Future Deltas course
Utrecht University is organising a course on Futue Deltas:
Are you working on river flooding, coastal dynamics, land subsidence, salt water intrusion, livelihoods, governance or environmental law? These and other interdisciplinary topics are all important for the sustainable management of coastal river deltas worldwide, which are currently under pressure of human impact and climate change. In this course, we offer an unique opportunity to look beyond your own (research or professional) boundary, and place your expertise in a broader context of natural (e.g. physical, biological, geochemical) and social (e.g. governance, law, socio-economic) processes affecting delta systems and delta life.
To deal with the changing delta conditions and to ensure a sustainable future delta life, we need to understand the driving forces behind the processes of change in a delta, increase our ability to predict impacts, and optimise management and governance solutions. Examples of changing conditions in deltas are: accelerated sea-level rise caused by global warming, altered supply of sediment and water due to dike, dam and reservoir construction, land subsidence caused by drainage and extraction of groundwater and hydrocarbons, and loss of habitats and biodiversity as a result of land use change. These changes affect livelihood conditions, and potentially, societies.
An interdisciplinary team of teachers, researchers, and practitioners is ready to guide you on this course. By means of lectures, group sessions, and excursions in the Rhine-Meuse delta (NL) you will learn:
1 How a delta system operates;
2 Why an interdisciplinary approach is needed for sustainable delta management;
3 How to apply this knowledge to find sustainable delta management solutions for specific delta areas or cases (‘science-meets-practice’).
We will focus on four main delta themes: land subsidence, flooding, salt water intrusion, and urbanisation. Each of these themes are addressed following the Future Deltas approach of understanding drivers, predicting impacts and optimising management solutions.
More information about the course and registration? Download the flyer.
