Thirsty Cities | Project funding for case study Curaçao

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The research proposal Thirsty Cities - Curaçao received funding from the Creative Industry Fund NL. Because of the historical connection with the (former) Netherlands Antilles and its fresh water challenges as small island states at the forefront of climate change this design study focuses on the integration of nature- and heritage-based designs solution in spatial developments for a resilient future on the island state of Curaçao.

Remains of a wind powered water mill

Cities are very thirsty. United Nations research projects that water demand will outpace freshwater supply by 30% in 2030. Current day practices like extreme groundwater abstraction without sufficient recharge, surface water pollution and climate change are amplifying the water crisis. As opposed to the highly visible and tangible impact of flood risk, water scarcity is an invisible threat, but no less destructive. Regions suffering from drought and water scarcity are often also impacted by flooding. While efficiency, centralisation and optimisation of water supply systems are part of the solution to alleviate water scarcity a holistic and spatially integrated approach is needed. Fresh water supply on Small Island States in the Caribbean are extremely vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Because of the historical connection with the (former) Netherlands Antilles and its fresh water challenges as small island states at the forefront of climate change this design study focuses on developing a nature- and heritage inspired water sensitive planning and designs solution the island state of Curaçao. The research will run from 1 april 2021 – 1 oktober 2021.

For the case study in Curaçao a collaboration has been established with several parties:

NAAM(National Archaeology and Anthropology Management Curaçao) – Project partner
CIWC (Commissie Integraal  Watermanagement Curaçao) – Soundboard
KITLV(The Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies) – Projectpartner & Soundboard
The RCE (Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed) – Soundboard
Thirsty Cities is a long running research project initiated & executed by Suzanne Loen since 2017.
For more information and research output: