University of Twente Student Theses
Accelerating climate change adaption through financial stimuli for local authorities
Lamaker, T. (2023) Accelerating climate change adaption through financial stimuli for local authorities.
|
PDF
1MB |
| Abstract: | Water management is an integral part of the history of the Netherlands. Climate change has introduced new challenges to water management. Traditional flood defences are no longer the only aspect of water management, since water is becoming a scarce resource. At the same time, weather extremes are shifting, and outliers of the past are no longer anomalies. Therefore, water needs to be retained, but at the same time, the spatial area needs to be prepared to sustain intense rainfall. The Climate Adaptation Stimulus Scheme is a measure introduced by the Dutch government, to empower local authorities to adapt to climate change. This Bachelor’s research has further investigated this stimulus scheme, part of the national Delta Plan Spatial Adaptation. The applications to the fund have been analysed and categorised, after which the applications from 2022 have been compared to applications from the previous year. A statistical analysis has also been performed, in search of patterns within the projects funded by the stimulus scheme. Interviews with expert users of the fund have also been held, which helped with feedback towards the process of application. The results from the analysis of the applications made clear that local authorities are actively working to combat climate change, with close to 700 projects that applied for the fund in 2022 alone. These projects mostly put emphasis on retaining water, allowing the groundwater level to rise in combat of drought during warmer periods. Drought and waterlogging were seen as the major climate threats that most of the projects tackled. Flooding was not seen as a threat as much by local authorities. Through interviews, it became clear that the risk of flooding is felt, but the local authorities do not feel it is their responsibility to tackle this problem. From the interviews with experts from the working regions, it became clear that the threat of climate change is felt on a local level, but the budget to combat this problem is hard to come by. The stimulus scheme offered a solution to this problem and helped local authorities get started on tackling this problem. However, the application process of the stimulus scheme was time-intensive and the accountability of the money that needed to be performed took a lot of time. The stimulus scheme has offered an opportunity for local authorities to get started on adapting their local environment to climate change. However, only getting started on adapting to climate change is not enough. Local authorities need to continue to adjust their environment to climate change. To aid in this endless battle, it should be investigated if a permanent solution can be found, instead of the temporary solution offered by the Climate Adaptation Stimulus Scheme. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | ET: Engineering Technology |
| Programme: | Civil Engineering BSc (56952) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/97273 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page