Politics
Netherlands sets global standard in flood defence and water management
The Netherlands has emerged as a world leader in protecting land from rising waters, investing up to 1.3 billion euros each year to maintain an extensive system of dikes, polders, canals, windmills, concrete barriers and embankments that keep floods at bay, The News reported citing a research.
Moreover, artificial dwelling hills or Terpins have also been built to increase the land elevation.
Similar to Bangladesh, the Netherlands has also created a scheme that alerts citizens of possible floods 24 hours before the otherwise uncontrollable waters hit the country.
The anti-flood system they have built over decades is on a scale unmatched anywhere else in the world.
The Dutch have also built a giant sea gate guarding the port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, and a c rucial hub for industries of all sorts.
A media house maintained: “The gate has two curved arms; each as tall and twice as heavy as the Eiffel Tower. When needed, they swing out into the water to lock together and sink to the bottom, forming a 22-meter-high wall against the sea. The barrier is one of the largest moving structures on Earth; its two ball-and-socket joints, anchored in the embankment on either side of the canal, weigh 680 tonnes each.”
From 1962 until 2004, the 31,500-acre Rotterdam was the world’s busiest port by annual cargo tonnage. It was overtaken first in 2004 by the port of Singapore, and later by Shanghai and other very large Chinese seaports.
In May 2019, global investors had enthusiastically embraced a national Netherlands 5.98 billion-Euro Green Bond designed to fund projects to cope with current and future climate change impacts and an advanced low-carbon economy.
Much of the bond focused on using coastal and river ecosystems as a safeguard for negative climate impacts such as high flood risk.
Investors responded to the bond immediately, oversubscribing the issuance by more than 15.2 billion Euros!
Although global warming can overwhelm the measures the Netherlands has taken to control floods, the risk of these water-related disasters has been reduced from once every 100 years to once every 1,250 years.
The region has a long history of devastating floods that continually reshape the land. For more than 1,000 years the residents of this region have devised ways to reclaim land from encroachment by the sea.
The Rhine, Meuse and Schelde are Holland’s three chief rivers.
The densely-populated Netherlands or Holland is known for its low elevation and approximately two-thirds of its area is vulnerable to flooding.
While 15 million people in the Netherlands live below the sea level, the river Rhine and its tributaries, the Meuse and the Mosel, have often attacked Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.
The first river dikes had appeared near the river mouths in the 11th century, where incursions from the sea added to the danger from high water levels on the river.
The 17th and 18th centuries were a period of many infamous river floods resulting in much loss of life. They were often caused by ice dams blocking the river. Land reclamation works, large willow plantations and building in the winter bed of the river all worsened the problem.
The “Encyclopedia Britannica” states: “The first Dutch food in 1287 had caused more than 50,000 casualties. A significant percentage of the country’s population perished in the disaster, and it has been rated as one of the most destructive floods in recorded history. Called the St Lucia flood, this event also created direct sea access for the village of Amsterdam, allowing its development into a major port city.”
The 1421 floods had killed up to 10,000 people.
In more recent history, February 1953 had seen one of the biggest natural disasters hitting the Netherlands ever, killing 2400 humans.
Around 770 square miles of southern Holland were inundated, forcing tens of thousands to flee.
Many were overtaken by the icy waters as more and more flood walls failed. The storm also devastated parts of England, Belgium and Germany.
Urbanisation is one of the major causes of flooding in Netherlands.
The urban population here accounts for 82.9% of the total population. A lot of buildings, roads, and cities have thus been built over the course of centuries, leading to destruction of vegetation, hence reducing the interception of rainfall when a storm is to occur.
Additionally, the excessive use of tar and cement to pave roads and sidewalks inhibit water from infiltrating the soil, which increases the chances of surface runoff.
These artificial structures are impermeable, and water is forced to flow back into the ocean through surface runoff, increasing the peak discharge in the area. Due to this, the lag time for water to flow back into the ocean has decreased, increasing the chances of flooding.
Due to land reclamation, areas close to the shoreline become more prone to coastal waves. Erosion takes place resultantly and the fast-sinking land leads to floods.
And then for the sake of urbanisation and providing land for agriculture and ploughing, deforestation has taken place.
Being the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products, agriculture plays an immense role in the Netherlands’ economy. Presently, over 70% of the country’s land is used for agricultural purposes.
The Guardian reported that the low-lying Netherlands has been fighting back water for more than 1,000 years, when farmers built the first dykes.
“Windmills have also been pumping the stuff off the land since the 14th century. One of the most densely populated countries on the planet, 60% of the Netherlands is vulnerable to flooding, and its peat-rich agricultural soil is subsiding even as climate change is raising sea levels. The country’s universities are producing some of the world’s best water engineers and managers and it is exporting its expertise abroad; the Dutch government has advised on water governance projects in China, Africa and Australia,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, The British newspaper revealed “there are no financial packages for people who have to move.”
It quoted a government official as saying: “They get the market value of their house and that is all. We will help them find another place, but not financially. The only thing we do is to make sure that they do not lose money.”
The Louvre museum in Paris reopened its doors to visitors on Wednesday, three days after it had been shuttered over the theft of precious royal jewellery, an AFP journalist saw.
From 9:00am (0700 GMT), the museum’s usual opening time, the first visitors began entering the world-famous institution, though the museum said the Apollo Gallery, where Sunday´s theft occurred, remains closed.
The audacious daylight robbery on Sunday shortly after the museum opened caused estimated losses of around 88 million euros ($102 million), a sum the Paris prosecutor called “unparalleled” but incomparable to the loss to France’s historical heritage.
Scores of investigators are looking for the culprits, working on the theory that it was an organised crime group that clambered up a ladder on a truck to break into the museum, then dropped a diamond-studded crown as they fled.
They made off with eight priceless pieces, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave his wife Empress Marie-Louise and a diadem that once belonged to the Empress Eugenie, which is dotted with nearly 2,000 diamonds.
Disappointed tourists were turned away at the entrance of the Louvre in the heart of Paris the day after the theft, and it remained closed on Tuesday as per its regular schedule.
But on Wednesday, it welcomed them again.
“We were really hoping it would be open. We had booked for today, and we wouldn´t have had another chance to come,” said one visitor, Fanny, who travelled from the south of the country with her daughter.
The world´s most visited museum, last year it welcomed nine million people to its extensive hallways and galleries.
The theft reignited a row over the lack of security in French museums, after two other institutions were hit last month.
The investigation “is progressing”, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told local media on Wednesday, saying “more than a hundred investigators” had been mobilised.
“I have full confidence that’s for sure, that we will find the perpetrators,” he said.
Museum director Laurence des Cars has not made any public statement since the theft and is set to appear before the Senate’s culture committee from 4:30pm (1430 GMT) Wednesday.
Des Cars, who became the first woman to run the Louvre in 2021, is expected to be questioned about security at the Apollo Gallery, which houses the royal collection of gems.
The museum on Tuesday hit back at criticism that the display cases protecting the stolen jewellery were fragile, saying they were installed in 2019 and “represented a considerable improvement in terms of security”.
US President Donald Trump said that he had told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi there should be no war with Pakistan, emphasizing that he had helped avert several conflicts through diplomacy and trade pressure.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office during Diwali celebrations, Trump extended his “warmest wishes to the people of India” and said he had “just spoken to your Prime Minister today.” He described the conversation as “great” and added, “We talked about trade… He’s very interested in that.”
Trump also discussed preventing conflict, stating, “Although we did talk a little while ago about let’s have no wars with Pakistan.” He highlighted commerce as a tool to ease tensions: “The fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about that.”
He emphasized the outcome, saying, “And we have no war with Pakistan and India. That was a very, very good thing,” and praised Modi personally: “He’s a great person, and he’s become a great friend of mine over the years.”
Trump claimed he had prevented eight wars so far through “deals and trade,” including one between Pakistan and India. He recalled, “During the Pakistan-India conflict, seven planes were shot down.
I called both countries and told them that if they went to war, the United States would stop trading with them. Within 24 hours, they called back and said they didn’t want to fight.”
Trump has previously taken credit for helping defuse tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, who have fought three wars since independence and remain at odds over the disputed territory of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
In May, Pakistan and India engaged in a military showdown, the worst between the two nations in decades, sparked by a terrorist attack on tourists in IIOJK’s Pahalgam area, which New Delhi alleged was backed by Pakistan.
Islamabad denied involvement in the attack, which killed 26 people and was the worst assault on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
After the incident, India killed several innocent civilians in unprovoked attacks on Pakistan for three days before the Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated in defence with the successful Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.
Pakistan downed six IAF fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.
Trump added that energy was also part of the discussion, saying Modi assured him that India would be limiting its oil purchases from Russia.
“He’s not going to buy much oil from Russia. He wants to see that war end as much as I do,” Trump said.
India and China are the two top buyers of Russian seaborne crude exports.
Trump has recently targeted India for its Russian oil purchases, imposing tariffs on Indian exports to the US to discourage the country’s crude buying as he seeks to pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine.
Trump reiterated on Sunday that Modi told him India will stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying “massive” tariffs if it did not do so.
“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Asked about India’s assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”
Russian oil has been one of the main irritants for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India – half of his 50% tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those purchases. The US government has said that petroleum revenue funds Russia’s war in Ukraine.
India has become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian oil sold at a discount after Western nations shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Trade talks between India and the US are going on in a “congenial” manner, an Indian government official said on Saturday, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of talks.
An Indian delegation, which was in the US earlier this month for talks, has returned, the official said, declining to share further details.
An email to India’s trade ministry was not immediately answered on Monday, which was a public holiday.
Trump on Wednesday said Modi had assured him that day that India would stop its Russian oil purchases.
India’s foreign ministry said it was not aware of any telephone conversation between the leaders that day, but said that New Delhi’s main concern was to “safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer.”
A White House official said on Thursday that India has halved its purchases of Russian oil, but Indian sources said no immediate reduction had been seen.
The sources said Indian refiners already placed orders for November loading, including some slated for December arrival, so any cut may start showing up in December or January import numbers.
India’s imports of Russian oil are set to rise about 20% this month to 1.9 million barrels per day, according to estimates from commodities data firm Kpler, as Russia ramps up exports after Ukrainian drones hit its refineries.
- Summit preps appear stalled after Rubio-Lavrov meeting postponed.
- ‘I guess the Russians wanted too much’ says European diplomat.
- Neither side has publicly abandoned plans for Budapest meeting.
A planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold on Tuesday, as Moscow’s rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine cast a cloud over attempts at negotiations.
A senior White House official told Reuters, “There are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future” after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a “productive call” but opted against an in-person meeting.
Trump had announced last week that he and Putin would meet soon in Hungary to try to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. But Putin has been unwilling to consider concessions. Moscow has long demanded that Ukraine agree to cede more territory before any ceasefire.
Trump, asked by reporters about the prospect of a summit, said he did not want to have a “wasted meeting” but suggested there could be more developments and that “we’ll be notifying you over the next two days” about them.
Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy, said in a social media post that “preparations continue” for a summit.
Russia reiterated its long-standing terms for a peace deal in a private communique known as a “non-paper” that it sent to the US last weekend, according to two US officials and two people familiar with the situation.
The communique reaffirmed Russia’s demand for full control of the long-contested eastern Donbas region, according to one official, effectively rejecting Trump’s call for a ceasefire to commence with a freeze of the frontlines at their prevailing locations.
Russia controls all of the province of Luhansk and about 75% of neighbouring Donetsk, which together make up the Donbas region.
European leaders called on Washington on Tuesday to hold firm in demanding an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, with present battle lines to serve as the basis for any future talks.
NATO said Secretary General Mark Rutte travelled to Washington on Tuesday for talks with Trump that two sources familiar with the matter said would take place on Wednesday.
A Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Rutte planned to present to Trump the European views on a ceasefire and any subsequent peace negotiations.
Trump, who last week spoke by phone to Putin and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, had hoped for another high-profile session with the Russian leader after their August summit in Alaska failed to advance negotiations.
But the two sides postponed a preparatory meeting between Rubio and Lavrov that had been expected to take place in Budapest on Thursday.
Lavrov and Rubio spoke by phone on Monday. Lavrov said the place and the timing of the next Trump-Putin summit were less important than the substance of implementing the understandings reached in Alaska.
The Kremlin said there was no clear date and that “serious preparation” for a summit was needed, which may take time.
“Listen, we have an understanding of the presidents, but we cannot postpone what has not been finalised,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Neither President Trump nor President Putin gave exact dates.”
Asked if Moscow had an understanding of a possible date for the summit, Peskov said: “No, there is no understanding.”
‘I guess Russians wanted too much’
Neither side has publicly abandoned plans for Trump to meet Putin. Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, was in Washington on Tuesday, where he posted on Facebook: “We have some serious days ahead”.
But two senior European diplomats said the postponement of the Rubio-Lavrov meeting was a sign the Americans would be reluctant to go ahead with a Trump-Putin summit unless Moscow yields its demands.
“I guess the Russians wanted too much and it became evident for the Americans that there will be no deal for Trump in Budapest,” said one.
The Russians “haven’t at all changed their position, and are not agreeing to ‘stop where they are’,” said the second diplomat. “And I assume Lavrov gave the same spiel, and Rubio was like: ‘See you later’.”
Europeans concerned Trump will get no concessions
Ukraine’s European allies have been concerned that Trump could meet Putin for a second time without getting any serious concessions from the Russian leader.
In a statement on Tuesday, the leaders of European powers, including Britain, France, Germany and the EU, said they “strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”
Trump has often changed his emphasis in public when speaking about Ukraine. But last Friday, after he met with Zelenskiy at the White House, he explicitly endorsed the position that a ceasefire should start with forces at their present positions.
Reuters and other news organisations reported that Trump’s meeting with Zelenskiy behind closed doors was contentious, with the US president repeatedly using profanity and pushing Zelenskiy to accept some Russian demands.
But Zelenskiy has painted the meeting as a success because it ended with Trump publicly backing a ceasefire at the present lines, Kyiv’s longstanding position.
European leaders are due to meet this week with Zelenskiy as their guest, first at an EU summit and then at a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” countries discussing a security force to guarantee a post-war settlement in Ukraine. Russia rejects such an international security force.
The choice of Budapest as a venue for a Putin-Trump meeting is contentious within the EU, where Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban is an outlier as one of the few leaders to maintain warm relations with Russia.
Any trip to Budapest would require Putin to fly through the airspace of other EU countries. Poland said on Tuesday it could force Putin’s plane down and arrest him on an international warrant if he flies over its territory, but Bulgaria said Putin could use its airspace to reach the meeting.
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