SILENCE
WATERBIRDS SCREECHING
VOICE-OVER: The Netherlands is a delta. Water is everywhere.
In fact, the Netherlands is so low-lying that nearly 60 percent of the country is at risk of flooding!
We have dunes along the coastline and have been building dykes and flood defences for a very long time.
The most famous ones we built following disasters.
Take the Afsluitdijk, following the storm surge of 1916.
Or the delta works, after the devastating floods of 1953.
We are safe but vulnerable.
And without action risks remain threatening, because the sea level is rising, while the soil subsides.
The temperature is rising and the weather is becoming ever more extreme.
From heavy rain to more dry periods.
But above all, there are more and more people and investments...
we need to protect against the water.
That is why the Delta Programme Commissioner was appointed in 2010.
On behalf of the Minister of Infrastructure & Environment, he devises measures...
to maintain the safety and quality of life of our low-lying country in the future.
The Delta Commissioner works together closely with provincial and municipal authorities, the government,
water regulatory authorities, companies, knowledge institutes and civil-society organizations.
All of those parties share knowledge with each other...
so that we can view the problems and solutions from all sides.
That way, the Delta Commissioner ensures support for the measures needed.
Through this approach, we can combine the measures with plans...
for nature and recreation, for example, and create acceptance and added value for society.
We are not adopting a wait-and-see approach but are seeking to prevent a future disaster.
We are acting now in order to offer everyone in the Netherlands the same protection.
That is why we are raising, widening and strengthening the dykes...
at crucial points. And in some places we are giving our rivers more space.
In the Rhine-Meuse delta, we continue to take steps...
to ensure safety when there are storms at sea in combination with floods on the rivers.
We make sure important infrastructure, vital public services and densely populated areas are extra well protected.
Our towns and villages are preparing for the changing climate,
too for example by providing sufficient water storage...
and more green in cities.
CHRISPING BIRDS
Some 20 percent of our economy is dependent on fresh water.
We make sure that water is retained and distributed more efficiently,
so that shortages are less likely to occur.
In the IJsselmeer, we are introducing flexible water levels...
to increase the fresh water buffer capacity.
And excess water can be pumped to the sea through the Afsluitdijk, despite rising sea level.
How quickly the climate is changing is uncertain.
We want to be prepared on time and are starting now. Sober and alert.
Over the coming decades, we will assure the safety and quality of life of our country.
A robust country, equipped to deal...
with the extremes of nature.