The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research has awarded the prestigious Veni grant to Bas Borsje’s Building with Nature research proposal ‘Soft and still safe’.
Over the next four years, he will be teaming up with fellow experts from Deltares and Ecoshape to look at the stability of salt marshes during storms. The knowledge acquired will contribute to the development of soft forebanks throughout the world. This approach mitigates wave impact and enhances flood risk management.
Building with Nature is a promising approach to coastal protection that is gaining more and more international ground in preference to the traditional construction of dikes and dams. The approach helps to make coastal areas and economic development climate-robust.
Excellent research proposal
The Veni grant is given to scientists who have recently completed their doctorates and who have ‘a striking and original talent, and a major fascination with challenging and pioneering research’. The grant comes with a sum of €250,000 that will allow Bas to spend most of his time over the next four years on investments in the ‘Soft and still safe’ study.
Another cause for celebration is that this proposal was the only one in the 12 (out of 95) proposals from the Technical Sciences that was described as excellent by the jury, and so it was first in the ranking.