In the field of climate change adaptation, the future matters. River futures influence the way adaptation projects are implemented in rivers. In this paper, we challenge the ways in which dominant paradigms and expert claims monopolise the truth concerning policies and designs of river futures, thereby sidelining and delegitimising alternative river futures. So far, limited work has been performed on the power of river futures in the context of climate change adaptation. We conceptualised the power of river futures through river imaginaries, i.e., collectively performed and publicly envisioned reproductions of riverine socionatures mobilised through truth claims of social life and order. Using the Border Meuse project as a case study, a climate change adaptation project in a stretch of the river Meuse in the south of the Netherlands, and a proclaimed success story of climate adaptation in Dutch water management, we elucidated how three river imaginaries (a modern river imaginary, a market-driven imaginary, and an eco-centric river imaginary) merged into an eco-modern river imaginary. Importantly, not only did the river futures merge, but their aligned truth regimes also merged. Thus, we argue that George Orwell’s famous quote, “who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past” can be extended to “who controls the future, controls how we see and act in the present, and how we rediscover the past”.
DOCUMENT
In coastal and low-lying vulnerable delta cities, such as the Rotterdam Metropolitan region and Metropolitan Manila, there has been an increase in vulnerability of urban flooding and water quality problems. New approaches address the current and future effects of climate change and increase urban quality, reduce vulnerability and increase water quality. New arrangements for international cooperation are set up in order to address these problems in the project 'IWASTO' ('to correct and to prevent') where several organisations from the Philippines and The Netherlands join forces to rehabilitate rivers and introduce new innovations for water quality monitoring and waste collection using the 'Research Design and Manufacaturing (RDM)' approach. One of the concrete results from this RDM approach in 2016 is the development and implementation of the 'Longganisa', a waste collection tool that was designed by a Dutch- Philippine team. In addition, the waterquality was measured and mapped with innovating methods using apps in order to locate and prioritize highly polluted areas. In the near future measures will be implemented to rehabilitate the rivers in Manila and a knowledge exchange forum will be set up to share the best management practices on international scale in countries as Indonesia, India and China.
DOCUMENT
In coastal and low-lying vulnerable delta cities, such as theRotterdam Metropolitan region and Metropolitan Manila, there has been anincrease in vulnerability of urban flooding and water quality problems.New approaches address the current and future effects of climate changeand increase urban quality, reduce vulnerability and increase water quality.New arrangements for international cooperation are set up in order toaddress these problems in the project ‘IWASTO’ (‘to correct and toprevent’) where several organisations from the Philippines and TheNetherlands join forces to rehabilitate rivers and introduce newinnovations for water quality monitoring and waste collection using the‘Research Design and Manufacaturing (RDM)’ approach. One of theconcrete results from this RDM approach in 2016 is the development andimplementation of the ‘Longganisa’, a waste collection tool that wasdesigned by a Dutch-Philippine team. In addition, the waterquality wasmeasured and mapped with innovating methods using apps in order tolocate and prioritize highly polluted areas. In the near future measures willbe implemented to rehabilitate the rivers in Manila and a knowledgeexchange forum will be set up to share the best management practices oninternational scale in countries as Indonesia, India and China.
DOCUMENT
The overall purpose of this consultancy was to support the activities under the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Programme of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in developing the 7th pan-European environmental assessment, an indicator based and thematic assessment, implemented jointly with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The series of environmental assessments of the pan-European region provide up to-date and policy-relevant information on the interactions between the environment and society. This consultancy was to:> Draft the input on drivers and developments to chapter 1.2 of the assessment related to the environmental theme “4.2 Applying principles of circular economy to sustainable tourism”.> Suggest to UNECE and UNEP the most policy relevant indicators from UNECE-environmental, SDG indicators and from other indicator frameworks such as EEA or OECD for the environmental theme for the sub-chapter 4.2.> Assess the current state, trends and recent developments and prepare the substantive part of sub-chapter 4.2 (summary - part I) and an annex (part II) with the detailed analysis and findings.
In the last decade, the automotive industry has seen significant advancements in technology (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles) that presents the opportunity to improve traffic safety, efficiency, and comfort. However, the lack of drivers’ knowledge (such as risks, benefits, capabilities, limitations, and components) and confusion (i.e., multiple systems that have similar but not identical functions with different names) concerning the vehicle technology still prevails and thus, limiting the safety potential. The usual sources (such as the owner’s manual, instructions from a sales representative, online forums, and post-purchase training) do not provide adequate and sustainable knowledge to drivers concerning ADAS. Additionally, existing driving training and examinations focus mainly on unassisted driving and are practically unchanged for 30 years. Therefore, where and how drivers should obtain the necessary skills and knowledge for safely and effectively using ADAS? The proposed KIEM project AMIGO aims to create a training framework for learner drivers by combining classroom, online/virtual, and on-the-road training modules for imparting adequate knowledge and skills (such as risk assessment, handling in safety-critical and take-over transitions, and self-evaluation). AMIGO will also develop an assessment procedure to evaluate the impact of ADAS training on drivers’ skills and knowledge by defining key performance indicators (KPIs) using in-vehicle data, eye-tracking data, and subjective measures. For practical reasons, AMIGO will focus on either lane-keeping assistance (LKA) or adaptive cruise control (ACC) for framework development and testing, depending on the system availability. The insights obtained from this project will serve as a foundation for a subsequent research project, which will expand the AMIGO framework to other ADAS systems (e.g., mandatory ADAS systems in new cars from 2020 onwards) and specific driver target groups, such as the elderly and novice.
