Étude de cas néerlandaise

Province de Hollande Septentrionale

Nos partenaires, VUA et HHNK, dirigeront l'étude de cas néerlandaise, axée sur la gestion de la disponibilité de l'eau douce à la lumière des sécheresses de plus en plus fréquentes dues au changement climatique.

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Aperçu de l'étude de cas

Découvrir les défis de la Hollande

Le partenaire universitaire VUA supervisera l'étude de cas néerlandaise, en étroite collaboration avec l'autorité de l'eau Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier (HHNK), responsable de la gestion de la qualité, de la quantité et de la sécurité de l'eau dans la province de Hollande-Septentrionale. HHNK développe un programme innovant de disponibilité de l'eau douce, avec une phase initiale d'inclusion de tous les acteurs concernés par l'eau. Ils explorent de nouvelles approches pour mettre en place des mécanismes efficaces d'engagement des parties prenantes, avec une vision durable et à long terme. Cependant, l'approche participative intégrée sous la gestion de HHNK doit encore être développée.

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Notre méthodologie et les résultats attendus

Freshwater availability and quality maintenance

The case study focuses on the responsibility of the water authority for water management in the province of Noord-Holland, excluding the city of Amsterdam. This area, home to 1.2 million people, lies 75% below sea level. The responsible water authority, HHNK, faces various challenges related to the WEFE Nexus, such as flood risk management and water quality preservation.

One of the challenges HHNK faces is maintaining freshwater supply and quality. Freshwater availability is under pressure due to climate change and rising sea levels (increased evaporation, longer periods without precipitation, and increasing salinization), a growing population, and the expansion of agriculture and industry. All these factors contribute to a significant decline in freshwater resources.

The HHNK management area covers 196,600 hectares, of which 34,050 hectares are urbanized. The region relies on three major freshwater sources: precipitation, groundwater reserves, and water intake from the IJsselmeer area. Additionally, wastewater treatment plants indirectly contribute by returning processed water to the surface water system. With 15 wastewater treatment plants, more than 100 million liters of wastewater are purified annually. Furthermore, 8% of the region consists of surface water, which HHNK manages in terms of both quantity and quality levels.

Water distribution within HHNK’s jurisdiction is managed through a combination of policy agreements, monitoring, and adaptation measures to ensure that water levels remain sufficient for both urban and rural needs. To achieve this, HHNK adopts an integrated approach and aims to create a positive impact by closely collaborating with stakeholders, including other government bodies (province, municipalities), the drinking water company (PWN), private entities, and environmental and agricultural organizations.

The biggest challenge for water managers is developing a strategy to meet the increasing demand for freshwater while supply continues to decline. This requires careful consideration of all stakeholders affected by drought. HHNK aims to establish a Freshwater Availability Program that incorporates the interests of all stakeholders through a participatory process. The role of the VUA is to develop and support a stakeholder analysis and a multi-actor, inclusive engagement process for the freshwater availability program, in order to facilitate broad participation in water governance.