INTEGRATED WATER MANAGEMENT - A NEW CONCEPT FROM TREATING OF SYMPTOMS TOWARDS A CONTROLLED ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT IN THE DUTCH DELTA

The Dutch can be characterized by the expression "God created man, but the Dutch created their own land". This conditioning behaviour has become the "art of a nation". In the last decade spectacular developments took place, resulting in a new way of living with water. With the aid of examples the following points are addressed: the lessons that can be learned from 2000 years of living with water; how new water management concepts have developed in the last decade; and what applications are possible.