Flood mitigation: Green infrastructure and nature-based solutions more resilient, says Dutch PM

The Star

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte expressed his admiration for Malaysia's efforts to improve flood resilience, namely the SMART Tunnel, as a real feat of engineering.  Speaking at the 6th Malaysia-The Netherlands Water Dialogue in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (Nov 1), Rutte however noted that building more steel and concrete infrastructure may not be enough in the long term.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

00:08 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

00:09 Welcome back to Malaysia, and thank you, sir,

00:12 for gracing us with your presence.

00:15 We greatly appreciate the commitment

00:16 from the government of the Netherlands

00:18 towards our cooperation.

00:20 Ladies and gentlemen, Malaysia and the Netherlands

00:23 have had a close bilateral relationship over the years.

00:28 Apart from the yearly dialogue, the NRECC and the Netherlands

00:31 embassy have been engaged in various collaborations,

00:35 focusing on water-related disasters and climate change

00:39 residency.

00:40 The most recent one has been the assistance

00:42 in tackling water disasters, rendered to us

00:46 by the Dutch surge support DSS scheme.

00:50 The outcome of this program is the report

00:53 by the disaster risk reduction team, which

00:55 highlighted the gaps, challenges,

00:58 and recommendations to improve Malaysia's flood

01:02 risk that further strengthens our response to future flood

01:05 risk and related climate change impacts.

01:09 We look forward to expanding the collaboration, specifically

01:12 in developing pilot projects that

01:14 can be implemented based on the recommendations from the DRR

01:18 team report, as well as other programs

01:21 in the area of flood mitigation and climate resiliency.

01:26 We hope to especially learn from your experience

01:29 as a low-lying country, which has been successfully

01:33 living with water.

01:34 The intricate networks of dikes, canals, and pumps

01:38 that the Dutch have ingeniously constructed over the centuries

01:42 showcases your mastery over water management.

01:46 Nevertheless, climate change, with its threat

01:48 of rising sea levels and increased rainfall,

01:52 will bring forth an amplified challenge to Dutch water

01:55 management strategies.

01:57 And as such, we hope to also understand

01:59 how you're dealing with these new dangers.

02:01 [APPLAUSE]

02:04 I'm honored to be taking part in the sixth Malaysia-Netherlands

02:11 Water Dialogue.

02:12 And yes, it is a great pleasure to return

02:15 to this beautiful and vibrant city.

02:20 Somewhat earlier today, I got a bird's eye view

02:23 from the KL Tower.

02:25 And once again, I was impressed.

02:29 Impressed by the skyline, which is always changing.

02:32 Impressed by the bustle and energy of the city below.

02:36 And impressed by Malaysia's rapid economic development.

02:42 But when you're up there, high in the sky,

02:45 you can see also how vulnerable the city is to flooding.

02:50 Like so many cities and regions around the world.

02:53 Not least, my country, the Netherlands.

02:57 Because a large part of my country is below sea level.

03:02 In December-- two years ago, in December 2021,

03:06 Malaysia was hit by major floods.

03:09 The Netherlands was glad to help and deployed

03:12 a team of experts to Malaysia.

03:14 The Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support Program

03:17 aims to prevent and reduce the impact of water and climate

03:22 related disasters worldwide.

03:25 Sharing knowledge, technical expertise, and technology

03:29 is an essential part of setting up international frameworks

03:33 for climate resilience.

03:35 And keeping, very practically, our feet dry.

03:39 Almost literally, our feet dry in the future.

03:43 And believe me, we know from experience what this takes.

03:48 Yes, you're right.

03:49 The Netherlands is a low-lying delta.

03:52 For centuries, we have been largely successful

03:54 in managing floods with dikes, dams,

03:59 and innovative techniques.

04:01 Conversely, we are always keen to learn from others.

04:06 We admire how Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur

04:09 are improving their flood resilience.

04:12 The smart tunnel is a key feature of these efforts.

04:17 To us in the Netherlands, a tunnel--

04:18 can you imagine a tunnel that channels floodwaters

04:23 past the city center?

04:24 I think it's a real feat of engineering.

04:27 We don't have that.

04:28 And we can learn from you.

04:31 But as we all know, building more steel and concrete

04:33 infrastructure may not be enough in the long term.

04:36 We are learning that green infrastructure

04:39 and nature-based solutions are often more resilient,

04:44 are often more flexible, and more reversible

04:48 than traditional methods.

04:50 It's taken us many years to change our approach,

04:54 giving room to water and building with nature,

04:57 as we say.

04:59 So I'm pleased to learn that Malaysia is also

05:01 looking at preventive measures, incorporating

05:05 nature-based approaches to climate adaptation and flood

05:08 management.

05:10 Protecting the environment and ecosystems, I think,

05:13 is fundamental to climate-resilient cities.

05:17 [APPLAUSE]

05:26 So how about one with the very firm handshakes?

05:30 [LAUGHTER]

05:34 [APPLAUSE]

05:37 [AUDIO OUT]

05:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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