INTRODUCTION

Lowlands and more specifically delta regions and floodplains are often among the most densely populated places on earth. They also are often among the most prosperous regions in the world, at least in a relative sense. However, with the rapid population growth in these regions the risks of floods and droughts are increasing and salt water intrusion in expected to occur more widely. It is also likely that climate change will accelerate these trends. It's high population density resulting in strong competing land claims and natural and human induced geo-physical changes such as soil subsidence, rising water tables and salinisation call for new planning approaches A pro-active approach to reducing the vulnerability would be beneficial from both an environmental and economic perspective.

These three phenomena; the high population density, the intensity of land uses and the resulting physical changes, need new visions and approaches for the future of the lowlands.

Objectives

The conference aims to present and discuss both the threats as well as the potentials for the lowlands and delta's of the future. More specifically it aims to explore the threats as well as the potentials of these regions; to present and discuss the relationship of the intensification of farming in and around cities with the water management systems in lowlands and delta's; to study the potentials for the safeguarding of ecosystems and landscapes in these areas; to take up the challenge for new multifunctional land use concepts and finally to present and discuss methods on how to bring knowledge, ideas, visions and concepts to the market.

The Inter-Regional Conference Envirowater 2006 aims to bring together both scientists and practitioners in the field of planning and designing the future lowlands and deltas. It therefore dedicates a first part of the conference to research projects and scientific presentations and discussions and a second part to the presentation and discussions of new concepts for the development of lowlands and deltas, including an one day field trip in the Rhine Delta. In doing so the conference aims to become a meeting forum for planners, scientists, engineers and educators in multifunctional land-uses, water management and environmentalists, especially involved in lowlands and delta-regions. The topic includes all the knowledge, experiments, visions, concepts, research and experiences on what to do with the future of our lowlands and deltas. It also challenges especially the need to integrate all this for a comprehensive planning approach in delta-regions.

TOPICS

The conference will address the following topics: 

A. Opportunities and threats 

a.1. the exploitation of natural resources 

a.2. changing land uses and it's societal impacts 

B. Water and Climate change 

b.1. climate change and impacts on water resources 

b.2. climate change and sea level rise 

C. Groundwater and salt water intrusion 

c.1. changes in quantity and quality of groundwater 

c.2. salt water intrusion and adaptive responses 

D. Water management - systems as steering instrument for planning 

d.1. potentials and constraints of water management for land uses 

d.2. new concepts in water management for land uses 

E. Multifunctional land uses as approach to the problems of lowlands and deltas 

e.1. multifunctional land and water uses 

e.2. new concepts, visions and examples in multifunctional land and water uses.