The Flemish government appointed Henk Ovink as chair of the international expert group to protect Flanders against the consequences of extreme rainfall and prolonged drought. This is something that is all too familiar in the Dender region, where almost thirteen years ago all municipalities between Geraardsbergen and Aalst were affected by rising water levels and hundreds of homes were flooded. Ovink must have noticed that good progress is already being made in the Dender region today, because for more than five years, all partners have been working together on what the water envoy prescribes in his 10-point plan: an integrated and adaptive action programme with flood risk and storage potential areas as guiding elements for spatial and economic development.

Dender