NETHERLANDS: The Netherlands are considering building a Tulip Island to fight overcrowding and shield the coastline from the rising sea

Record ID: 785247

  • Title: NETHERLANDS: The Netherlands are considering building a Tulip Island to fight overcrowding and shield the coastline from the rising sea
  • Date: 17th December 2007
  • Summary: (L!3)THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS (DECEMBER 6, 2007) (REUTERS) SATELLITE IMAGE OF THE NETHERLANDS WITH TULIP ISLAND CLOSEUP OF TULIP ISLAND DUTCH PARLIAMENT JOOP ATSMA, CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT MP, IN HIS OFFICE MONITOR WITH VIDEO SIGNAL OF EMPTY PARLIAMENT SEATS IN MR. ASTMA'S OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Dutch), JOOP ATSMA, CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT MP, SAYING: "It would be fantastic to recognize the Netherlands while you fly over it by seeing an island in the form of a tulip, but the final form will be decided by the sea currents and how best to build around them."
  • Embargoed: 1st January 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Netherlands
  • Country: Netherlands
  • Topics: Entertainment,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA55RI0SB65MOCKLRQTOBW4FC5D
  • Story Text: The Netherlands are considering building a Tulip Island to fight overcrowding and shield the coastline from the rising sea.
    The Dutch have already built Palm Island in Dubai, but they never tried it at home. To combine the costs of fortifying dikes against raising sea level and badly needed housing space, the Dutch parliament has asked a commission on coastal development to look into the idea of building islands in the North Sea that could be used for housing, farming or a nature reserve while at the same time helping to protect the coast.
    Christian Democrat politician Joop Atsma, who sponsored a parliamentary motion on building in the North Sea says the form of tulip is not final.

    "It would be fantastic to recognize the Netherlands while you fly over it by seeing an island in the form of a tulip, but the final form will be decided by the sea currents and how best to build around them."
    Supporters of the scheme say it will give Dutch companies a chance to showcase water management skills that are increasingly in demand due to global warming, but critics say the plan will be prohibitively expensive and harm delicate ecosystems. A government body set up to promote innovation has drawn up proposals for an island in the form of a tulip about 50 km long, sparking fierce debate and inspiring one blogger to swap a cannabis leaf for the tulip on the formal plans.

    "Our dikes need to be higher and our dunes must be fortified anyway, so I think that by working immediately on reclaiming new land maybe you can also realize the need of protection against the sea, so you can develop two projects at the same time. That costs a lot of money, but if we don't reclaim new land making islands, we would have to spend a lot anyway to keep the Netherlands safe on the long term, " Atsma said to Reuters.
    Atsma says high land prices threaten the country's position as the world's third biggest exporter of agricultural products and make a 100,000 hectare island potentially worth 10 billion euros ($14.69 billion), enough return to fund the project.
    The North Sea Foundation notes that an artificial island could disrupt shipping, fishing and migrating birds.

    "The North Sea is not a wasteland where you can do whatever you want. Especially the coastal zone is one of the most fertile seas in the world. An island would do a lot of damage to the animal life," said the foundation's Lisa van der Veen.
    Atsma brushes off any environmental criticism of building the island in the North Sea, as the most of Dutch coastline is already manmade for centuries. From around 1300, windmills were developed to pump water off low-lying land. Steam-driven pumps accelerated the process in the 19th century. In 1932, work was completed on a mammoth 32-km dike that closed the Zuiderzee off from the North Sea and allowed the draining of 1,650 square kilometers of land. Today, it's a motorway with water on both sides.

    "Well, the most important part of Dutch coastline is already manmade, dikes are built by men and even dunes are still today formed with the help of men, but that's nothing new. I think that due to security reasons in the future you might get other types of coastline, but the dunes in North and South Holland will stay there forever," he said.
    The Netherlands -- literally the Low Countries -- has a long history of pioneering technology to help it claw back land from the sea and fight recurrent flooding. One of world's most densely populated countries with 16 million people living in an area about half the size of Scotland or 485 people per square km, a quarter of the land is below sea level and it lies on the flood plains of three big rivers.
    After devastating floods in 1953 killed more than 1,800 people, the Dutch launched one of the world's largest construction schemes -- the Delta project -- to raise dikes, close sea estuaries and build a huge storm surge barrier. Global warming is seen raising sea levels along the Dutch coast by up to 85 cms in the next century and causing more severe storms that could make rivers more likely to flood. While a recent poll showed that the Dutch are more afraid of flooding than a terrorist attack, many have a strong faith in Dutch expertise and technology to protect them from the water.
    U.S. officials sought advice from Dutch experts on water management after floods devastated New Orleans in 2005 and Dutch firms have been central in major coastal developments worldwide. Boskalis developed techniques during the Zuiderzee and Delta projects to become the world's largest dredger, helping build the island for Hong Kong's airport and now working on Oman's "Wave" project -- a huge resort added to the coast. Dutch marine contractor Van Oord built Dubai's Palm Island that juts into the shallow waters of the Gulf in the shape of a palmtree, using more than 100 million cubic metres of sand.
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