The Netherlands is a small country in Northwestern Europe, with a landscape, geography, and history of reclamation that is quite similar to the Mekong Delta.
With half of the country lying below sea level, several meters under the surface, The Netherlands frequently faces threats from natural disasters, flooding, and food security challenges. However, by the early 21st century, this small nation had risen to become the world’s second-largest agricultural exporter, with agricultural exports in 2017 nearing half of Vietnam’s GDP. This impressive result is part of the persistent, strategic, and innovative efforts to manage water for over 1,000 years. Their success also provides strong inspiration and valuable lessons for many countries facing threats from climate change and rising sea levels.
The Netherlands is known as the country that is the lowest in relation to sea level. The lowest point, which is 6.74 meters below sea level, is a small town in the city of Rotterdam.
The English name of this country, “The Netherlands“, literally means “The Low Lands“. Statistics show that two-thirds of the country’s area is in flood-prone regions, while it has one of the highest population densities in the world.
This characteristic has caused The Netherlands to experience several devastating disasters. The most severe was in February 1953, when high tides from a storm nearly completely devastated the southern coastal region.
Much of The Netherlands is at risk of flooding.
Over 200,000 hectares of farmland were flooded, and 1,835 people drowned. This disaster revealed the greatest weakness in The Netherlands’ system of coastal defense structures.
As a result, the Dutch government immediately established the Delta Committee to repair and construct water defense structures.
Marvels of the Sea Dike
After a period of field research, this Delta Committee developed a plan for constructing monumental structures. This includes a system of sea dikes, coastal barriers, sluice gates, and flood barriers in the southwestern region.
In total, there are 65 massive concrete wave barriers and 62 movable steel sluice gates suspended between the dikes, spanning a total length of 6.8 kilometers.
The system of dikes extends out to sea.
The sluice gates are 5 meters thick and 40 meters wide, varying in height from 6 to 12 meters depending on their position in the barrier. The largest sluice gate, located in the deepest part of the delta, weighs up to 480 tons and takes hours to open or close.
These structures were built over more than half a century to protect vast land areas in the delta from the invasion of seawater. This system is recognized as the only protective system in the world against storm surges of its kind.
Along with the pyramids in Egypt, the Channel Tunnel, the Panama Canal, and the Colosseum, the sea dike system in The Netherlands has been voted by architects worldwide as one of the top ten greatest constructions on the planet.
Windmills built along the canals to enhance drainage.
Today, thanks to modern technology, The Netherlands has also created mobile water barriers to enhance flood prevention while ensuring waterway trade.
Recently, Dutch experts have been researching and implementing projects to construct “smart wave barriers” by integrating sensor technology to monitor dikes and barriers, providing early warnings about the risks of seawater destruction due to climate change.
Accordingly, Dutch irrigation experts and scientists are testing the installation of chips into the dikes and barriers to detect early and warn about tsunamis and sea level rise.
Ultimately, in the worst-case scenario, where the sea level rises too quickly and the water pumping system fails, given The Netherlands’ topography, the entire territory could be submerged within a week. Therefore, the Dutch population is highly aware of this ever-present danger.
Children in The Netherlands learn to swim from a young age, and to obtain a “swimming certificate“, they must pass a 30-minute water test, identifying an underwater obstacle and then swimming 100 meters.
Windmills – The Savior of The Netherlands
It is no coincidence that windmills have become a symbol of The Netherlands. As early as the 10th century, the Dutch began to think of ways to manage water by building dikes, and 400 years later, they discovered the miraculous effects of windmills in the battle to reclaim land.
Windmills can be found everywhere in The Netherlands, with a denser presence in low-lying areas.
Initially, windmills were made of stone, later improved with lighter materials like wood. The powerful blades, several meters long, transfer the wind’s force to a large wooden wheel to pump water out to the rivers.
Moreover, windmills are also constructed along canals to enhance drainage.
Today, windmills no longer play a primary role in The Netherlands’ drainage process. Diesel-powered pumps and electric pumps are now used to push water downstream. However, windmills remain a source of pride and an undeniable feature of The Netherlands.
Overall, recognizing that it is a coastal nation, with many areas below sea level and low-lying lands often prone to flooding, the Dutch have become world leaders in coastal defense measures.
Now, the world can admire The Netherlands with its open spaces, tulip fields, windmills, and ancient mansions lining the canals that cover the country.
The Dutch proudly say: “God created the world, but the Dutch created The Netherlands“.
