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CSR 2016 – Boskalis
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Boskalis, as one of the partners
in the EcoShape consortium,
has embarked on a five-year
Building with Nature project to
halt coastal erosion in Central
Java. Through a unique
integration of mangrove
restoration, small-scale
engineering and sustainable
land use the project is expected
to turn the tide.
Urgent action needed
With some 70,000 residents in the Demak district in Indonesia,
urgent action was needed as the coastline has been retreating at
an alarming rate, with the sea already having taken more than
three kilometers of land in some places. Mangrove forests that can
help dampen waves and stabilize sediment have been chopped
down for aquaculture development. There is also significant
subsidence as a result of the extraction of fresh water, making the
impact of rising sea levels even worse. EcoShape knew that it
could help prevent further deterioration of the situation by using
the Building with Nature principles to restore the mangrove coast.
Fokko van der Goot, EcoShape Program Manager and Senior
Environmental Engineer at Boskalis, and Femke Tonneijck,
Program Manager at Wetlands International, the NGO
coordinating the Java project, explain why a technical solution is
not enough to make this crucial project a success; education and
socio-economic considerations are just as important.
A technical solution is not enough
Fokko: “Boskalis is a specialist in managing sediment and in Java
we are specifically looking at how sediment can be brought to the
shore to restore the coastline. Actually, we were inspired by how
the Netherlands used to reclaim land centuries ago by constructing
permeable dams made from willows. The dams were used to
dampen the waves and take the energy out of the water, while the
CALLING A HALT TO
COASTAL EROSION
