20 August 2019 – Global engineering, design, and advisory company Aurecon has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dutch based institute for applied water research Deltares, aiming to utilise adaptive planning capabilities to assist the Australian water sector to navigate future hurdles and increase its resilience to environmental challenges.

Adaptive planning is an approach that helps organisations deal with future potential uncertainties in a transparent and robust way. It supports the process of decision making on water policy, planning and infrastructure investment. The approach links current decision making to future choices, keeps options open and increases flexibility to respond to future trends and shocks.

The MoU, which was signed by Aurecon Strategic Water Planning Lead Shane Tyrrell and Deltares Department Head Operational Water Management and Early Warning Nadine Slootjes, will bring together Aurecon’s extensive water industry knowledge and advisory capability with Deltares’ academic and research leadership to help advance adaptive planning in the Australian water industry.

“Many of Australia’s largest water service providers have recognised the need for adaptive planning and are actively exploring these techniques in their future planning,” Mr Tyrrell said.

“Aurecon and Deltares will bring a joint passion and collective knowledge to help the water industry make this transition and continue to deliver great value to the community, whatever the future holds.”

Deltares is an independent, not-for-profit, applied research institute in the Netherlands. The Institute specialises in the areas of water and subsurface, and acts as thought leaders in the development and application of adaptive planning tools and techniques. Deltares played a key role in the establishment of the multi-billion dollar Delta Programme, which was put in place by the Dutch Government to ensure that the Netherlands is protected against flooding, now and into the future, and prepared for weather extremes.

Example of an Adaptation Pathways Map and the relation with adaptation signals and decision nodes and a scorecard (Source: Sciencedirect.com)

”Adaptive planning aims to keep the system at hand functioning well now and in the uncertain future. This approach requires a change in mindset, where large investments of today need to be evaluated as part a pathway of interventions that will lead us through the scenarios we see for our future,” Ms Slootjes said.

“Experiences in the Netherlands and elsewhere have shown that it is possible to make confident decisions now, while keeping the system adaptable for the future.”