LSU, Netherlands university to collaborate on coastal protection

2theAdvocate.com: [Louisiana State University] is looking to the Netherlands for a new partnership for better protecting Louisiana’s ever-vulnerable coastline. LSU’s Department of Environmental Science, along with the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration, or OCPR, is developing a partnership with the Zeeland University of the Netherlands to build a greater understanding of the challenges facing coastal communities.

The main focus of the dual effort will be research and joint teaching. The collaboration will allow faculty and students from both universities to interact, establish opportunities for student exchanges and explore issues that face Louisiana and coastal communities in other states.

The delegation from the Netherlands, which includes government officials and university representatives, is visiting OCPR and LSU this week to draft an initial agreement. The oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico underscores the need for increased collaboration among Louisiana researchers with colleagues the world over to identify innovative policies, planning strategies and technologies to keep coastal communities safer, LSU said.

Zeeland University is in the southwest region of the Netherlands, a coastal, low-lying province that is a popular tourist destination. Residents have experienced large-scale disasters similar to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, including the catastrophic North Sea Flood of 1953. That flood resulted in the deaths of more than 1,800 people and led to the design and construction of the protective Delta Works projects, a network of dams, dikes and storm surge barriers designed to protect coastal communities.

The lessons learned in the past 50 years provide insight into effective coastal policies and public works projects that may be useful to Louisiana scientists, planners and community stakeholders grappling with similar risks, according to LSU….

A dike in the Netherlands, shot by Ceinturion, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License