12.3 Drought Issues and Other Climate Change
and Competing Sectors’ Risks for Nature
Building on the contextual relationship between drought and natural areas, here we
broaden our understanding of drought issues within the context of climate and
additional competing sectors to formulate a brief glimpse into the interacting
pressures that colour each case study region.
In Flanders the attention for the drought consequences of climate change for
nature is still in its infancy. If there is emphasis on drought, the consequences for
agriculture and other economic interests are the main drivers. Projects in which
climate resilience of water systems will be improved are still rare.
The sequence of reservoirs in the Eifel-Rur area serves a flood protection goal.
However, the water abstractions are also important and can compete in the future in
periods of water scarcity. A minimal flow requirement, that often has environmental
purposes, serves mainly to preserve the supply to industries downstream. The water
board itself has a council in which various stakeholders are represented including
all relevant governments and major water right owners. However, users of smaller
quantities such as farmers, fishermen and nature organization have no direct representation. These users and their sectoral representatives, including nature, are
invited to roundtable discussions on the initiative of the water board. This proactive
network building is highly appreciated by them. In discussions on water abstraction
forestry and nature organizations are therefore also involved. Public perception of
the function of the reservoirs in flood protection is not very well recognized. Rather,
the tourism and sailing functions are seen as main purpose of the reservoirs. In this
sense, preventing future drought effects on nature could get some public support.
Such measures however will face resistance from water right holders when they
intrude therein.
The buffer zones and irrigation around nature areas in Groot Salland is a classic
example of the competition between nature and agricultural sector interests. While
the EU nature policy is influential, involvement of nature conversation NGOs is
limited. There have been cuts in the amount and the way the nature NGOs get
support from the province, implying that they often cannot send real experts to the
roundtables for which they are still invited. In some flat parts of the area it is
actually possible to let water in from bigger waterways. This helps farmers, though
such external and less pure water is not used directly to restore the water balance in
the sensitive nature areas. The pilot project of the water authority in DROP is a
waterway that can be used for dual purposes: to get rid of water in the wet season,
but also to let water in during droughts. Flood protection and drought resilience are
thus combined.
The building of the dam and reservoir in the Vilaine catchment area turned a
salty marsh into a freshwater area that could more easily be used for farming and
drinking water production. The desalination of the marsh was thus a strong intervention in the natural system. Apart from this, flood protection was the main goal
since high river waters could not any longer coincide with peak sea levels causing
12 Cross-cutting Perspective on Nature
235
and Competing Sectors’ Risks for Nature
Building on the contextual relationship between drought and natural areas, here we
broaden our understanding of drought issues within the context of climate and
additional competing sectors to formulate a brief glimpse into the interacting
pressures that colour each case study region.
In Flanders the attention for the drought consequences of climate change for
nature is still in its infancy. If there is emphasis on drought, the consequences for
agriculture and other economic interests are the main drivers. Projects in which
climate resilience of water systems will be improved are still rare.
The sequence of reservoirs in the Eifel-Rur area serves a flood protection goal.
However, the water abstractions are also important and can compete in the future in
periods of water scarcity. A minimal flow requirement, that often has environmental
purposes, serves mainly to preserve the supply to industries downstream. The water
board itself has a council in which various stakeholders are represented including
all relevant governments and major water right owners. However, users of smaller
quantities such as farmers, fishermen and nature organization have no direct representation. These users and their sectoral representatives, including nature, are
invited to roundtable discussions on the initiative of the water board. This proactive
network building is highly appreciated by them. In discussions on water abstraction
forestry and nature organizations are therefore also involved. Public perception of
the function of the reservoirs in flood protection is not very well recognized. Rather,
the tourism and sailing functions are seen as main purpose of the reservoirs. In this
sense, preventing future drought effects on nature could get some public support.
Such measures however will face resistance from water right holders when they
intrude therein.
The buffer zones and irrigation around nature areas in Groot Salland is a classic
example of the competition between nature and agricultural sector interests. While
the EU nature policy is influential, involvement of nature conversation NGOs is
limited. There have been cuts in the amount and the way the nature NGOs get
support from the province, implying that they often cannot send real experts to the
roundtables for which they are still invited. In some flat parts of the area it is
actually possible to let water in from bigger waterways. This helps farmers, though
such external and less pure water is not used directly to restore the water balance in
the sensitive nature areas. The pilot project of the water authority in DROP is a
waterway that can be used for dual purposes: to get rid of water in the wet season,
but also to let water in during droughts. Flood protection and drought resilience are
thus combined.
The building of the dam and reservoir in the Vilaine catchment area turned a
salty marsh into a freshwater area that could more easily be used for farming and
drinking water production. The desalination of the marsh was thus a strong intervention in the natural system. Apart from this, flood protection was the main goal
since high river waters could not any longer coincide with peak sea levels causing
12 Cross-cutting Perspective on Nature
235