Report on – 33rd IC Resolution 7: Disaster laws and policies that leave no one behind (33IC/19/R7) – Netherlands

Has your State/National Society/Institution incorporated the commitments contained in this resolution into the relevant strategic or operational plans?

The commitments are incorporated into:
Strategy
Policy
Operational plan
Legislation (e.g. Law, Regulation, Statutes, Rules of Procedure etc.)

At the International, Regional, National, Local level

Explanation:

I. Disaster Law
In 2010, the Dutch Safety Regions Act (Wet Veiligheidsregio’s) was established to organize and coordinate emergency services such as fire services, disaster management, crisis management, and medical assistance. The Act mandates the preparation and implementation of disaster management plans, risk assessments, and regular training to ensure readiness for various emergencies. It emphasizes coordination and cooperation among different agencies, and levels of government, integrating medical response plans with overall emergency management strategies to ensure effective and unified responses to emergencies and disasters.

In 2020, the Muller Committee evaluated the Safety Regions Act and stated that the Netherlands must be better prepared for future disasters and crises. They emphasized that improvements are necessary in the collaboration between regions, crisis partners, and the national government in addressing interregional and (inter)national crises.

In 2021 a revised Safety Regions Act came into effect. Key changes included:
* Enhanced Cooperation: Increased collaboration between safety regions, municipalities, crisis partners, and the national government for more effective crisis management.
* Improved Preparation: Emphasis on regular risk assessments and better crisis preparation.
* Better Crisis Communication: Faster and more effective sharing of information during crises.
* Integrated Emergency Services: Improved coordination among fire departments, police, and medical services.
* Greater Municipal Responsibility: Municipalities now have more responsibility and must closely work with safety regions.

Furthermore, in the updated Safety Regions Act, attention is given to gender and vulnerable groups. It recognizes that certain populations, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, children, and women, may require additional support and protection during crises and disasters. Safety regions are encouraged to conduct inclusive risk assessments and develop tailored crisis plans that specifically address the needs and vulnerabilities of these groups. Furthermore, the Act promotes a gender-sensitive approach and emphasizes training for responders to increase awareness of the specific needs of vulnerable populations. These measures aim to ensure that crisis response is more inclusive and effective, prioritizing the diversity and specific needs of the population.

II. Addressing weather-related disasters
The Netherlands demonstrates a strong commitment to strengthening disaster risk governance, particularly in the context of water management. The establishment of the Water Law has significantly enhanced the country’s governance arrangements related to disaster risk.

The policy documents on water-related disasters emphasize the importance of connecting Disaster Risk reduction with broader sustainability and climate action goals. They highlight the need for an connected approach that extends to various aspects of sustainable development, including energy transition, housing, nature restoration, and agriculture, aligning with climate change adaptation and mitigation objectives.

The Dutch policy plans place significant emphasis on adaptive and resilient construction and planning practices. The National Delta Program is legally mandated to safeguard the country against flooding, freshwater shortages, and extreme weather events, all while keeping a long-term perspective in mind. This underscores the importance of forward-thinking approaches adopted by the Netherlands. The national government anticipates future developments through an adaptive strategy characterized by phased decision-making, flexible strategies, and a comprehensive approach which aims to use water and soil as guiding principles in sustainable development. This adaptive strategy is supported by the new Delta Scenarios that have been developed in 2024. These scenarios reflect the impact of climate change and socio-economic changes on water security, water inundation and flooding, and can be used to inform future sustainable development planning. While a holistic approach to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation is emerging into policy documents, it is still in the early stages. The Netherlands is now embarking on the implementation of these (more) integrated policies. In practice, this means that bottlenecks for effective and efficient implementation are being identified. This will be an continuous process and will improve over time.

The Delta Plan for Spatial Adaptation describes all the projects and measures for making the Netherlands water-robust and climate-resilient by 2050. The plan includes seven ambitions. They state how municipal and provincial authorities, water authorities and the national government intend to speed up and intensify the process of spatial adaptation. The government authorities work together in 45 working regions. An understanding of vulnerability to weather extremes and climate change is the basis for spatial adaptation. Municipal and provincial authorities, water authorities and the national government therefore worked with stakeholders to identify the vulnerabilities in their areas using stress tests. Since 2020, the results of the stress tests have been posted on the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Portal. The stress tests will be repeated every six years and also if that is required by new developments. In 2022, the advisory task force on pluvial and river floodings recommended conducting supra-regional stress tests from 2024 onwards, in addition to existing local and regional stress tests (including those for network functions) that are already conducted as part of the Delta Programme for Spatial Adaptation.

A risk dialogue is the step between the stress test and the establishment of an implementation agenda. Vulnerabilities to problems with excess water, heat stress, drought and flood risks are discussed during risk dialogues. The participants determine in consultation which risks they deem acceptable or not, make balanced decisions, and develop ambitions that may be included in a climate adaptation strategy.

III. International level
The Netherlands recognizes that the impact of climate change is disproportionately affecting low and middle-income countries, with implications for socio-economic and political stability. At the international level we strive for the effective and efficient delivery of international humanitarian aid, with the aim of saving human lives and reducing human suffering. In this regard, we find it vitally important that vulnerable communities, governments, civil society, local and international organisations can effectively anticipate, respond to and recover from the impacts of likely, imminent or current disasters. Growing evidence shows that early warning and anticipatory action approaches are more effective in terms of saving lives and livelihoods than post-facto response, but also more cost-efficient and dignified, by managing risks before they become humanitarian disasters. The NL Ministry of Foreign affairs among others:
* contributes through unearmarked financing to the activities of organizations to mitigate or prevent the impact of disasters and crises. E.g. by strengthening disaster preparedness and response mechanisms through the DREF and CERF;
* Furthermore, we support the OCHA Center for Humanitarian Data. The Center contributes to the further development of predictive analytics and designs trigger mechanisms for anticipatory action, which is essential for responding to ‘predictable’ humanitarian shocks that mainly occur as a result of climate change;
* We also contribute through the Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS) programme. DRRS aims to prevent and reduce the impact of water and climate-related disasters worldwide and increase the resilience of affected areas and populations;
* Besides from July 2023 till December 2024 NL is co-chairing with the Netherlands Red Cross the IFRC’s Donor Advisory Group (DAG). This presidency focuses, among other things, on the humanitarian dimension of climate change.

Has your State/National Society/Institution been working with other partners to implement the commitments contained in this resolution?

Partner with:
National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society in your country
Government and/or public authorities
ICRC/IFRC
Other National Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies
Humanitarian and development partners (e.g. UN, NGOs etc.)
Academia

Examples of cooperation:

The answer to the previous question 1 already mentions a couple of partnerships. Let us highlight two additional examples.

* The NL Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a partnership with the Netherlands Red Cross in the field of international humanitarian assistance. The current partnership runs from 2022 to 2026 (five years) and includes a component for projects concerning preparedness for effective response. Activities that contribute to the preparedness, readiness and response capacity of the National Societies from Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Mali, South Sudan and Zambia are ongoing.

* The Netherlands actively invests in enhancing its understanding of flood risk and water system management. Several knowledge programs, policy forums, and study groups are in place to continuously improve and update expertise. This commitment is evident in various cycles related to risk-based water safety assessments, including regular reports on the state of water systems and levees every 12 years and the six-year cycle of the Directive on Flood Risk Assessment. Through the Deltaprogram on Spatial Adaptation, all local governments have done stresstests, to understand risks on excess water, heat stress, drought and flood risks. The need to address interactions between multiple hazards, such as floods and droughts, is being recognized in several policy documents and taking measurements to tackle these hazards, should be taken in cohesion. In the Joint Cooperation programme for Applied scientific Research, research will be done on flood and drought risk management in regional river basins.

Have you encountered any challenges in implementing the commitments contained in this resolution?

With challenges on:
Funding constraints
Lack of specific knowledge/expertise

Details about challenges:

The answer to question 3 is combined with the answer to question 4.

Have the commitments contained in this resolution had an impact on the work and direction of your State/National Society/Institution?

Type of Impact:
Cooperation between Government/public authorities and National Society has been strengthened
Programming and operations have become more effective and efficient
Innovative tools/methodologies have been developed and are utilized
Partnerships with other humanitarian actors have been created or enhanced

Details about the impact:

Several commitments outlined in the resolution already align with the ongoing efforts of the Netherlands. The resolution has provided an additional push to fulfill these activities. However, as the policy domains of disaster law, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation plans are scattered throughout the organization, it is challenging to include all efforts and coordinate accordingly.

In the international context, the nexus between development cooperation and humanitarian efforts, including disaster risk reduction, is particularly challenging due to the need for pre-arranged financing and the general reduction of budgets. However, there is increasing evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach. One of the primary challenges in disaster risk management is the lack of connection between data systems (like meteorological services) and response actions. This disconnect is often due to ineffective communication and coordination among the various parties involved, leading to delays and inefficiencies.

The IPCC identified water action as one of the most effective measures to reduce climate vulnerability. As co-chair of the UN Water Conference in 2023, the Netherlands led efforts to accelerate action on this theme. After a lengthy process, the Water Action Agenda was born. The NL commitment “Water at the Heart of Climate Action” aims to enable different actors at global, national, and local levels to more effectively manage water-related risks in Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, particularly in the White Nile River basin. In this programme the IFRC, The Netherlands Red Cross, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF) are collaborating to combine local knowledge and global technology to help communities understand and act on the water-related risks they face.

Have the commitments contained in this resolution had an impact on the communities that your State/National Society/Institution serves?

Description of the impact:

Yes, see answers above.