Victor Coenen’s Post

These instructions on how to run an organisation are not new. Already a paper in 1944 stipulated them.... In a manual for sabotaging industries in occupied Europe 😀

Mini-dike reclamations: a socially acceptable flood solution? Yesterday I visited the Kali Baru area where a new sea wall was built under the NCICD project. The new sea wall was built 100 meters in front of the old wall, providing extra space for the densely packed kampung. Both residents and the businesses of the kampung enthousiastically claimed the new land and turned it into a playground for kids, recreational areas, fishing platforms, construction and storage sites. Sometimes, lack of planning leads to surprising results. I am curious to see how this area will develop over time.

Anggi, the hydraulic modeller asked us: 'could you have a look at this Semarang location, my modeling results are weird....'. At first sight it looked like two ordinary parallel channels, but giving it at closer look, we saw that the channels were flowing in opposite directions....! Under gravity.... That's a new one for me!

This is my favorite place to show the complexity of building and maintaining a sea wall in Jakarta. This 4 meters high sea wall is part of the houses on the landward side and serves as a docking place for fishing vessels on the seaward side.

Never throw away old designs! Ten years ago I got involved in the coastal protection and development in Jakarta. At that point in time building a large offshore sea wall was part of the long term strategy for Jakarta. Countless plans and designs were made over the past ten years, ranging from iconic and ambitious designs to sober breakwaters. Then... silence... and a focus on upgrading the existing sea walls, which will suffice for some time. All was quiet on the big sea wall until I was invited for a high level seminar last week where ministers and presidential candidate Mr. Prabowo suddenly expressed support for building the wall. And the phone kept ringing since that day... so, will there be a big, offshore sea wall some day? I am not sure, but the topic is back on the table and opinions are being expressed in media. Exiting times. Does Jakarta need an offshore sea wall? Well, it would relieve coastal communities of having high walls built within their neighborhood. Like in the picture below. But there certainly downsides to such an offshore sea wall and these should be carefully considered.

Can wind provide power to water supply in Yemen? That was the question from UNICEF for the war-torn, poverty-stricken country Yemen. A team from Witteveen+Bos will try to answer that question. The diesel generated water supply stations in Yemen face fuel shortages due to high fuel prices and logistical issues. A few plants are already powered by solar systems, but now we will also investigate wind turbines as sources of energy. A beautiful project where clean, reliable drinking water supply meets renewable energy. Our Singapore-Indonesian-Dutch team is deeply committed to answer this question. This project is funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and will be implemented in close cooperation with UNICEF and Yemeni experts. #DRRS #Windenergy #watersupply Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat Witteveen+Bos Rens ten Klooster

My job takes me to great places, like the Ciletuh geopark, southwest Java. Wonderful, off-the-beaten-track place. I do hope that this will remain an protected area as the national tourism trend is to build 'eco-resorts' anyplace by anyone who wants to give it try.

We recently saw an increase in environmental and social assessments and are looking for new Indonesian colleagues in this field. Interested? Go to our website https://lnkd.in/dw9NvdAK and fill in your data.

This was a meaningful meeting. Although NGO's and private sector may not have the exact same views and values, working together opens minds. I have always appreciated this kind of cooperation as it takes you outside of your own bubble and comfort zone. It is not always easy and frictions will occur, but give it a try...

Together with students from Inholland university we installed 'coral spiders' or 'reef stars' in our field lab on the island of Kotok, Indonesia. Coral spiders are are rebar structures, covered with coral sand. These structures were leftovers from another project and we put them to good use, filling up an area that was damaged by the strong El Nino winds over the past weeks. One of the lessons learned: it is not easy to freedive and do some work on structures, not even at only 3 meters water depth :-) #JAAN #witteveenbos #inholland #coralrestoration #vets4welfare