The document discusses how the Netherlands is using a 'Building with Nature' approach of coastal adaptation to address the challenges of rising sea levels due to climate change. It describes how the Sand Motor pilot project works to sustainably reinforce the Dutch coastline over 20 years by depositing 21.5 million cubic meters of sand in a single location that will naturally spread along 20 km of coastline through wind, waves and currents. If successful, this approach provides coastal protection while limiting disruption to marine environments compared to traditional beach nourishment methods. The Sand Motor aims to generate knowledge for adapting low-lying coastal areas to climate change worldwide.

1. ‘Building with Nature’ as
a Climate Change Adaptation
strategy

2. The Netherlands (NL) and Climate
Change (CC)
• The Netherlands is a densely populated delta
country with quite some water management
expertise.
• PBL, the renown Netherlands Environmental
Assessment Agency, has indicated in several
reports that the sea level may rise 20 –110 cm in
NL upto 2100 and possibly more than that in the
following centuries.
• This is in line with other sources, e.g. C.A.
Katsman, KNMI, a.o. using a rise of 3.15 metres
for NL as maximum rise by 2200.

3. Adaptation needed, especially along
the Dutch coast
• PBL has also indicated that the combination of
an ongoing rise in the sea level, land
subsidence and increasing peak river
discharges will become problematic for the
lower-lying regions of the Netherlands.
• The Dutch water sector will thus have to cope
with the effects of climate change.

4. Water Management Innovations
needed to adapt to CC
• It is generally admitted that efficient coastal
management is one of the instruments needed to
keep the Dutch coastline stable and strong.
• PBL concluded that it is questionable whether
conventional water management techniques
alone can maintain the current level of safety in
the Netherlands and suggested that innovations
are needed to prevent serious floods.

5. Beach nourishment needed
• One consequence of the expected rise in sea
level is the need for more and larger volumes
of sand to be added as beach nourishment to
the coastal system in order to compensate for
losses of sand and to ensure that the coast,
estuaries and the Wadden Sea keep pace with
the rise in sea level.

6. Sources (1)
• http://www.pbl.nl/en/publications/2006/Theeffectsofclimatechangeinthe
Netherlands
• http://www.pbl.nl/sites/default/files/cms/publicaties/773001037.pdf
• http://www.pbl.nl/sites/default/files/cms/publicaties/PBL_2013_The%20e
ffects%20of%20climate%20change%20in%20the%20Netherlands_957.pdf
• ‘Exploring high-end scenarios for local sea level rise to develop flood
protection strategies for a low-lying delta—the Netherlands as an
example’. Climatic Change, 109(3–4), 617–645. Katsman, C. A. et al.
(2011).

7. Sand, sand, sand,
• Every year, the sea takes sand from the Dutch
coast. So far the shortfall was replenished
every five years by dredging companies
depositing sand on the beaches and in
offshore areas.
• The sand replenishment operations every five
years did the job, but with sea level rise the
frequency of sand pumping interventions
would have to go up substantially.

8. Building with Nature
• It was therefore suggested to protect the
Dutch coast in a more sustainable and natural
way.

9. Sand Motor as Pilot Project
• In 2011 an artificial peninsula of 1km x 2km
was created along the Dutch coast, close to
the seaside city of The Hague. The sand was
deposited in the direction of the dominant
current.

10. Sand Motor facts & figures
• Trailing suction hopper dredgers picked up
21.5 million cubic metres of sand ten
kilometres off the Dutch coast to create a man
made peninsula, initially covering an area of
128 hectares.
• Ultimately the intervention will result in 35
hectares of new beaches and dunes, which
will provide protection against a rise in sea
level.

11. The man made peninsula close to Kijkduin.

12. • Over 20 years wind, waves, currents and tides will
spread most of the sand of the peninsula
naturally along 20 km of the Dutch coast.
• This is called ‘Building with Nature’.

13. • The Sand Motor will gradually change in shape
and will eventually be fully incorporated into
the dunes and the beach.

14. GBK cooperation, Government,
Business and Knowledge institutes
• Given its technical water management knowledge
and its ‘poldering’ experience NL can play a role
in developing new climate change adaptation
models.
• Rijkswaterstaat (the executive branch of the
Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the
Environment), Ecoshape and the provincial
authority of South Holland are partners in the
Sand Motor knowledge development project.
• Dutch dredging companies are also involved.

15. Dutch Academia
involved in the Sand Motor.
• The Sand Motor monitoring and evaluation
programme is led by Rijkswaterstaat and also
involves:
• Delft University of Technology,
• VU University Amsterdam,
• University of Twente,
• Utrecht University,
• Wageningen University
• Deltares research institute
• Imares research institute.

16. Sand Motor Objectives (1)
• Enhancement of coastal protection in
the long term;
• A relatively cheap sustainable coastal
management tool for the Dutch government
developed;
• New nature and recreational areas created by
widening beaches and dunes;

17. Sand Motor Objectives (2)
• Knowledge development and innovation in the
field of coastal management and reinforcement
and in marine engineering.
• The findings will allow Dutch engineers and
ecologists to plan more effectively.
• ‘A wave of new knowledge and insights’ will be
generated for science;
• Possibly business cases for Dutch dredging and
consultancy companies in the international
market will be realised.

18. Additional advantages
• There is another benefit to depositing a large
amount of sand in a single operation: the
vulnerable seabed will not suffer repeated
disruption because, if the Sand Motor works
as expected, no further beach nourishment
will be required for the next 20 years on the
whole stretch of 20 km coast covered by the
Sand Motor.

19. Developments so far
around the Sand Motor
• In 2012, about 2 million cubic metres of sand
forming the peninsula started moving:
• 500,000 cubic metres spread along dunes and on
the deep seabed (outside the monitored area)
• 600,000 cubic metres moved on the Sand Motor
itself
• 900,000 cubic metres spread in the monitored
area (data provided by Shore Monitoring and
Deltares)

20. Aerial picture of Sand Motor
aiming to stabilise Dutch coast

21. Working With Water to adapt to
Climate Change
. The Sand Motor is the first experiment of its kind.
With this pilot project, the Netherlands is searching
for new, affordable, water management systems
that facilitate adaptation to climate change in low
lying areas.
. The Building with Nature approach means working
with water, instead of against it.
. If the Sand Motor works well, the concept can be
rolled out to other coastal areas in the Netherlands
and the rest of the world.

22. Building with nature
to adapt to climate change in Asia
• Dutch companies and NGO’s are also involved
in efforts to adapt to sea level rise in
Indonesia, especially in areas where mangrove
forests have been cut to produce shrimps,
leading to severe erosion of muddy coasts that
is aggravated by sea level rise.

23. Sources (2)
• http://www.zuidholland.nl/overzicht_alle_themas/c_landschap/content
_kust/c_e_thema_water-sand_engine.htm;
• http://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/en/images/Sand%20Mot
or%20Fact%20Sheet_tcm224-346199.pdf
• http://www.dezandmotor.nl/en-GB/
• http://www.ecoshape.nl
• http://www.iadc-dredging.com

24. J.C.P. WB Turn Down the Heat MOOC.