News in Japan - February

USA:
Heavy rainfall events becoming more frequent on Big Island, Hawaii
Flooding in U.S. Midwest more frequent, study finds; Research covered more than 50 years of data in 14 states
U.S. plan would keep highways, federal buildings away from flood areas
Emotions, not science, rule U.S. climate change debate - study

Netherlands:
Book launch: Dutch Dikes gives well documented overview of 22,500 km dikes
Dutch minister Schultz talks about flood risk reduction with Mexican water agency Conagua

Dutch do not know what to do during flood (Dutch)

Dutch underestimate flood dangers (Dutch) 'Nederlanders onderschatten gevaar overstroming'

http://www.overstroomik.nl/ Dutch tool to see which areas are subject to flooding (sea and major rivers only)

http://www.dwarshuis.com/aardbevingen-groningen/ Earthquake visualization tool for Groningen, Netherlands (artificially induced earthquakes due to gas drilling)

Other:
Aqua-Aero Watersystems delivers RO treated groundwater for 0,47 eurocent in Gujarat India
UN-Water conference Zaragoza: Economic growth both blessing and curse
Satellite science improves storm surge forecasting around the world
ENHANCE video just released
Floods created home of Europe's biggest waterfall
New tools to breed cereal crops that survive flooding

Malawi floods expose need to step up disaster prevention

Mozambique says death toll rises after heavy flooding

New digital maps speed up aid response after earthquakes-U.N.

World must achieve international water goals to preempt looming conflicts born of desperation

Global rainfall satellites require massive overhaul

Saving lives in emergencies? If you want to, you'd better read this guide

Climate change can cause loss of important ice dynamics in streams (Sweden)

http://www.alnap.org/pool/files/good-enough-guide-book-en.pdf

Climate change pushes India's poorest children into slavery - Satyarthi

World has not woken up to water crisis caused by climate change - IPCC head

Floods, storms and heat projected to cost SE Asia $34bln per year

GAR15 to seek fresh start

Vulnerable people:
Weather warnings go unheeded where most needed (global) Local people are usually left out of efforts to gather information that could help keep them safe, and their knowledge is largely ignored by scientists, according to a major report on water-related disasters presented at the conference. Developing an early warning system alone is not enough for communities to avert disasters, where these are delivered without tailoring them for vulnerable groups. India was cited as a country that withheld forecasts for “strategic reasons”, refusing to share them with neighbours Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. China also failed to communicate flood predictions to neighbours Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Why we should refer to 'Disasters' or 'Natural Hazards' rather than 'Natural Disasters'

Here is an excerpt from a paper from Salvano Briceno, Director of the Secretariat of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), which explains why we shouldn't use natural disasters. There are many more older papers on this topic (also the book 'At Risk'), but he gives a very clear explanation:

"The most serious aspect of the threat is the rapid increase in exposure and vulnerability of populations, particularly those in urban areas to natural events, which themselves are increasing but at a much lower speed. Hence, the need to address the disaster risk issue with terms other than ‘‘natural disasters.’’ This reorientation in terminology is essential to avoid creating a misunderstanding of the problem. The concept behind this shift in terminology is that the phrase ‘‘natural disasters’’ conveys the perception that if disasters are natural there is little that can be done, except by preparing to respond to them, instead of reducing vulnerability and building resilience, which need to be the focus of risk reduction and management policies. This is why scholars increasingly try to avoid speaking about ‘‘natural disasters’’ and rather refer only to ‘‘disasters’’ or ‘‘natural hazards.’’ When needed, reference to ‘‘disasters triggered by natural hazards’’ or, more specifically, ‘‘disasters due to vulnerability to natural hazards’’ are the preferred expressions. This terminology revision was an essential component in the negotiations for the HFA. For many government authorities, it has been convenient to blame disasters on nature, hence their preference for maintaining the term ‘‘natural disasters.’’ Despite official reluctance, ‘‘natural disaster’’ is no longer utilized in the HFA document, except in a footnote to explain why it should not be used."

Reaction to new Dutch Water Management Plan

In a response to the proposed plan by secretary of state Dijksma, as reported by the Dutch newspaper Trouw, the mayor of one of the Dutch northern islands states that one doesn't inundate islands as the key characteristic of islands is that they are the part remaining above water. One of the ideas in the plan focuses on dynamic coastal management. He points out that the inhabitants have been maintaining the islands for a thousand years, and only during the past 50 years people from the mainland have interfered. He has promoted a dynamic management before.

A representative of the public organization for forest management commented that it is possible at the outer ends of the islands, but the inhabited parts must be kept safe. While there might be more free flowing sand in these areas, at the same time beach nourishment remains necessary to protect the outer coastal dunes. This extra sand may find its way into the fairways, which then have to be dredged again, but this is part of the new plan, as the islands must be kept accessible.

New Dutch Water Management Plan

The Secretary of State of Nature, Sharon Dijksma, has presented a new plan for the Dutch coast and rivers, entailing plans until 2050. The proposed dynamic management allows natural tides to have a greater impact on the coast line, as it is estimated this will become a cheaper solution. You can download it here (Dutch).

The plan will create more space for water and more interaction between fresh and salt water. It concerns 6 areas in total: the river area, the Ijssel lake, the North Sea, the coastal area, the Wadden Sea, and the South West Delta area. The proposed changes include:

• Coastal area: becomes broader and the sea can change the shape of the coastline, where trees may also grow freely.
• Wadden Sea: dunes will be cut so that the sea may reform uninhabited island areas
• South West Delta area: 50 cm of tides should be allowed to pass through the areas Veerse meer and Grevelingen, and the Biesbosch.  

The major losing party in this plan is the fishing industry in the Wadden Sea area, which will be terminated, whereas it will remain possible to gain resources from the area such as salt. The idea is that the plan will lead to nature management that is cheaper to maintain and capable of retaining the extra water climate change is expected to entail. 

The ministry of economic affairs is now starting negotiations with civilians, NGOs, local governments, private companies and others in order to start projects complying to the plan's vision.