Dear water friends, We hereby inform you that we will organise a water club meeting on Monday 20 May 2013, late afternoon at 5:30pm (after office hour), in the IDECAF premises at 31 Thái V ăn Lung, District 1, Ho Chí Minh City. This time we will devote a special attention to an exciting and very important topic of deep and intimate common interest to The Netherlands and Vietnam: “Delta Committees NL – Vietnam: Rising Tides - The Netherlands & Vietnam Mekong Delta strategy st on how to cope with climate change in the 21 century” by Prof. Dr. Dr. H.C. Ir. Marcel Stive Chair Coastal Engineering Head Department of Hydraulic Engineering Scientific Director Water Research Centre Delft Director Erasmus Mundus Master Course Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences Delft University of Technology Postal address: P.O. Box 5048, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands Visiting and courier address: Stevinweg 1 Delft (Office 3.69) Phone: +31 15 2783348/3345 (secretary) Fax: +31 15 2785124 Phone: +31 15 2785487 (direct) Water Research Centre Delft www.water.tudelft.nl Erasmus Mundus MSc course CoMEM www.ntnu.edu/studies/mscomem Department www.hydraulicengineering.tudelft.nl Homepage www.xs4all.nl/~stive51 Synopsis The Vietnam Mekong Delta and the Netherlands Delta share not only a vulnerable delta of similar size in terms of size and population, but eustatic sea level rise and land subsidence will increase this vulnerability significantly. The fact that we share similar threats and that there exists a great mutual respect and understanding between our two countries has led to an effective exchange of ideas how to cope with climate and environmental change/challenge. Prof. Stive will try to provide insights on how we jointly can cope, while acknowledging the physical and 1 economic differences that our deltas have. Living with Water in the Mekong Delta is quite different from Living with Water in the Dutch Delta, at least at present. The lecture will primarily address the reasons for establishing a 2 nd Delta Committee in the Netherlands and present the general and regional recommendations by the Committee how to ensure (greater) security against flooding in the Netherlands in the coming decades. Of the regional recommendations especially the Sand Engine (Dutch: ZAND MOTOR; French: MOTEUR DE SABLE) intervention along the hollow Holland coast will be highlighted as a spectacular and innovative invention, based on the principles of building with nature. Furthermore, some attention will be given to the ongoing collaboration between Vietnam and the Netherlands on the possible development futures of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. We kindly advise you to download and read the following background documents, to get prepared for a lively debate on our next water club meeting: http://www.deltacommissie.com/ http://www.deltacommissie.com/en/advies http://www.dezandmotor.nl/ http://www.dezandmotor.nl/en-GB/ About the Speaker Professor Stive had his academic education and training at the Delft University both for his MSc Civil Engineering and PhD Civil Engineering. Professor Stive has more than 30 years experience in research and projects in the fields of hydraulic engineering, coastal morphodynamics, coastal bio- geomorphology and coastal/estuarine management, as team member, as team leader and as advisor. His professional career record involves coasts, estuaries, harbours and offshore projects in several countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, using fieldwork and experimental physical and mathematical physical models. He is involved in several projects sponsored by the science and technology programs of the European Union, of two of which he was overall co-coordinator. Moreover, he spent two years as visiting professor on the Universidad Polytecnica de Catalunya, and was part-time professor Coastal Morphodynamics at the Delft University of Technology from 1994 to 2000. In 2001 he accepted the fulltime chair of Coastal Engineering at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology. He was a member of the 2 nd Dutch Delta Committee advising the Netherlands government on a National Water Policy for the coming century. His current long-term responsibilities involve the development of a Delft University of Technology Research Centre 2 Water and the development of an Inter-Academy-Council project to produce a high-level policymaker oriented report on global water issues. He is a member of various national and international committees advising governments and policymakers on water related issues. He has written many publications (Hirsch-factor 22 for ISI journal publications) on a variety of topics, ranging from geology to hydraulic engineering and coastal zone management and holds an ERC Advanced Researchers Grant NEMO on long term large scale coastal evolution. Professor Marcel Stive was last April 2013 appointed Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion by the former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands for his outstanding record as top researcher, much consulted expert, distinguished engineer and inspiring teacher. An appealing and well- known concept he created is the Sand Engine (Dutch: zand motor; French: moteur de sable), the island constructed of dredged sand off the coast of the coastal city of Kijkduin that ingeniously, innovatively and efficiently contributes to the long term coastal safety/stability of the Netherlands. He was recently awarded an honorary doctorate honoris causa from the Lund University (Sweden) for his pioneering work in the field of mathematical calculations on how currents, tides and waves work together. As professor, he successfully conveys his knowledge and involvement to successive generations of new students, especially in Vietnam. A real example of a genuine, sincere and dedicated water friend! Do not miss this golden opportunity to meet and greet Prof. Marcel Stive! Best regards, Miss Nguyen Thi Hien - HP: 0982 522 375 Secretary - INFORMAL SAIGON WATER DEBATING CLUB Email: [email protected] and [email protected] Telephone of Secretary of Royal HaskoningDHV project office Miss Lien : 0908 539 192 VENUE: Vi ện Trao đổ i V ăn Hóa v ới Pháp (IDECAF ) 31 Thái V ăn Lung - Qu ận 1 - TP H ồ Chí Minh Điện tho ại: (84-8) 38295451 - Fax (84-8) 38291424 3 .