Loosbroek, NL - November 21 2024
On November 21, 2024, the SpongeScapes project hosted its second SpongeLab workshop in Loosbroek, Netherlands. Organised by Leibniz Universität Hannover in collaboration with Deltares and the Water Authority Aa en Maas, the event is part of an ongoing effort to enhance climate resilience in the Aa-dal Noord case study area.
Addressing Key Challenges
The Aa-dal Noord region faces multiple challenges, including climate impacts - increasing floods, droughts, and water quality issues – simultaneous pressures - biodiversity loss, agricultural transitions, and urban growth – and hydrological complexity characterized by extensive human interventions for water management.
While many sponge measures have been planned or implemented, their broader impacts on hydrology and biodiversity at the landscape scale remain to be fully explored.
Building on the First SpongeLab Workshop
In May 2024, the first workshop set the foundation by defining the context and co-defining sponge goals. Participants identified diverse challenges across the river basin zones. They discussed and prioritized an initial set of sponge measures.
Exploring Future Scenarios
In this second workshop, participants worked to envision two potential scenarios for 2050:
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A moderate scenario, reflecting moderate changes in land and water management guided by the sponge goals.
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A transformative scenario, emphasizing bold, innovative solutions to maximize the sponge functioning of the landscape.
To do so, participants followed the GeoDesign approach. They refined opportunity maps, developed narratives for these future scenarios, and identified priority actions for achieving these visions.
What’s Next?
The insights gained from this workshop will guide the upcoming impact assessments of these scenarios during the third SpongeLab workshop, where participants will evaluate the impacts of the scenarios reflecting on insights from in-depth modelling.
Event Date: Nov 2024
Country: Netherlands
Link to original newspage of SpongeScapes
