Twente Ondersteboven (Twente Upside down)

On 20 June 2024, the networks ‘Twents Waternet’, ‘Onder Twente’ and ‘De Landbouwers’ will organise a congress on water, soil and agriculture in the Twente region. Administrators, officials, farmers and interested parties from the fields of water, soil and agriculture are encouraged to think together about the challenges of the changing climate for our soil and water use.  The theme of the day is 'Dry summers, wet winters'.

How we use our land and design our space, both above and below ground, is based on a climate of averages. Now that climate change means we increasingly have to deal with peak showers as well as major droughts, the balance is no longer right. Major adjustments to our water management, water use, land use and spatial planning are needed. What do increasing extreme drought and flooding mean concretely for our future?

This is a task that we all - governments, entrepreneurs, residents and nature organisations - face together and that we have to deal with now. We need to join forces and seek cooperation as much as possible. During the Twente Ondersteboven congress, we will acquire knowledge, exchange experiences and visions and connect with each other.

Various experts will take participants through workshops and together we will look for the most appropriate solutions for soil, water and agriculture. The conference starts with a welcome by chairman Erik Dijkstra, after which several Twente administrators give an introduction to the subject from their own position. That will be followed by a keynote speech by ecohydrologist Ruud Bartholomeus, affiliated with KWR and Wageningen University, on the concrete meaning of increasing drought and flooding for our future.