Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS)

Yesterday, in my role as Team Leader of the Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS), I had the privilege of being interviewed by the new First Deputy Governor of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, mr Manduul Nyamandeleg, about the importance of communication in urban flood risk management. During the interview, the First Deputy Governor explained the challenges the Ulaanbaatar Municipality (MoUB) is facing with public resistance to the perceived 'destruction' of the river when removing vegetation, silt, and domestic waste to reduce flood risk. Vegetation and sediments are part of a natural river system. However, as some stretches of the river have become too narrow due to developments along the river, even minor flow obstructions from vegetation can trigger floods. We discussed the need for: - A community campaign to better explain the necessity of removing silt, domestic waste and vegetation in the context of the immediate flood risk. - A clear river maintenance plan that distinguishes between short-term maintenance needs and longer-term structural improvements, benefitting from examples of international good practice. This plan should aim to achieve sufficient river width to sustain natural vegetation. Since late 2023, the Dutch Risk Reduction and Surge Support Program (#DRRS) has mobilized a team of experts to support MoUB in their efforts to enhance flood resilience of the Capital City. The DRRS team has developed an approach focused on enhancing the flow capacity of the rivers in the downtown area, while increasing the retention capacity in the upstream part of the catchment. Our strategy aims to achieve several co-benefits helping Ulaanbaatar become a modern, climate resilient capital city, by putting water back at the heart of urban planning. #FloodResilience #UrbanPlanning #ClimateResilience Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) | Partner in Sustainable Development, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat, Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS), Delgermaa Byambasuren, Maarten Bakker, Jacco Breedijk, Lisa Wijkel, Roy Daggenvoorde, Ayurzana Badarch, Chinzorig Sukhbaatar.

Our final day of the Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS) to the #Prospecton area in Durban was filled with forward-looking dialogues with potential partners to co-finance Prospecton's path to resilience. Meetings with key institutions like the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Infrastructure Fund and National Treasury set the stage for sustainable development and offered new insights into financing opportunities. We concluded our day at the Netherlands Embassy and Consulate in South Africa to reflect on the trip's outcomes and to define next steps. Looking back on last week's DRRS mission to Durban I'm very proud of the team's energy in making this week a success, of the proactive participation of local communities, government and private sector and of the positive local momentum we seem to have ignited. All information from our visit will soon be consolidated into a roadmap document to be presented and disseminated later this year. Stay tuned for more updates! 🔔 #Day5 #SustainableDevelopment #CoFinancing #SouthAfrica Eric Huyskes Prof Richard Meissner Michel Leushuis Minenhle Nene Floor Kolkman Royal HaskoningDHV

During our last day in Durban as part of the Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS) to South Africa, we formulated the roadmap towards a flood-resilient #Prospecton together with municipal, provincial and industrial stakeholders. Our workshop focused on governance and finance, key pillars for the roadmap's success. It ensures a solid foundation is in place for the implementation of our strategy. We had a very intense couple of days and are grateful for everyone's contribution in these 'pressure cooker' style workshops. Let's continue to grow the momentum we created this week and keep on raising the sense of urgency as we head off to Pretoria for further engagements with institution gauging their interest to support our roadmap. #Governance #Finance #RoadmapToResilience #Durban Eric Huyskes Prof Richard Meissner Michel Leushuis Minenhle Nene Floor Kolkman Eric Apelgren Netherlands Embassy and Consulate in South Africa Royal HaskoningDHV

Community engagement and inclusion play a vital role in strategy development. During day 3 of the Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS) in Durban, we collaborated with community representatives from various wards in #Prospecton. Their insights are invaluable to our strategy, emphasizing the urgent need for enhanced emergency response and the importance of being heard. In the afternoon, stakeholders gathered to craft a flood resilience strategy. We integrated technical, environmental, social, economic, and institutional elements identified in prior workshops to arrive at a comprehensive approach ensuring a holistic and cohesive strategy moving forward. #CommunityEngagement #StrategyDevelopment #Durban #FloodResilience Eric Huyskes Prof Richard Meissner Michel Leushuis Minenhle Nene Floor Kolkman Netherlands Embassy and Consulate in South Africa Royal HaskoningDHV

Day 2 of the Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS) to Durban focused on the economic flood risk in #Prospecton. We also delved into root causes of flooding and stakeholders' ambitions for the area.   A collaborative workshop brought together public, private, and academic representatives to identify key building blocks for risk mitigation. It was an inspiring session in which the great diversity of participants helped everyone to better understand the various perspectives on how the challenges could be addressed. A participant's quote "Disaster risk management is everyone's business" was exemplary for the shared commitment to solve the problems in Prospecton.   In Pietermaritzburg, we engaged with KZN Premier's office and KZN COGTA officials, gaining insights into provincial activities, mandates, and disaster risk management ambitions. #Day2 #RootCauseAnalysis #Durban #KZN   Eric Huyskes Prof Richard Meissner Michel Leushuis Minenhle Nene Floor Kolkman Netherlands Embassy and Consulate in South Africa Royal HaskoningDHV

What is the Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS)? DRRS Support is a Dutch government programme that provides expert advice on disaster prevention or disaster recovery. In the aftermath of the 2022 KZN floods, eThekwini Municipality requested support from the DRRS Support team through the Netherlands Embassy and Consulate in South Africa to reduce flood risks in the South Durban Basin (SDB). SDB is the second most concentrated industrial area in South Africa and an important contributor to South Africa’s economy. The requested assistance focuses on developing flood risk options in the area. #floodresilience #technicalassistance #dutchwaterexpertise

Yesterday marked the beginning of a transformative journey together with eThekwini Municipality and local stakeholders. As part of Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS) from the Dutch government to South Africa, I'm excited to lead a team of Dutch water experts on flood risk management, disaster management, governance and finance aimed at building resilience in the #Prospecton area that was hugely impacted during the 2022 flood. We had the honor of meeting with a variety of dedicated officials and embarking on a field visit to Prospecton. Witnessing firsthand the challenges and potential of this economic zone has fueled our commitment to developing a comprehensive flood resilience strategy. #Day1 #FloodResilience #TechnicalAssistance #Durban #SouthAfrica Floor Kolkman Minenhle Nene Eric Huyskes Prof Richard Meissner Michel Leushuis Netherlands Enterprise Agency

DRRS is looking for a WASH Engineer to support UNICEF and the WASH Cluster in Sudan. The duration of the deployment is 3 months. Duty station is Nairobi or Port Sudan, with field visits. Starting date is as soon as possible. Kindly note that for this position, fluency in English is required and working knowledge of Arabic is strongly encouraged. Please refer to the Terms of Reference for more information on this position: https://lnkd.in/eSMzhpnt

Call for experts: WASH Cluster Engineer with UNICEF Sudan DRRS is looking for a WASH Cluster Engineer to support UNICEF in Sudan. The duration of the deployment is 3 months. Duty station is Nairobi or Port Sudan, with field visits. Starting date is as soon as possible. Kindly note that for this position, fluency in English is required and working knowledge of Arabic is strongly encouraged. For this position the following is required: - Minimum of five years of experience in WASH infrastructure development and emergency response; - Proven experience in designing and implementing WASH projects in humanitarian contexts; - Excellent English proficiency skills, and Arabic working knowledge is strongly recommended; - Working experience with UNICEF. If you do not meet these requirements, we would kindly like to ask you not to apply. Please refer to the Terms of Reference for more information on this position: https://lnkd.in/eZiAn_WA If you are interested in the position, please respond as soon as possible, but at the latest before Tuesday, July 9th before 9:00 am CEST via drrs@rvo.nl. Candidates' CV's will be evaluated based on qualifications sent through based on the order in which they have been submitted.Please send your CV, a short motivation, and mention your availability (potential start date and length of time period) in your message.

𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 The state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil has experienced disastrous flooding due to heavy rainfall. Following this climate catastrophe, a Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS) team was sent to the state’s capital city of Porto Alegre to make an in situ analysis of the city’s drainage system and the challenges it faces, particularly of the flood risks of the island archipelago, and to prepare a report with suggestions to improve the capital's technical framework in dealing with floods. The group of experts includes specialists in drainage, flood response, flood preparedness and water solutions optimisation. Besides meetings with Government bodies, the DRRS team visited floodgates, pump houses, dikes and areas that do not have good protection. After identifying weaknesses and unprotected areas, a final report will be issued with suggestions on improving the current structure and enabling the exchange of technologies, making the city safer in case of future floods. Read more on Dutchwatersector.com: https://lnkd.in/e4aZMaxn Photo: Cristine Rochol/PMPA Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) | Partner in Sustainable Development | NBSO Porto Alegre | Kingdom of the Netherlands in Brazil | Prefeitura Municipal de Porto Alegre | Wieneke Vullings | Lucila Almeida | Ben Lamoree | Eduardo Leite | Mauricio Loss | Pedro Capeluppi