Part I - Ch 3 Connecting with the next parts

Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineerin

Introducing guidelines for eco-dynamic development and design

One of the key activities within the Building with Nature innovation programme is the development of a guideline for Eco-dynamic Development and Design. This guidance will be focussed on implementation of the Building with Nature principles throughout all of the stages of hydraulic engineering projects (initiation, planning & design, construction, operation & maintenance). The guidance is based on knowledge and experience from within the building with nature innovation program as well as on external sources. While a small group provides the main structure of the guideline, all participants in the building with nature program do contribute. To facilitate this collaborative writing effort, and to provide users with instant feedback on their and other user’s contributions, use is made of web-environment very similar to that of wikipedia. This contribution (1) outlines the way this collaborative effort is designed and integrated within the Building with Nature programme, and (2) illustrates its progress based on a number of practical contributions already available.Hydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience

Presenting the Work of PIANC TG234 “Infrastructure for the Decarbonisation of IWT”

PIANC provides guidance and technical advice for sustainable waterborne transport infrastructure. To address the challenge of making inland navigation infrastructure sustainable, a Task Group “Infrastructure for the decarbonisation of Inland Water Transport” (TG234) was set up in January2021. The objective of the TG was to identify knowledge gaps and major challenges that need to be urgently addressed and advise PIANC on further actions, such as setting up a working group. A report was to be delivered in early2022. The TG involved a range of international experts who met every three months on-line. They jointly participated in the following activities: sharing experiences in their area of expertise; gathering, organising, and discussing literature; discussing the perspective to be taken while reporting; contributing an overview of the developments either in their country or organisations and of course in the various discussions. A final report was produced that took the perspective of the waterway manager, highlighting a number of key questions that need to be answered in the transition to reduced/zero emissions. With the state-of-art knowledge gathered by the group, it became possible to identify the existing knowledge gaps and the major challenges that need to be addressed. The report can guide PIANC in evaluating the best way forward to address the decarbonisation of IWT infrastructure.Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineerin

Sustainable urban logistics: A case study of waterway integration in Amsterdam

This paper tackles the growing challenges in urban logistics by presenting an optimal distribution network that integrates urban waterways and last-mile delivery, tailored for cities boasting extensive waterway networks. We examine Amsterdam's city center as a case study, prompted by the strain on quay walls, congestion, and emissions, urging a reevaluation of its urban logistics design. We formulate the problem as a two-echelon location routing problem with time windows and introduce a hybrid solution approach for effective resolution. Our algorithm consistently outperforms existing methods, with a superior solution quality, demonstrating its effectiveness across established and newly developed benchmark instances. In our case study, we evaluate the benefits of transitioning from a roadway-centric to a waterway-based system, showcasing significant cost savings (approximately 28 %), reductions in vehicle weight (approximately 43 %), and minimized travel distances (approximately 80 %) within the city center. The integration of electric vehicles enhances environmental sustainability, resulting in a total daily emission reduction of 43.46 kg. Our study underscores the untapped potential of inland waterways in easing urban logistics challenges. Inspired by Amsterdam's experience, global cities can adopt innovative approaches for sustainable logistics, providing valuable insights for managers striving to enhance efficiency, cut costs, and promote sustainable transportation practices.Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineerin

Building with nature / Construir con la naturaleza: Thinking, acting and interacting differently / Pensando, actuando e interactuando de manera diferente

Hydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience

Defining operational objectives for nature-inclusive marine infrastructure to achieve system-scale impact

The marine environment faces continuous anthropogenic pressures, including infrastructural developments at a global scale. Integration of nature-inclusive measures in the design of infrastructural development is increasingly encouraged, but a lack of coordination results in fragmentation of project-based measures, failing to meet the desired overall effects. To realize impact at system-scale, i.e. the seascape dimension required to achieve the set objective for a selected ecosystem component, overarching policies with shared targets towards effective nature-inclusive marine infrastructure are needed. We present a stepwise approach to work towards operational objectives for promoting selected ecosystem components that can be species, habitats or ecosystem processes, in which ruling policies, environmental conditions and the use of infrastructural development are aligned, and agreement on achievable ambitions is reached. Having clear targets will provide guidance to project developers in designing the infrastructure nature-inclusive, and in setting up relevant monitoring programs to evaluate the measures taken. We demonstrate how this stepwise approach could be applied to derive operational objectives for the design of nature-inclusive marine infrastructure in the context of offshore windfarm development in the North Sea, currently one of the most prominent infrastructure developments that changes the marine environment drastically. The European flat oyster Ostrea edulis has been selected as target species in the case study, as its once abundant population is now nearly extinct from the North Sea due to human disturbances, and there’s growing interest to restore its reefs. The application of the stepwise approach indicates the potential for oyster reef restoration in the area, based upon a clear match between ruling policy, environmental conditions, and habitat suitability within offshore wind farms. An agreement between the main stakeholders on achievable ambitions can likely be established and would translate into the operational objective to actively introduce oysters to reach an initial critical mass and optimize settlement habitat in all future offshore wind farms in an area with suitable habitat characteristics. Such an agreement on overarching objectives is crucial to align separate initiatives to promote targeted ecosystem components and to jointly become most effective, which is ultimately in the best interest of the larger community using the system.Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineerin