Dutch to boost flood protection measures

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Reuters) - The Netherlands must spend nearly 2 billion euros ($2.9 billion) annually in the coming decades to protect low-lying areas from coastal flooding, the Dutch government said on Wednesday.

With sea levels projected to climb as much as 1.3 meters (4 ft 3 in) this century and another 2 to 4 meters in the next, current flood and sea defenses will not be enough to protect the country of 16 million people from surging tides, said the commission, led by former agriculture minister, Cees Veerman.

"The biggest danger is that we will not recognize the danger," Veerman told a news conference in the Hague. "There are challenges but no dangers we cannot overcome."

The Delta Commission, which shares its name with the Delta project that fortified water defenses after a deadly flood in 1953, put forward 12 recommendations, including building dikes, creating river water basins and adding land to the coastline.

A quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level, and a 100-plus crowd of journalists, politicians, corporate officials and organizations gathered in the Hague for the commission's report, underscoring the Dutch obsession with water management.

Among the group's recommendations, which will cost over 100 billion euros this century or about 0.5 percent of the nation's total income, is a proposal to add land to the 350 km Dutch coast in a way that promotes the build up of sand.

The Netherlands -- literally the Low Countries -- has a long history of pioneering technology to help it claw back land from the sea and fight recurrent flooding.

"Our children will inherit this country, just as we did from our parents and we feel that responsibility," Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said. "This report set a foundation for the future of the Netherlands."

FUNDING BILL

The Delta Commission published its report days after Hurricane Gustav subsided from the U.S. Gulf Coast after threatening a repeat of 2005's devastating flooding in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina.

Balkenende said he would introduce a funding bill next year, including a "Delta fund" created with money from natural gas income and long-term state bonds.

"Financing of the fund should be independent from political short-term priorities or the economic cycle," the group said.

Dutch firms have led a number of major coastal projects around the world, and U.S. officials sought Dutch advice on water management after floods devastated New Orleans in 2005.

The Dutch firms that hope to benefit from the plans are the world's largest dredger Boskalis and rival Van Oord.

After floods killed more than 1,800 people in 1953, the Delta project was launched to raise dikes, close sea estuaries and construct a huge storm-surge barrier, which has attracted millions of tourists.

Since several government departments will be responsible for the project, the prime minister should take a coordinating role, while a permanent commission should monitor it, it said.

Lawmakers have suggested building an artificial island in the shape of a tulip, inspired by Dubai's Palm Island project, a development that Dutch dredging companies helped build. The commission did not include such an island in its conclusions.

(editing by Elizabeth Piper)