The Dutch Water Authority in the north-east of the country.
The north-east of the Netherlands is characterized by agricultural activity, practiced on sea clay in the coastal areas, and sand in the central areas. The country is low-lying (with 26% of the country below sea level) and remarkably flat, with large expanses of lakes, rivers, and canals. Some 6,500 square km of the Netherlands consist of reclaimed land, the result of a process of careful water management dating back to medieval times. Along the coasts, land was reclaimed from the sea, and the dikes built along the coastline to protect the hinterland from storms resulted in a ‘hard’ transition from sea to land. In the interior, lakes and marshes were drained, especially alongside the rivers.
The northern region of the Netherlands has framed itself as ‘energy region’ due to the natural gas fields. However, extraction has ceased since 2023, because the gas extraction resulted in earthquakes, causing severe damage throughout the region. The region is now transforming into a renewable energy region. The port of Eemshaven, in the east of the region, is increasingly important for transforming energy from windmills at sea and transportation on land. In the higher laying central area, geothermal energy and water buffers are used to support regional energy strategies. In the field of green hydrogen, the province of Groningen is the leader in Europe.
The Dutch Water Management Authority has participated actively in its characterization and the initial identification of potential climate impacts (droughts, flooding, sea level rise, storms, water scarcity) and sectors of interest (agriculture, coastal areas, energy and water).
In the 2023-2025 period, the Dutch Water Authority hosted three workshops rounds (see figure bellow) convening local stakeholders to develop four shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) (SSP1: Nothing Tops the North; SSP3: Hondsrug on the shore; SSP4: Cool Cities, Heated Swamps; SSP5: The Northern Dream) for the North-east of the Netherlands case. Thanks to these workshops, 64 strategies were developed and were later assessed against 26 indicators. These contributions and outcomes have been key for the socio-economic scenarios and land use modelling for the North-east of the Netherlands and they have fed and can be explored in the DISTENDER Decision Support System (DSS).
