Water as Leverage - Wadden Sea Region

Water as Leverage for Climate Adaptation: Wadden Sea Region
Esbjerg
Call for Action
Bringing Esbjerg and
its water to the front
The eastern neighbourhood can take
up its different water challenges and
use these as a leverage to redevelop
this part of the city. Both the
vulnerability on the socio-economical
level as well as the flooding issues
can be tackled together, thus
heightening the overall liveability of
the area and reconnecting it with
the sea. An integrated approach
is needed to think out innovative
solutions, looking beyond technical
means, towards more resilient and
nature-based concepts, where water
takes the leading role.
Concretely, the opening up and
rehabilitation of the absent stream is
the provocation for the renewal and
transformation of the entire area.
This is a complex and expensive task
that requires drastic measures and
brings many considerations to the
fore: what is the role that different
owners can play in this project, what
are the municipal instruments that
can be activated, what does this
mean for land management… Next
to that, solutions need to be found
to tackle the high groundwater table
in a sustainable way — pumping
is not a long-term resilient solution
and climate change with more
heavy rainfall will only worsen the
situation. The discharge of the water
catchment area through the port is
another complex question: how can
a middle ground be found between
maintaining the harbour aspects
and the much needed reconnection
of both the water system with the
sea for the discharge as well as
the coastal experience of the city
with the uniqueness of the Wadden
Sea. Lastly, the narrative of the
whole neighbourhood needs to
shift towards a positive story, where
solutions need to be developed that
take the different socio-economic
contexts of the neighbourhood into
account — ranging from low-income
to higher income.
To develop Esbjerg into a more
attractive city, these needs and
dreams need to be formulated
into realistic projects. This asks
for the involvement of the different
stakeholders present in the area,
with each of them having their own
goals, solutions, approaches, and
financing principles. Actors like the
port authority of Esbjerg, the utility
company of Esbjerg, the other public
actors, the citizens… need to be
involved in the redevelopment of the
neighbourhood, where the exchange
and bundling of forces has to lead to
integrated solutions. A good process
and participation are needed to
involve investors from the beginning.
The redevelopment of the east
part of the city can be used as a
pilot project, where the principles
and approaches could be used in
other parts of the city — or even
in other cities. It is important to
take the scalability, fundability and
integral character into account
when investigating and developing
solutions.
14
Esbjerg