Dutch Embark on 1 Billion-Euro Plan to Protect Against Rising Seas

A Dutch commission has recommended a series of massive public works projects over the next several decades to protect the low-lying country from rising waters caused by climate change. Faced with projections that sea levels could rise more than four feet by 2100 — and as much as 13 feet by 2200 — the commission has urged raising dikes, bolstering storm barriers, and a plan that would drop tons of sand off the coast of the North Sea. In addition, Dutch engineers are exploring new sensor technologies to replace the system of volunteers that monitor dike security during storms, and IBM is helping develop software that would gauge rainfall and water levels to better anticipate flood threats. The projects would cost at least 1 billion euros ($1.27 billion). “We have the best system of flood protection in the world today, but we have to start preparing for the future,” says Cees Veerman, who led the government commission that studied the threat of rising seas. Climate experts advised the commission that rising sea levels were inevitable — a fact that is particularly troubling in a nation where one-quarter of the land is below sea level and about 60 percent of the population lives in the most vulnerable areas.