How the Netherlands Helps Other Countries With Their Water Problems

In March of 2021, a significant portion of global trade came to a halt when a cargo ship became stuck in the Suez canal.
Egypt was unsuccessful in getting the ship out alone. They needed help.
Social Media
------------------------
Map Shop - thegeographygeek.com/
Twitter - / zackfleming
Instagram - / thegeographygeek
Patreon - / geographygeek
Email Newsletter - eepurl.com/hSeKpj
Sources
-----------------
www.arcadis.com/en/projects/n...
• Polder Development at ...
• The Rescue of Ever Giv...
www.theatlantic.com/technolog...
www.trade.gov/country-commerc...
boskalis.com/about-us/project...
www.wur.nl/en/project/brackis...
iwaponline.com/aqua/article-a...
www.globalagriculture.org/wha...
nlintheusa.com/2021-heineken-...
• West Closure Demo.wmv
www.waterworld.com/urban-stor...
today.cofc.edu/2019/09/26/dut...
www.cakex.org/case-studies/en...
www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/ny...
www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/...
ny.curbed.com/2019/4/25/18515...
www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/...
csengineermag.com/arcadis-lea....
www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/mfa....

[@GeographyGeek]

Every Monday, I send out an email with new videos. This way, I can reach people even if the KZbin algorithm isn't working for my videos. If that's for you, click here and put in your email address - eepurl.com/hSeKpj

[@yuzuki7531]

NO THANKS WE DONT NEED HELP FROM UNDEVELOPED NATIONS LIKE DUTCH

[@kaydesign]

The Dutch motto is: ‘Ruimte voor de rivieren’. The translation is something like: ‘Giving space to the rivers’. Don’t fight the water but live with it in harmony.

[@timdekleijn8910]

That was just another project as a response to rivers flooding the surrounding lands in the late 90's. This project was the reason why the Netherlands didn't suffer as much during the floods in N-W Europe last summer.

[@MrFlatage]

@@timdekleijn8910 Only the Dutch could come up with a plan to send rivers into space. Elon is a noob!

[@buddyspecialops]

@@MrFlatage this stupidity made me laugh

[@flopjul3022]

@@buddyspecialops he is sarcastic...

[@missrachel513]

I live life in The Netherlands and it is actually true

[@peterslegers6121]

One story that might be interesting, is the work of 11 so called "watermen" in Japan from 1872 untill 1903. They designed waterworks: improving harbours, waterways, introducing the Japan Standard (Tokyo Peil), improving the distribution of fresh water, etcetera. Their work is still appreciated by the Japanes, resulting in statues, monuments and plays. Some of the names: Cornelis van Doorn, Johannis de Rijke, George Arnold Escher (father of the famous Maurits Cornelis Escher) and Anthonie Rouwenhorst Mulder. Wikipedia has some information, Louis van Gasteren made a book and film (2002) In een Japanse stroomversnelling.

[@JJadx]

Oh dang that's interesting. Ty for sharing!

[@user-ge8yn4ql4i]

Gotta look this up this weekend.

[@peterslegers6121]

@Charging Bull I think the monthly magazine "De Ingenieur" had a several pages long article on it, but I can't remember when. It has all kinds of interesting articles of engineering in the present, future, and a bit of the past.

[@kuunib7325]

Wait my mom's family name is van Doorn.

[@The88Nomad]

That's a very good summary in English. "I can speak English, maar niet zo snel."

[@stansearcheslife6363]

The dutch saved the world trade once again This video is so underrated this deserves more

[@therealrobertbirchall]

England, most of Lincolnshire was under water until Dutch engineers started draining the marshes in the 17th century

[@MosmMAli]

my uncle Professor Yassir Baas was educated at DELEFT tech institute and is now minister of Irrigation in Sudan's transitional government

[@SparklingDiva1111]

Another Dutch project, in another way involving water: Boyan Slat has been busy since he was 16 yrs old to clean the oceans & rivers of plastic & garbage. He started project "Ocean Cleanup" in 2012 to get 90% of all plastic out of the oceans. Much of that ends up there after being dumped in rivers. So far almost 1 million kilos in plastic and garbage has been removed by his non-profit company!!! Also huge ghost fishing nets that were abandoned, lost, dumped and pose a major problem for creatures living in the oceans. He now also has found ways to do things with all that plastic, like designer sunglasses, boxes to hold make-up remover pads and so on. So another Dutch thing to be very proud of, to do with water, but entirely different.

[@yuzuki7531]

NO THANKS WE DONT NEED HELP FROM UNDEVELOPED NATIONS LIKE DUTCH

[@LevineLawrence]

Thank you very much for this update; didn't know that boy wonder is a Dutch!

[@TheFreakyable]

Water: exists Netherlands: and I took that personally

[@i.k.8868]

You forgot the Dutch polders in The Fens in the UK, in Zuławy in Poland, Saint Petersburg in Russia and the entire water infrastructure of Japan (canals, embankments, levies, ports, polders, improvement of natural waterways, etc). Even in countries without water Dutch engineers have played an important role in constructing infrastructure. For instance much of the infrastructure of Saudi Arabia was built by the Dutch (ok, perhaps this one we shouldn't be proud of...).

[@MrFlatage]

Yes and they used that infrastructe to execute and behead 81 people in a single day. I would secure important buildings in the Netherlands. Before Saudi's fly into those buildings.

[@sultan-nc6fh]

I have never heard of Dutch company building infrastructure in Saudi Arabia which project u mean

[@i.k.8868]

@@sultan-nc6fh Oil pipelines, refineries, highways, airports, and the demolition of the grand mosque of Mecca.

[@Tom-sd2vi]

Thanks for the kind words about my country and nice video mate!

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you for watching!

[@jamiearnott9669]

Excellent video and I just discovered. I can attest to what this says about the Netherlands. When I lived in Scotland, they export smoked salmon to the Dutch so they know their aquaculture for sure! Also I went on a school trip there to look at their dams and water management which are probably the best in the world. What's more I live in London now near the Thames barrier, which is a anglo-dutch construction! Thank you Netherlands

[@WhyFi59]

Another project which wasn't mentioned (and is rather smaller in scale and honestly quite embarrasing) was the fact that the Lisbon Metro extension to Santa Apolónia, a low-lying section of the city following the river Tagus, was delayed for over 12 years due to repeated floods and land subsidence from the river's floodplains. Guess what, the Dutch were called in to help and, with their expertise, the project was finally concluded without further incidents.

[@principalmcvicker6530]

I love how you don't use tons of stock footage like other channels

[@GeographyGeek]

I actually used more than I normally do in this video but I try my best to make sure the footage actually matches what I’m talking about. Hopefully I can travel a little more in the future and use more of my own footage. I was lucky enough to use more of my own for the New Amsterdam video.

[@ollywright]

Interesting video, thank you. Dutch civil engineering for water management is by far the best in the world, because the nation relies on it to survive, being mostly below sea level. Another surprising fact is that this small country is the second largest food exporter in the world, behind the USA, all from an area only slightly larger than Maryland.

[@martinhoude3518]

and it has more people per land area than any other country in the world, except Bangladesh.

[@Dave-gw6wh]

@@martinhoude3518 And Monaco & Malta!

[@thedutchman01]

While the majority of our population lives in those areas... The majority of the land itself isn't actually below sea level. Just an FYI.

[@EvilCouncil]

And then there's always ASML, being the only company in the world that makes the best chip making machinery. The Dutch has done some truly amazing and astonishing things around the globe, yet the world only know the Dutch because of weed and prostitutes. 😉

[@KootFloris]

The Dutch are also very collaborative. Why? Because "as the dykes break we all drown" It's this realization that makes them excellent at making it work together. This also reflects in team sports. Dutch teams often do well, unless.. they start talking every over way too long and deep. Yes, we have flaws as well. ;)

[@pkgamma]

It is indeed surprising that so much of the Netherlands is below water. I’m currently studying a TU Delft and indeed I see a lot of talent here that are very knowledgeable about water management.

[@remismeets2724]

One very import project that isn’t mentioned in the video is the project in Venice, Italy. To save the beautiful city, Dutch engineers build a special water barrage that stops the laguna from flooding.

[@gerbentvandeveen]

even Our King William. studied water management. And is occasionally a pilot at KLM. Willem, you should definitely continue like this!

[@dimrrider9133]

hes also a pheadofile

[@wouterh480]

I'm studying Geography and Planning at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and we will actually go to Charleston SC with a small group to study the Dutch Approach there. But yeah the Netherlands are great at water management and general spatial planning simply born out of need as water has always been a threat and space very scarce. Literary every square metre in the Netherlands is planned

[@MetDaan2912]

Welk jaar? Ik doe sinds dit jaar dezelfde studie in Utrecht. Ik ben benieuwd of wij ook zoiets hebben.

[@wouterh480]

@@MetDaan2912 zit in het tweede jaar en doe dit via het honours programma van de faculty of Spatial Sciences

[@izzydgr]

@@wouterh480 hoe vindt je de studie en de universiteit? Ik ben namelijk van plan precies hetzelfde daar te studeren ahah

[@irishuisman1450]

haha, misschien kan je mijn vader wel eens tegenkomen! Hij is een docent aan de uni van Groningen (meer bij de kant van de archeologie, maar alsnog)

[@vaness684]

The university in Groningen is prety good I lived there many years, they also got a telescope, they have open night there to check all their computer system of the remote telescope it's very interesting with nice research speach and all...

[@krabpapier8100]

My father works for "van Oord" as a captain of an bagger ship. Lately he has just been deepening ports like hamburg and gdansk but he also helped the English with constructing Dutch like water defenses near Portsmouth (I think it was). I also know he was in Mombasa for awhile in 2012-2014 or something

[@fynnboertien5392]

Mijn vader is eerste stuurman ook op een baggerschip en heeft ook lang in Mombasa gezeten. Maar ook veel in Australië en Singapore

[@whoknows8225]

bagger ship = dredger

[@what_you_say-_-]

Wat een bagger hier... iemand die het lopende project in de Maas kent?

[@jefcarlier9067]

My Father is a trashman

[@dimrrider9133]

@@jefcarlier9067 hes a Legend :)

[@NLRevZ]

Excellent job on the research into the suggested points from that community post and turning it into yet another video you can't stop watching! I'm glad we could all help you with this. :)

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you! I’m lucky I had so much help sending me in the right directions.

[@MrFlatage]

@@GeographyGeek We stand with our century old oath to protect We the People. So before Katrina made landfall our crew was flabbergasted at the US Navy running like cowards. Threatening to fire on the van Amstel as it turned it's bow toward a CAT5 and went straight for the Eye of the Storm with the US ships steaming full speed away from it. The flew it's helo's through a active storm airlifting the people off their flooded homes. Our balls straining the harnasses as our engineers clung to broken levies repairing them before killing 100000s of US citizens downstream. Why did you not air the ceremony with Bush pinning 150+ of our crew? Cos we have him the finger as a salute? Who flies over in a billions worth or flying palace while his People suffer??? But yes. A massive wall and New Orleans flood barrier build below sealevel ... in a swamp? Only when you Bring in the Dutch. To remind bush one of the walls has written 'Water You Thinking'. For the next time he flies over. We just finished building a full lenght coastal defense program. Then came global warming and ... we went right back building it up again. People can scream who's fault it is? The water is rising. And it will come. Look up the 'Afsluitdijk'? Finished in 1932 and damming ... oh an entire sea. Brilliant engineering and manual labour only with gravity assisted ziplines. What do we see the US engineers do? Swimming against the current. We built the mighty New Amsterdam flood barriers centuries ago in 'New York'. Oh guess what happens if you tear it down for profit? Yes now were just ... rebuilding what NYC already had. I really hope alot of the Infrastructure bill doesn't leave out the coastal communities. All those guns won't stop a wall of water coming your way.

[@dutchman7623]

@@MrFlatage 🤫 Mag het wat minder?

[@MrFlatage]

@@dutchman7623 Please make note of the rules you clicked on making a YT account. You wanna speak Chinese? Go to China? And stop hiding behind a fake name like a coward.

[@Giman_iets]

@@MrFlatage that is dutch

[@dutchman7623]

Egypt did it all by itself, with a little help. Maybe that's the power of the Netherlands, giving advice where needed, some technology, cooperate with local companies and authorities, making things work, without taking all credits. Let countries be proud of what they achieved, with a little help. Thanks for another great video!

[@praetoriax]

The Netherlands, the power... behind the power.

[@nlx78]

Since Putin is in the news again (never left) another great salvage was the Kursk nuclear submarine. A time Putin tries to forget, he was just president and didn't leave his summer home for many days until pressure got to high. That happened in 2002, in 2022 he did everything he could to keep it of the national news. Given the memorials to individual mayors of sailors that died, (because of him most likely if he would have take swift (lol) action) so it was spread over 15 towns and cities and noone noticed it had been 20 years. There's a 20 minute doc on KZbin, it's called: Putin's Cover Up Of The Kursk Submarine Disaster (2002)

[@dutchman7623]

@@nlx78 And an excellent mini series by Defragged History. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2GqlKmKecqqgtU

[@tiely13]

I was thinking along the same lines; if a few dutch expert give some advise is it then considered a ' Dutch project' .. This video has the tendency to that I think.

[@dutchman7623]

@@tiely13 Yes, slightly. On the other hand Geography Geek had to ask his viewers for projects in which the Dutch were involved. I think the reactions he got were an eye opener. Hence the tendency in his video.

[@catwalkster]

The Netherlands always saves the day

[@naj_z]

6:30 . I’m a Dutchman so maybe I’m a bit biased, but this is typical for Dutch people 😅. Just simple pragmatic thinking. I could totally hear a Dutch guy saying the exact sentence in a meeting.

[@suus211095]

Same hahah! I would not be surprised if that turned out to be an exact quote 😂

[@jurrienvanrooy7469]

My thoughts exactly. I don’t need to click on the timestamp to know what you’re referring to, lol.

[@TheSuperappelflap]

Fun fact; if your city is interested in urban planning or water management, the Dutch government has official ambassadors for these topics, that will come over anywhere in the world and talk about it for free. They can connect you to universities, research instututes, expertise bureaus and engineering firms. Obviously, this is done with the expectation that there will be some money in it long term. But water management is a lot cheaper than well, not doing water management. So its a win-win really.

[@LoserZalbo]

"God made the earth, but the Dutch made the Netherlands"

[@MrRickkramer]

The flooding in Europe last summer hardly damaged anything in the Netherlands, only some crops and maybe a few cows were lost that were planted in the area reserved for incidental flooding. I heard about one cow even made it back, I hope it will be spared from the butcher. Maybe some wet feet in some places but overal we did pretty well compared to other countries. There’s a project called “ruimte voor de rivier” where we make room for the river to flow over when it needs to. Some parts were financed by letting the contractor sell the gravel they dug up. So no costs for the tax payer and a nice profit for the contractor. That’s how we roll...and we have a nice piece of nature extra because the riverbed is broadened and deepened. So the animals win too. Yeah!!

[@robertneven7563]

hello O K maar als he t debiet aan water was gevallen in Holland wat was gevallen in Belguim dan was het ook een grote ramp geweest, greets

[@BorisHooiBoef]

@@robertneven7563 Mag hopen van niet maat. Woon 6 meter onder zeeniveau.

[@Mo0shii]

Limburg heeft ook bizar weinig dijken, viel me op toen ik daar woonden, de mensen geven er zelf ook weinig om, nou we hebben het gezien...

[@MrRickkramer]

@@robertneven7563 nee, daar hebben we pompen en overstromingsgebieden voor ingericht. Dat was mijn punt.

[@what_you_say-_-]

@@robertneven7563 all the water what fell in Belgium and Germany flowd thru the Netherlands??? All het water is door Nederland gegaan we waren wel tot de max gevuld maar wij kunnen iets van een 13 miljard liter wegpompen perjaar...

[@blauw67]

I was excited for this video ☺️

[@merijn5470]

I had been looking for a video like this a few months ago. Was happy to come across it now!

[@ImKuru]

I actually study at the WUR so it is nice to be seen! Great video as always, hope your channel keeps growing

[@GeographyGeek]

I appreciate it! Good luck with your studies

[@jannetteberends8730]

3 am I wake up. Forgot setting a timer on the audiobook I’m listening. Then I see there a new video of Geography Geek. Stupid enough I decide to watch it. And now I’m totally awake. But it was very interesting as usual.

[@GeographyGeek]

I appreciate it! I am both honored and feel guilty lol

[@elinewww]

Haha, as a WUR graduate who just started an internship at Arcadis I feel some heavy expectations! Interesting vid :)

[@alumpyhorse]

great clip. dank:)

[@Mrrogerthurman]

Wonderful presentation on (some) Dutch contributions to the world's water challenges. But then again, when you've lived for the best part of a thousand years with water threats from two sides (sea and upstream flooding), you get to learn a few tricks of the trade. NL is the only country in the world with its 'Rijkswaterstaat'; or state water status. All told an amazing story.

[@GeographyWorld]

Great video. Nice to see Cork included!

[@peterluttik]

Look back further. In the 17th and 18th century Dutch engineers worked on water control projects all over europe including Russia. Tsar Peter went to the netherlands before Developn op NV at Petersburg with help from Dutch engineers.

[@deldarel]

I didn't go to Wageningen myself, but it's such a unique and important university! I honestly think it is the most important university for the future of humanity, seeing how they focus on sustainable and extreme agriculture, drinking water and the likes, as well as practical solutions. Their will prevent millions of climate refugees

[@simdal3088]

Dont think so, this wil only increase the birthrates in the third world.

[@GeographyGeek]

@@simdal3088I think you mean a decrease in the mortality rate which will result in an increase in population. Birth rates are highest in poor countries but statistics suggest that birth rates drop with good education and healthcare. This can only be achieved if a population has basic food and water needs covered first. The systems of course will take time and it’s not guaranteed but the UN is projecting the world population to peak somewhere around 11 billion and then actually start to drop.

[@simdal3088]

@@GeographyGeek Lets hope so

[@deldarel]

@@simdal3088 there is no need for hope. Every country going down this path their their birth rates slashed as a result. The second step is education for women. This causes the biggest drop in birth rates after decreased mortality.

[@simdal3088]

@@deldarel If Afrika ever reaches a equilibrium maybe, large parts of the middle east and africa are moving backwards. I am not convinced they wil follow the same trajectory as the west and east asia. I hope they do, but see no evidence of it.

[@ide5587]

Great video, thank you!

[@GeographyGeek]

Thanks for watching!

[@Ikreisrond]

Actually the salvaging was done by the previous Smit Salvage (and before that Smit Tak) part of Boskalis. Boskalis itself is a giant in dredging and can be found all around the world. Their employees will often be away for months at a time to Africa, Asia, Latin America, and so on. Boskalis' offices are mostly located in the Rotterdam area. The Netherlands also has a big player in moving uncommon materials over land. The famous one is Mammoet (Dutch for mammoth), with their main office on the north shore of the Beneluxtunnel near Rotterdam. And then there's the process of maintaining water ways. Often done with special ships. The main player of producing those ships is Royal IHC. Which regularly receives contracts from around the world and which has offices around the world. The main office is in Kinderdijk though, which is in the Rotterdam area. By the way, Kinderdijk is also famous for its windmills.

[@antongeerling7457]

Great report... I learned long time ago that in the South West of England there are planes ( areas ) which are more then 100 years ago rearanges by Dutch engineers to get rid of water and made agriculture possible. Every no and then a camera crew flies in there to shoot commercials for the Dutch Broadcasting companies... because there will no pass to many motorbikes, airplanes, cars etc. It is realy looking like a Dutch polder, but without the action...! Do not forget our civil engineering pioneers Leeghwater ( empty water, wat is in a name) and Lely. Therefore is named a modern city Lelystad. Great video, Anyon D Geerling, The Netherlands

[@mwsellox7751]

The Netherlands now have the biggest Sea lock in the world.

[@futureworks6116]

really informative - great job

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you!

[@BealRutcher]

Great video. BTW my father (and some large Dutch companies) was involved in land winning and water protection in Cartagena Colombia (land win) / Ecuador (harbor dikes and locks) / Suriname (locks) / Paraguay (river management) , also one of the biggest polders in Holland (Flevoland). And some advising work in Indonesia (I think it was dredging). And more works here in Holland on canals and coast work. I even worked there as vacation work in the 1970's. They would build dikes and pump out water and grow crops of reed, to dry it. We, as his children, were moved around the globe to where he went. I liked this work but went for another profession. For him it was sad I did not follow his steps.

[@dutchskyrimgamer.youtube2748]

The Netherlands. Not Holland.

[@BealRutcher]

@@dutchskyrimgamer.youtube2748 Hahahahhaa.. We got a wiseguy here... shut the f up .. I am Dutch and I say Holland, we btw all say Holland here. BTW I live in Noord-Holland in Holland.. LOL

[@JJadx]

as a Dutchie. i'm hesitant to feel proud for mega corps like boskalis. but the sharing of knowledge..everyone deserves drinking water and dry feet.

[@MrPacoHamers]

If you do the right things a company can grow. You should be able to be proud of our large companies, they are large because they do the right things!

[@JJadx]

@@MrPacoHamers boskalis destroyed a marine ecosystem to build the useless palm islands that are now sinking back into the ocean. Did the VOC do the right thing too? Companies want profit. Nothing more, nothing less.

[@sit-insforsithis1568]

@@JJadx and that is not a bad thing you know

[@PeepshowHanky]

@@JJadx True, but as a company the VOC had a own army, basically with a carte-blanche from the Dutch goverment to do whatever was deemed necessary to gain profits in global trade. Companies like Boskalis or Smit have no goals related to kolonian tendencies; or gaining land from other people or nations. The land gained by these companies are now fertile grounds to live owned by the states where they were created, and without Smit the nuclear submarine Kursk would still be on the oceanfloor decaing and releasing nuclear waste into the ocean. And taking on goverment projects means that the majority of the cost if any are caried by a country as a whole, and not billing the people that actually suffer from water related problems. It is true that there are large Dutch or partially Dutch companies responsible for pollution and or eco threats, first and formost historically the VOC, and more recent the formally Dutch Royal Shell and KLM. But if anything being a Dutch company, flying the Dutch flag does mean they are bound to Dutch and International law. The knowledge and skills needed for watermanagement if anything are gained by learning and also suffering; and sharing that has saved maybe millions of lives globally. Unlimted and perpetual growth are the main misleading concepts of kapitalism as a system; of which you aswell endorse it or are a participant of; otherwise you wouldnt have acces to a device that enables watching or commenting on videos. The ethics and morals of ways of pursuing profits is key; by looking at past present and future. There is a big difference between profit and greed.

[@JJadx]

@@PeepshowHanky the palm islands serve no purpose other than boasting rights for Saudis. Nothing has chanced.

[@thesandero2454]

Great docu you've made. Very well put together. The Netherlands were kings of the seas in Ocean going seatugs for most of the last century. Still great,but now also highly specialised in special transport overseas,drenching and extreme offshore heavy lifting. The biggest liftcrane belongs to the Heerema company that can lift whole drilling riggs onto it's foundation. Here in The Netherlands the rivers are the main danger,because we're at the end of the river Maas,Rijn and Lek. Huge projects have recently been run to give the rivers more room to run. Now big projects are underway to collect and store rainwater to prefent water shortage during summer after 2 recent dry years.

[@Hollandstation]

Great vid!

[@typical_pothead4205]

Glad we could help :)

[@tiemovanautreve3428]

Im dutch happy you made the video and we never mind to assist ore help other countrys.

[@superdogmeatmeat]

11:01 so weird seeing an old picture of the campus, where the tower I'm typing this out in hasn't even been built yet..

[@martijnquint9754]

Great video👌🏻 and also nice to see Wageningen my birthplace being mentioned.

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you!

[@demensclay6419]

Great video, much I didn't know!

[@robvanlimpt6874]

Thanks for the great video of our great little country

[@julmen12]

I was working in poland for 2 years where we deepend and widend the fairway to stettin and with the material we build two island in stettin lagoon Also a dutch project

[@arminahoi4856]

I LOVE YOU HOLLAND, NEDERLAND ❤❤🇳🇱🇦🇲❤❤

[@livemusicdokkum]

The Netherlands

[@jdj8168]

❤

[@nycrsny3406]

Great video!

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you!

[@youria2559]

Everyone failed to mention Maasvlakte and Maaasvlakte 2, both were needed to keep Rotterdam a competitive harbour

[@c.brughuis3518]

Thanks for the great work. This small yet immensely significant country in our world never fails to fascinate me anew. I often find myself in the Netherlands, and I must say, hats off, the infrastructure and progress are unparalleled. But most of all, what I love about this beautiful country is its friendly people and the combination of super modern and traditional elements.

[@weerwolfproductions]

I studied at Wagening's baby sister, the Van Hall Institute (4 year BSc courses in Environmental Sciences, Animal Management, Agriculture and the likes). I followed a course on watermanagement when i was studying there. There were 3 Dutch students and about 12 non-Dutch students, mostly from Europe but als a few from the Americas. Our teacher took us to an area not too far from where i grew up. We walked out on one of the polder 'ring dikes', which basically holds a broad waterway that is used for both shipping and water management. He didn't say anything for a while. Then we started hearing the first surprised gasps from the foreign students. With one remark 'How do they sleep at nigh?!?' while pointing down at the farm next to the dike. So there was this body of water to our left, about 30 cm below the top of the dike. Then there was a farm about 3 meters lower, at the foot of the dike, to our right. Us Dutch students just shrugged and said 'Soundly, I suppose? Why wouldn't they be?" None of us had ever thought about sleeping at night with a body of water somewhere near by 'towering' over us - but that's basically what living in a polder is. It took the amazement of foreigners to make us realise how special our low-lying country actually is, with the whole system of ditches, waterways and pumps making sure we keep our feet dry and our crops growing. This i think also explains our enormous export in agricultural produce. Whenever I go through another country, i'm always surprised there are no ditches in the croplands. Not only do the ditch drain excess water, in times of drought we can reverse the pumps (drawing from large open fresh water bodies) and keep the water table stable for the crops. This is far more efficient than water cannon spraying the soil as that evaporates quickly.

[@Coronel62]

The Dutch companies involved for making potable water are helping indeed similar companies in many countries with practical advice and training.

[@jodiboy076]

He man eindelijk een goede review over ons land (Hey finely a good review about our land)

[@danielsonski]

So nice to see pictures of my city (Almere) :-D - born and raised ~3 meters below sea level :-D

[@johnmeijer1246]

Me too, have lived there since 1997

[@jarnobot]

I love your video's! Would you consider to release your video's as a podcast on all the podcast channels? I think many of them will fit that well without any adjustment

[@GeographyGeek]

I appreciate it! I’m actually considering it. I may just set up a separate podcast with different topics though. I haven’t decided yet.

[@jarnobot]

@@GeographyGeek That's exciting! I'm looking forward to see how that turns out!

[@pannyers]

I'm proud to be Dutch and living in Zeeland. Great video.

[@nicomez3319]

Please make a video on how maps are made with no past maps, and if tribes used maps/how they compare! Great video!

[@mosiwaterberg2304]

Yes

[@jassen4727]

I miss mentioning of the sand motor. (zandmotor). With the rising of sea levels a very important project. They have used the tides to enlarge a beach bringing more safety to the dunes on the west coast of Nederland from storms.

[@dimrrider9133]

sealevels dont rise, never did and never will be

[@philsarkol6443]

I have got no right what so ever to be proud to be dutch, other than the knowledge , the dutch export all over the world in waterprojects, agriculture and dutch design. It is wonderfull to see how it all comes together in the cities and countries as seen in this video. I still remember the flooding of New Orleans, just to mention one example, the devastation and the impact it had on all those poor people. So nice to see the help the dutch can give in solving so many problems at once! Yet ..we are warned; to keep finding solutions for rising sealevels in the near future, in the Netherlands, the European coastline and the rest of the world, it is an ongoing battle and we in the Netherlands have to start NOW!!!

[@MrFlatage]

Yes Dutchland has two WWIIs lost. Nothing to be proud of. Luckily the proud Netherlands completely defeated Dutchland. Water you thinking? European Coastline? When the Netherlands plan to dam the North Sea is implemented. There won't be any coastline, lol!

[@MrFlatage]

@@petertraudes106 Some people just can't spell well. Funny a German who doesn't know how to write his own nation, lmao!

[@MrFlatage]

@@petertraudes106 huh? Looks like we have a Chinese troller. Funny language and? Chinese cannot end sentences like every 1st grader knows, lmao! No 50 cents for you comrade.

[@wafelswafels8613]

@@MrFlatage No, only ww2 they didn't fight in ww1.

[@MrFlatage]

@@wafelswafels8613 True. I have never 'ficht' in my life either. Whatever that even means.

[@kelldot_r]

Its a honor for me to hear this i feel honord to hear this im netherlands(nederlands)

[@mickeyiiv1350]

I live in the Netherlands it's a beautiful country where we can be who we want to be that is really nice (me as a girl can go to school and do what I want) but unfortunately we live under really much pressure of the climate change. Our rivers overflow and the sea takes in more and more land. I personally worry about that and my future here if we don't do anything. Yes we are pretty good with water and I am proud about that. We saved much of Zeeland a province in the Netherlands because of our good work with water. En voor de Nederlandse mensen hier. WEES TROTS OP ONS LAND!!! By the way: don't be mad if something's wrong I am only 12.

[@egelisk4943]

'You can be whoever you want to be' doesn't really cut it with lots of people. Ethnic minorities are discriminated against relentlessly and way more than in neighbouring countries. You can only be yourself when you fit in which means being white, dressing the same as anybody else etc. Nice try.

[@didibrant7326]

Ja, ik kreeg de idee dat jij jong ben. Ik ben nog trots op Holland alhoewel ook voor V.S. Jaren geleden werd ik een burger van V.S. ( nodig voor werk). Toen was ik bijna 21 en dus nog niet een volwassene in mij staat. Niet te veel jaren later had ik uitgevonden dat voor die reden was ik juist nog een Hollandse burger ook. Dus ik was zo blij ermee. Nu goede wensen met je school en voortkomende vak. Groeten van Utah van een oude Haagenaar. Of is Haagenaares de woord als je een vrouw ben? Of bent? Mijn Hollands is niet zo goed.

[@caocaohehe]

There are some really great ideas there

[@Dafoodmaster]

from the late 90s till he ascended to the throne, even our king (Willem-Alexander) was working as a water management specialist.

[@therealdutchidiot]

Not a specialist. An advocate.

[@Dafoodmaster]

@@therealdutchidiot fair enough

[@julmen12]

Nice video Helping out the italiens now with there beaches south of venice at this very moment

[@gozert686]

Graag gedaan

[@cyclingchantal]

MS Herald of Free Enterprise was salvaged by Smit-Tak. This ferry capsized in 1987, 193 people lost their lives.

[@MrFlatage]

If your Russian sub sinks? Who you gonna call!

[@whissie]

Great video! One comment on your info. @8:54 one of the polders isn’t realized. Keep up the great video’s

[@GeographyGeek]

I appreciate it! I’ll do my best! Yeah I wasn’t trying to imply that it was I just highlighted all of them on the original plans not really thinking about how that could seem confusing. I can see how it came across that way now though. A couple other people mentioned it as well. I probably should have gone with a different visual for those few seconds.

[@XanderSyr]

I enjoyed this. So I subsrcibed and liked.

[@GeographyGeek]

I appreciate it! Happy you found my channel

[@chrislaarman7532]

1) Yes, we Dutch do have experience in handling water. But so do our neighbors. 2) We Dutch, too, tend to equal "polder" to "land reclamation". Wrong. A polder is an entity of water management, and it can (often) happen to be reclaimed land. Reversely, reclaimed land doesn't need to become a polder. Examples: reclaimed (by draining) and polder: Haarlemmermeer, the lake that features Schiphol Amsterdam Airport; reclaimed (by building dikes): coastal parts of Groningen province and adjacent Germany; reclaimed, not a polder: Maasvlakte (1 & 2), the westernmost parts of the Port of Rotterdam (reclaimed by moving sand from the sea bed onto the site); not reclaimed, yet a polder: Vondelpark, the most famous park in Amsterdam. Well, it wasn't the best stretch of land when purchased by the developers of the adjacent "better off" areas, but they rose that land by applying sand, rendering the Vondelpark something like a drain pit; not reclaimed, not a polder (but land): roughly the Southeastern half of the Netherlands. Oddity: the Sloterplas lake (in the West of Amsterdam) used to be a polder, with much (and much needed) good sand underneath, so it was turned into a deep (for diving) recreational lake. I know at least two more examples. Besides, many Dutch lakes had originated or expanded by winning turf.

[@j.p.vanbolhuis8678]

Turf -> Peat

[@chrislaarman7532]

@@j.p.vanbolhuis8678 Thank you. :-) I keep mixing up a bunch of related words across three languages. :-(

[@CorneKr]

Many older projects can stil be seen in the 'Waterloopbos' where research was done for many decades. Since a few years the site has been turned into something of an exhibition. Both Dutch and foreign projects can be found there!

[@rdb4996]

Gaaf! Ik wist niet dat dit bestond. 😕 Dit gaat op mijn uitjes lijst!

[@Halvesoul]

+1 because u added a picture of the old "gemaal de leyens" where i grew up!

[@irishuisman1450]

My parents actually both attended the university of Wageningen when they were younger. They didn't go into architectural engineering (my mom became a plant breeder and my dad an archeologist), but they definitely did have good education there (also it's pronounced more like Waa-khe-ning-un)

[@michal5642]

I am studying in the technical university at delft right now, but in aerospace not civil engineering

[@jurrienvanrooy7469]

Funny to see the tiniest most insignificant pump of my insignificant city (Zoetermeer) been featured on this video. The Leyens Gemaal, which is roughly 1500 meters from where I live. Enjoyed the video and it makes me proud to see fellow Dutchman have saved many lives from potentially being claimed by climate disasters. While I live a few meters below sealevel, I do feel safe here.

[@atlasaltera]

Very enlightening! I actually wondered about how the Dutch were making an impact with these kinds of projects, especially when seeing how badly Bangladesh needs similar water works and land reclamation.

[@gerardvermaat6944]

On another note, the dutch also like to make money... If someone pays they will come. I think thats the biggest problem for Bangladesh unfortunately. Its bizarre ofcourse, but these projects always cost billions and billions of dollars. Lives should alway be worth more, but in reality it doesnt :(

[@DenUitvreter]

@@gerardvermaat6944 The problem with Bangladesh might as well be that there is not enough infrastructure in the broad sense to work with.

[@MrPacoHamers]

When I studied civil engineering in Delft, there were always some watermanagement students doing projects in Bangladesh. I do not know the details, but what I could understand from their work was this. The main issue with bangladesh is a river combined with insane monsoon rains. That amount of water is crazy and the state of art technology isn't to the level required to prevent or control floods there. But that was 10 years ago, so maybe there are some smart solutions now.

[@atlasaltera]

@@MrPacoHamersI forgot about the monsoons actually. now that certainly is extra challenging. Thanks for elaborating

[@MrFlatage]

@@DenUitvreter Problems are there to be solved. How insane would one be to critize the Netherlands for not enough infrastructure? The guys who raised a nation from the seafloor? What is not there? They just build.

[@ninjasquad1980]

I'm proud of us, we did it guys, Americans know who we are

[@jayvinkortink7978]

Precies

[@hdabhdab1525]

Its very cool that without the Nederlands that boot was very longer stuck:) and that the Nederlands lay under the sea but don’t stand under water 🤩

[@StefanVeenstra]

There's a small forest in the polder now open to tourists, Waterloopbos. It houses many interesting small scale experiments and tests on water management and engineering for projects both domestic and all over the world. Gives a glimpse at how the dutch work. Water goes where the mind doesn't. In other words, there's always going to be some oversight you can find and fix by flooding a miniature defense and watch reality run its course, before investing in a multi billion dollar solution.

[@reneliebregts64]

Egypt: we cant get this ship out of our channal Usa: we'll handle it *short while later* shit he can't either Netherlands: i got this Usa: what can you possible do to get it out? Netherlands: *gets the boat unstuck* Usa: *bows* im not worthy

[@reasonexperts]

fun fact, these days we use 'polders' to combat climate change. One of the issues we are dealing with is due to climate change the soil gets dried up very fast in regions. So we flood polders to act as sweet lake basin. One of the examples is the driemanspolder. Which sits somewhere near the Hague. It used to be a polder as land, but now it has become an internal lake to fill the need in the 'randstand' region in case we run out of sweet water.

[@draphotube4315]

Thanks for this content! As a Dutch man I am very happy studying about what we do best. Dankuwel mijn beste kerel! Our own news agencies don’t even tell me this? Like no wonder we got no nationalism here. Suppose we are just to ‘humble’

[@ryandebruijn5761]

Misschien iets meer nieuws kijken😂❤

[@draphotube4315]

@@ryandebruijn5761 Ik had niet veel van deze projecten gezien. Die dijk bij Jakarta had ik ook online gezien.

[@soldjor9420]

We are indeed the waterbenders of the lowlands ;)

[@boas_]

At the map at 3:08 you forgot the Ijssel and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal

[@RaduVelcea]

Hi. Great video. I'm also interested in making this kind of videos, with a lot of visual support for my viewers. Could you tell me what resources are you using for video and images? Thanks

[@henryhuinink9718]

The Dutch engineering consultant Ruimt Voor De Rivier designed a new water course for the Don River in Toronto, Canada. It's the first stage of a multibillion dollar reclamation project in Lake Ontario, ongoing right now.

[@sjakievankooten]

Ha! I thought I recognized that VOC stone sign. It's located in Hoorn on the old coin mint located on the street 'onder de boompjes'

[@telorceplok8812]

narrator addressing The Netherlands: "...but not a large/powerful country/company" me, an Indonesian: bruh??

[@GeographyGeek]

Sorry lol

[@romo9122]

Even the king has a degree in water management 😊

[@alan-jh1uo]

interesting!

[@fredjerik6592]

bro we are the water benders. tx for recognition

[@womenfrom0202]

5:00 pumping water out with energy that will make the use of these pumps increase, (check the black fume from the exhaust pipe)

[@Pvemaster2]

The pumps aren't used that often, and even if they were on 24/7, it would have a negligible effect on rising sea levels. Don't forget only 100 companies cause 70% of emissions.

[@51bikerboy]

They can operate much cleaner. Maybe the Americans don't know much about diesel engines?

[@Crytica.]

Maybe the US should ask the Dutch to prevent water catastrophes and work more with them instead of fixing it after they happen...

[@GeographyGeek]

That’s not how the US operates lol

[@smurvje]

@@GeographyGeek Not just US, but human behaviour in general. I don't know if there's an English equivalent of this, but the Dutch saying "Als het kalf verdronken is dempt men de put." ("The well is only filled after the calf has drowned.") says it all.

[@quickwimnl]

Where there is water, there are Dutch. Dry dessert. After 2 days you find a oasis. When you get there, you will be greeted with a friendly: "Hallo".

[@RFGfotografie]

This makes you feel proud as a Dutchie :P