Dit boekje geeft de inaugurele rede van Wierd Koops weer waarin hij zijn visie op de toekomst geeft: welke nieuwe bedreigingen kunnen wij verwachten en hoe goed is Nederland hier op voorbereid
The Zhanghe irrigation system (ZIS) is located in the Yangtze River Basin approximately 200 km west of Wuhan in Hubei Province. The reservoir was designed for multiple uses—irrigation, flood control, domestic water supply, industrial use, aquaculture, and hydropower. Over a period of more than 30 years a steadily increasing amount of water has been transferred from irrigation to other uses. Activities on the part of government, irrigation system managers, and farmers made this transfer possible with only modest decline in rice production. Most important factor was the steady increase in rice yields. The water pricing system provided an incentive for ZIS to reduce irrigation releases. With the steady decline in releases, farmers were forced to find ways to save water. Farmers improved existing ponds and built new ones to store water (improved infrastructure). Access to pond water on demand facilitated the adoption of alternate wetting and drying (technology) particularly in dry years. The establishment of volumetric pricing (price policy) and water user associations (institutions) may also have provided incentives for adoption of AWD, but more research is needed to establish their impact. These activities taken together can be seen as potentially complementary measures. Farmers received no direct compensation for the transfer of water, but recently farm taxes have been reduced or altogether abolished. Further reduction in water releases from the ZIS reservoir could adversely affect rice production in normal or dry years.
At the science - policy interface there are several reasons to combine models with the participatory process to facilitate the complex policy making process but the communication of the two sides is often too hard to generate any meaningful results. In this paper we argue that to close the communication gap the rationale of the Meta - rule of complex policy making needs to be comprehended and coped with. Gaming as a participatory method can be used to organize the combined process. Through the literature review we summarize the principles of gaming and use them to analyze an empirical case where stakeholders participated in a water policy making process. A computer model called the Planning Kit Blokkendoos (PKB, in English: Box of Blocks) was used here to support the participatory process and is claimed to have had a marked impact on the complex policy making process. We conclude that the PKB tool provided the stakeholders with significant 'room to play' with the various policy alternatives and interweaved with the policy process.
National forestry Commission (SBB) and National Park De Biesbosch. Subcontractor through NRITNational parks with large flows of visitors have to manage these flows carefully. Methods of data collection and analysis can be of help to support decision making. The case of the Biesbosch National Park is used to find innovative ways to figure flows of yachts, being the most important component of water traffic, and to create a model that allows the estimation of changes in yachting patterns resulting from policy measures. Recent policies oriented at building additional waterways, nature development areas and recreational concentrations in the park to manage the demands of recreation and nature conservation offer a good opportunity to apply this model. With a geographical information system (GIS), data obtained from aerial photographs and satellite images can be analyzed. The method of space syntax is used to determine and visualize characteristics of the network of leisure routes in the park and to evaluate impacts resulting from expected changes in the network that accompany the restructuring of waterways.
The postdoc candidate, Giuliana Scuderi, will strengthen the connection between the research group Biobased Buildings (BB), (collaboration between Avans University of Applied Sciences and HZ University of Applied Sciences (HZ), and the Civil Engineering bachelor programme (CE) of HZ. The proposed research aims at deepening the knowledge about the mechanical properties of biobased materials for the application in the structural and infrastructural sectors. The research is relevant for the professional field, which is looking for safe and sustainable alternatives to traditional building materials (such as lignin asphalt, biobased panels for bridge constructions, etc.). The study of the mechanical behaviour of traditional materials (such as concrete and steel) is already part of the CE curriculum, but the ambition of this postdoc is that also BB principles are applied and visible. Therefore, from the first year of the programme, the postdoc will develop a biobased material science line and will facilitate applied research experiences for students, in collaboration with engineering and architectural companies, material producers and governmental bodies. Consequently, a new generation of environmentally sensitive civil engineers could be trained, as the labour market requires. The subject is broad and relevant for the future of our built environment, with possible connections with other fields of study, such as Architecture, Engineering, Economics and Chemistry. The project is also relevant for the National Science Agenda (NWA), being a crossover between the routes “Materialen – Made in Holland” and “Circulaire economie en grondstoffenefficiëntie”. The final products will be ready-to-use guidelines for the applications of biobased materials, a portfolio of applications and examples, and a new continuous learning line about biobased material science within the CE curriculum. The postdoc will be mentored and supervised by the Lector of the research group and by the study programme coordinator. The personnel policy and job function series of HZ facilitates the development opportunity.
NO-REGRETS examines the ecological and economic trade-offs of upscaling Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs) in the context of climate change and the ongoing food and nature transitions in the North Sea. NO-REGRETS advances knowledge on potential impacts of OWFs on ocean currents, suspended sediments, microscopic plankton, various life stages of fishes, seabed composition, seafloor organisms, marine mammals, and sea birds. Economic analyses explore changes in the value of marine fisheries and other ocean assets. Co-developed with stakeholders, NO-REGRETS will create tools allowing policymakers, industries and other stakeholders to gauge and optimise the ecological and bioeconomic consequences of North Sea OWF expansion.Collaborative partnersArcadis Nederland B.V., Blauwwind, Boskalis, Breda University of Applied Sciences, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, Clusius C.V., Cooperatie Kottervisserij Nederland, Deltares, EcoShape, Eneco Windmolens Offshore B.V., Heerema Marine Contractors, Jaczon B.V., Nederlandse Vissersbond, Noordelijke Visserij Alliantie, NIOZ, NWO-institutenorganisatie, Ørsted Wind Power Netherlands Holding B.V., Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Rijkswaterstaat, RWE Offshore Wind Netherlands B.V., Stichting Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Stichting Wageningen Research, Technische Universiteit Delft, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, TNO Utrecht, Universiteit Leiden, Universiteit Twente, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Wageningen University & Research.
