Building with Nature on the Roggenplaat

Abstract

The use of nature-based solutions is becoming more present in research and practice since it aims to deal with growing problems such as sea-level rise, rapid urbanization and climate change. A closely related concept in the Netherlands is Building with Nature (BwN) where the natural system is taken as a starting point. This study focused on the sand nourishment project on the Roggenplaat as the first BwN project in an intertidal zone on a large scale. There are not yet specific guidelines for NBS implementation in rural or coastal areas and therefore shared learning is advised in different disciplines and fields. It can be difficult for governance to successfully implement NBS in dynamic and complex natural systems, such as the Oosterschelde. The Policy arrangement approach is therefore used to describe the dimensions of this project through the analysis of interviews with involved actors and relevant (policy) documents. This study tried to identify the institutional conditions for success from the Roggenplaat project in order to create lessons for future NBS. To conclude, solid system-based knowledge, a deep equal collaboration between actors, the fitting of everyday rules for NBS and equitable tradeoffs are important conditions for success for this project.