EUREGIO Council meets in Almelo - focus on water management and drought management

After being welcomed by the Water Count Stefan Kuks and the Mayor of Almelo, Richard Korteland, Kim ter Keurs, project manager at Waterschap Vechtstromen, presented the new German-Dutch initiative to combat drought (Drought Strategies in Water Management, DIWA for short). The GPRW platform, unique along the German-Dutch border, is the initiator of the Interreg VI project for drought strategies in water management. In this initiative, 10 German and Dutch partners are jointly developing an integrated, cross-border drought approach.

Cross-border platform for regional water management at EUREGIO

Under the motto "Water knows no borders", seven partners - the Vechtstromen Water Board, the Rijn and IJssel Water Board, the Münster district government, the Borken district, the Steinfurt district, the Grafschaft Bentheim district and the Emsland district - are working intensively on cross-border challenges in water management such as climate adaptation, flood safety, fish migration and water quality as part of the Cross-border Platform for Regional Water Management (GPRW).

Water count Stefan Kuks from Waterschap Vechtstromen emphasises the value of the DIWA project:

"The recent dry spring once again emphasises the importance of our cooperation. Because, like water, drought knows no national borders. Measures against drought are more effective if they are taken on both sides of the border. That is why we are joining forces, exchanging knowledge and carrying out specific area pilots as part of the DIWA project. In this way, we are jointly building a climate-resilient water system".

Through local pilot projects - so-called area pilots - concrete measures against drought are put into practice. Along the Coevorden-Piccardie Canal, for example, measures are being implemented to increase the water retention capacity in order to better retain water in the landscape. The cross-border catchment area of the Geele Beek is also being tackled with the aim of improving the availability of water in the catchment area and promoting ecological water quality.

Learning from each other

Mayor Richard Korteland van Almelo noted on this occasion:

"With the EUREGIO platform, we are working on solutions to current challenges. We learn from other cities and regions, which often leads to new insights. What starts locally contributes to building a strong, united Europe."

EUREGIO Council bids farewell to Joris Bengevoord

The Chairman of the EUREGIO and the EUREGIO Council, Joris Bengevoord, was given a fitting farewell by his deputy Dr Ansgar Hörster (District Director of Borken) at the EUREGIO Council meeting. The EUREGIO Council thanked Joris Bengevoord for his passionate commitment to cross-border cooperation. After the summer, Bengevoord will take up a new position as a dyke warden at Waterschap Brabantse Delta.