b'ed Dutch dredging vessels and experience.The result is that Netherlands has devel-Companies such as Boskalis and Van Oordopedanationalsealevelprotectionsys-have been major contractors in this effort. tem: As a matter of survival, this policy is supportedthroughoutthecountrythrough The$3.3billioncomplexhasupgradedtaxestopayfordikes,barriersandlocks. thePortofRotterdambyconstructionofThis investment also supports a professional new, larger, and automated container termi- team of educated engineers, planners, and nals. ecological specialists at the (Dutch govern-The Maasvlakte complex also protects thements) Rijkswaterstraat.entrance to the City of Rotterdam from stormThe Rijkswaterstraat has functions similar surges by creating a natural barrier againstto the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.the North Sea with facilities at a higher sea level than older terminals in the city center.Wehavebeguntorecognizethatthe structures that we build including the Mae-Protecting and Rejuvenatingslant barrier that protects the city of Rotter-Rotterdam dam cannot stand alone and needs staff to operate and maintain them. So, you see at The result was a movement of port facili- theMaeslantbarrierthat22peoplework ties from the center of Rotterdam out to thethere to maintain the system and make sure coast, which allowed for a major redevelop- that when the barrier needs to be deployed ment of central Rotterdam:that it works, Dircke said.This has opened up development of oldMore Research and Investment waterfront land for housing and commercialin Next Generation Computingdevelopment. So, the investment in the Ma-asvlakte port complex has economic devel- More recently we have begun to realize opment benefits for Rotterdam. that as a result of climate change, patterns One example is the reconstruction of theare changing far more than in the past and oldRotterdamDrydockCompanywhichthe concept of an unusual 100-year flood had been shut down, but was rebuilt as theis now a flood that is happening more fre-Research Design and Manufacturing Univer- quently and so we must constantly evaluate sity or RDM. This is a waterfront facility thatand upgrade our data and this means that has vocational training and other education- risk factors need to be adjusted.al facilities and even operates a water taxi toThis effort is going to require more de-and from the city center. ploymentofbigdata,machinelearning The Netherlands sea level defense is builtand, yes, even quantum computers, if they on years of experience.are capable. We need better projective data and assessments to enhance our risk assess-As so much of the Netherlands is belowments. These include early warning weather sealevel,thereislittlemarginforerror,andstormsurgeprojectionsthatareper-Dircke notes. formed in the United States by NOAA.68 THE UNCONTAINED www.theuncontained.com'