Hydropower Panorama

Hollandse Delta, NL

How do you inspire different actors to work together for a sustainable region?

The Waterschap Hollandse Delta (WSHD), a Dutch water authority in the province of Zuid-Holland, is working towards a sustainable region. The WSHD wants to inspire its own colleagues and partners to work together more effectively. Sustainable solutions require knowledge from different sectors, departments or organizations. How do you broaden the horizons of specialists to take a more holistic and enticing view of the future?

The climate is changing, and so the WSHD is working on a sustainable future

The WSHD is working on two important goals: firstly, to prevent further warming and secondly, to help the region adapt to the changing climate.

The water challenge is multifaceted, which makes it complex. At the same time, there can be too much or too little water, which can lead to flooding, heat stress and pressure on ecological systems, the landscape or freshwater supplies.

Working on the water issue is not an isolated task. An important role of the WSHD is not only to achieve its own goals, but also to help others in the transition to a more sustainable environment.

Water can help accelerate other transitions, such as in mobility, energy, construction and circularity. It can also contribute to sustainable economic growth and a healthy living environment. An integrated approach is therefore needed.

From technical and one-dimensional to natural and multi-dimensional

Beach and dune: Maintaining a balance between coastal defences, nature reserves, salt and fresh water and tourism and recreation

Polders: Balancing agriculture and nature, impact on groundwater levels, water storage and dike monitoring

Urban landscape: A greater role for water authorities, green-blue grids, safe havens and mobility strategy

Port and industry: making industrial areas greener, recovering raw materials and energy and making the treatment process more sustainable

De Zwarte Hond has developed the Waterkracht [Water Power] Panorama for the WSHD: an inspiring and inviting view of how to work together towards a sustainable and future-proof region. The panorama invites you to take an integrated view and discover where different fields of expertise and organizations can help and strengthen each other. This perspective includes many tools to make the region resilient to climate change, such as peak rainfall or drought, and to link these to other social transitions. With the Waterkracht Panorama, WSHD has a powerful conversation starter that it can use to work as a strategic partner with citizens, entrepreneurs, businesses and other governments.

Leporello Panorama Waterkracht

Card game Panorama Waterkracht

The full-size Waterkracht Panorama is almost 10 metres long and can be seen at the WSHD office in Ridderkerk. But the information from the panorama is also available in a handy leaflet in leporello form that explains the story, the panorama and all the sustainable methods it covers. The sustainable methods have also been published separately as a card game, so that the integrated approach of the WSHD can be played as a ‘serious game’.

Both the leporello and the card game can be downloaded from the link below (in Dutch language).

Hydropower Panorama

As a water authority, it is the job of the Waterschap Hollandse Delta (WSHD) to look to the future role of water in the dunes, polders, urban and industrial landscapes. By creating more space for the absorption and gradual release of water – like a sponge – the region can become more resilient to climate change. These landscape transitions are often accompanied by social transitions. The design of streets and cities is linked to different kinds of mobility. Greener cities and landscapes can contribute to health. In the energy transition, surface water can play a role in heating homes and cities through aqua-thermal energy. An integral view of different landscapes shows that ecological, economic and water systems are interrelated and can be mutually reinforcing. By focusing on multiple, integrated and natural solutions, the landscape can move resiliently with nature. If we do this well, we will organize a resilient and multi-layered security system for society, now and in the future. This requires an area-based organization of space, where economic functions follow water and soil conditions. Different interests come together in the design of the landscape. With this panorama, the WSHD can inspire its partners to work together on a sustainable region. The Waterkracht Panorama can also be viewed in a compact form as a leporello (in Dutch language).

All the instruments used in the Waterkracht Panorama have also been published as a card game for the WSHD.