Introduction

This is an account of policy work that aims to put new things on the political agenda and disrupt institutions. It was an exercise in constructing policy advice about sustainable water management in the Netherlands, undertaken between 1999 and 2002 by the Rathenau Institute, an independent institution for technology assessment, which gives policy advice to the Dutch Parliament.

The origins of the project

In early 1998, some people involved in the field of water management contacted the Rathenau Institute, which is a small, independent think tank funded by the Dutch government to advise Parliament, and is traditionally involved in technology assessment and sustainability studies (Van Eijndhoven 2000). They were involved in innovative spatial projects for more sustainable regional water management, but had problems getting the various levels of government to cooperate, found that the local residents rejected their plans, and they were also unable to convince the various national policymakers that new policies were necessary. They were hoping that the Rathenau Institute would be able to influence policymakers and the Dutch Parliament.

Water management in the Netherlands, a delta area of which about two-thirds is below sea level, had reached a turning point. It had aimed to adapt the water system for the needs of building, shipping, agriculture, recreation and nature development and relied on technical measures. But climate change confronted the Dutch water management with increasing flood risks due to rising sea levels, and more local excesses and shortages of water, because of increased periods of intense rain and drought. It challenged the technical ‘water follows function’ approach. For example, wherever the Dutch had depended on their dikes along the main rivers for their safety, raising them in response to increasing river discharges due to climate change would only increase the effects of flooding, if they ever broke. Meanwhile, the problem of land subsidence and the salinity of peat areas in the western part of the Netherlands, due to permanent drainage requirements for agriculture, made them more prone to flooding especially with rising sea levels.