclamation: the Zuiderzee reclamation and the Delta Project. The progress is being threatened by future climate change and sea level rise. The Dutch Deltacommissie has recently presented a plan that seeks to “flood proof” the country.