How old traditions lead to sustainable answers for climate change adaptation/mitigation in Dutch rural areas

The climate change may pose threats to the way the Dutch live in deltas below sea level. Peat districts below sea level are at more risk, when peat gets oxidized to Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, followed by land subsidence due to low groundwater levels. However, new sustainable concepts can handle the climate change. Local materials like manure, sediment, water treatment sludge, debris from plants, and construction materials can reverse the soil subsidence. Inspiration comes from 500 BC, when farmers erected mounds for seasonal refuge. They mixed sods with manure and wooden debris to a fertile soil with high bearing capacity and resistance to failure. Today, the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) approach aims at a new life for waste materials in a transition of the rural farming to a sustainable one (the “Peat in balance” concept.