The Scheldt Estuary Development Project
Type:
Presented during:
WODCON XVIII - 2007 Orlando, Florida, USA
Authors:
Claessens
Abstract: located partly in Flanders, the northern region of the federal kingdom of Belgium and partly in the Netherlands. Because of this the policy and management of the estuary is rather complicated. In particular improvements of the navigation channel on Dutch territory for the benefit of the Belgian port of Antwerp need a common agreement. Furthermore, the region is closely populated and consists of lowlands, so safety against flooding is essential. Finally, the European Bird and Habitat Directives require serious measures to improve the quality of the natural environment.
Therefore, the Dutch and Flemish governments decided in 1998 to set up a common Long Term Vision (LTV) for the Scheldt estuary. This LTV, which was approved by both parliaments in 2001, describes how the Netherlands and Flanders want the Scheldt estuary to look in the year 2030.
Immediately after the approval in both parliaments a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to set up a jointly formulated Scheldt Estuary Development Outline for the year 2010 as a first step in the realisation of this LTV. For this purpose, a special organisation (ProSes) was established and in December 2004 the Development Outline was presented to both governments. It contained dozens of resolutions covering how the two governments intend to improve the safety, accessibility and natural environment of the estuary. The shipping lane to the port of Antwerp can be deepened without damage to the environment. The Flemish programme for flood protection will be realised by increasing dyke heights and establishing flooding areas along the Flemish part of the estuary. And finally, a very ambitious nature development plan, based on more room for estuarine environments was drawn up.
Keywords: Integral, cross-border mutuality, public support, accessibility, safety against flooding, naturalness