problematic of the “higher sandy soil areas” where dependency on rain water and
ground water increases the risk of drought damage for both nature and agriculture.
Thus, continuous efforts to get and keep this issue on the national agenda are
warranted. Because large parts of the south of the country are facing exactly the
same problematic, it is recommended to do this in close collaboration with not only
the eastern, but also the southern water authorities.
9.5.3 Inter-collegial Exchange and Learning
As a consequence of the relatively low saliency of the drought problematic, but also
related to the objective of the water authority of Vechtstromen to maximize the
value of water measures for a broad range of societal goals, the drought resilience
projects in the northeast of the Twente region are not regulative in character, but
supportive, voluntary and consensus oriented and aiming for the integration of
various sectoral goals. In our conclusions we already stated that this is given the
governance context likely the most efficient way to proceed and also that the project
managers are doing a good job at this. However, the period that these projects will
take to increase the resilience of the whole vulnerable area might be so long that
from time to time new or extra project managers will be involved. The other way
around: the expertise and experience gained from the drought projects in consensual
project management could also be beneficial for project managers in other water
projects. For these reasons we recommend to organize venues for inter-collegial
exchange and learning, for instance by regular sessions.
9.5.4 From Farm Level Approach to Full Area Level
Approach
The extension of local drought resilience projects wherever good chances for
realization have occurred and stakeholders could be convinced to cooperate had led
to a wide array of very nice projects. The basic idea is that each generation of
projects will convince other stakeholders to participate in a next round and thus
create a bandwagon effect. This way many local project areas have been improved
in terms of drought resilience. This approach has great virtues and should be
continued. However, this will not necessarily lead to the full coverage of the water
system in somewhat bigger areas, for instance watersheds of creeks and small
rivers. Therefore, it might be necessary to add to the small-scale voluntary project
approach a new sort of approach. In this approach somewhat bigger areas than
separate farms could be the scale, for instance containing one or two dozen farms of
which for instance two have been already involved in showcase projects in previous
rounds, attempting to make the coverage by drought resilience measures for that
area complete and create synergy between the measures.
200
H. Bressers et al.
ground water increases the risk of drought damage for both nature and agriculture.
Thus, continuous efforts to get and keep this issue on the national agenda are
warranted. Because large parts of the south of the country are facing exactly the
same problematic, it is recommended to do this in close collaboration with not only
the eastern, but also the southern water authorities.
9.5.3 Inter-collegial Exchange and Learning
As a consequence of the relatively low saliency of the drought problematic, but also
related to the objective of the water authority of Vechtstromen to maximize the
value of water measures for a broad range of societal goals, the drought resilience
projects in the northeast of the Twente region are not regulative in character, but
supportive, voluntary and consensus oriented and aiming for the integration of
various sectoral goals. In our conclusions we already stated that this is given the
governance context likely the most efficient way to proceed and also that the project
managers are doing a good job at this. However, the period that these projects will
take to increase the resilience of the whole vulnerable area might be so long that
from time to time new or extra project managers will be involved. The other way
around: the expertise and experience gained from the drought projects in consensual
project management could also be beneficial for project managers in other water
projects. For these reasons we recommend to organize venues for inter-collegial
exchange and learning, for instance by regular sessions.
9.5.4 From Farm Level Approach to Full Area Level
Approach
The extension of local drought resilience projects wherever good chances for
realization have occurred and stakeholders could be convinced to cooperate had led
to a wide array of very nice projects. The basic idea is that each generation of
projects will convince other stakeholders to participate in a next round and thus
create a bandwagon effect. This way many local project areas have been improved
in terms of drought resilience. This approach has great virtues and should be
continued. However, this will not necessarily lead to the full coverage of the water
system in somewhat bigger areas, for instance watersheds of creeks and small
rivers. Therefore, it might be necessary to add to the small-scale voluntary project
approach a new sort of approach. In this approach somewhat bigger areas than
separate farms could be the scale, for instance containing one or two dozen farms of
which for instance two have been already involved in showcase projects in previous
rounds, attempting to make the coverage by drought resilience measures for that
area complete and create synergy between the measures.
200
H. Bressers et al.