WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS IN TRANSITION

The Dutch have been intervening in the water environment to suit their needs and requirements from the early Middle Ages onwards. Technological development has always kept pace with these requirements. However, as a result of these requirements the functions in the Occupation layer have become more and more out of balance with the natural underground layer, undermining the sustainability of the system. In the 1990s there came a turning point in water management. The near floods of 1993 and 1995, the droughts of 2003 and 2005 and the imminence of climate change made the water sector realise that the current water management system is approaching its physical, technical and economic boundaries. The current changes in water management have all the characteristics of a transition. Problems like climate change are complex, the future is highly uncertain and water management has become strongly intertwined with other social and economic domains. A robust, sustainable and climate-proof layout of the Netherlands is not the responsibility of one actor alone; it has become the responsibility of all citizens. This has far-reaching consequences for the role of the water expert. The water expert needs to become part of the transition arena and use his/her expertise to give direction and content to the transition. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.