The 22nd World Congress is an important meeting held by the global dredging industry based on the current industry situation and during the critical period of industry transformation and upgrading. The meeting clearly put forward the concept of “ecological dredging” and advocated the global dredging community to promote traditional dredging by developing an ecological dredging system. Transformation and upgrading of the industry and high quality development.
“Ecological dredging” is undoubtedly an important path for the industry to face the future. Dr. Ye Qinghua, a senior researcher from the Delta Institute of the Netherlands, made a special interview with the reporter during the meeting to explain the green innovation development of the future dredging industry.

Senior Research Fellow, Delta Institute of the Netherlands

The Dutch Delta Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to the research of water, groundwater and water resources applications. Designed to develop effective solutions and innovative applications for people, the environment and society at large. Dr. Ye Qinghua is mainly engaged in the research and application of sediment transport and coastal dynamics, geomorphological related research and 3D models. Regarding the construction of ecology in the dredging industry, Ye Qinghua explained his understanding to the reporter.

The 22nd World Dredging Theme "Driering and Ecological Harmony"

He said that the theme of this World Dredging Conference is “dissemination and ecological harmony”. The object of dredging industry is the natural world, including natural systems, natural rivers, natural coasts, natural lakes and so on. In the process of river, lake and sea management, we hope that they can return to the original ecological state, the industry has carried out many work and engineering project research and so on. Therefore, the dredging industry is an important force for ecological restoration and ecological construction. However, in the process of dredging operations, it is very important to follow the laws of nature, that is, "more harmonious with nature." Ecological restoration and adaptation to nature do not mean the complete restoration of nature into the most primitive form. Nowadays, in the human knowledge base, we have mastered many laws of nature itself, such as the laws of physics, biological Laws, ecological laws, etc., using these laws and related models, we can actually predict the future and take appropriate measures in a timely manner. Only in this way, not only conforms to the development of human beings, but also conforms to the laws of nature, and has become a win-win process.

Ye Qinghua introduced how the dredging industry can adapt to nature through several examples.
“The first is in the Netherlands,” Ye Qinghua said. “The Netherlands is a relatively special country. One third of his land is below sea level. It depends entirely on the seawall, and the seawall needs to be maintained every year. It needs to be sanded to maintain its height. Sand supplementation means dredging, and each process of sand filling is actually a disturbance to the natural ecosystem. Ten years ago, several in the Dutch Delta Institute Experts put forward a concept that puts the sand that needs to be replenished in the next 20 years in one place. Only through one dredging, then with the help of natural forces - tides, waves, coastal currents, etc., push the sand to the need for this mud The place of sand, which also shaped the example of using natural forces."

Sediment engine engineering

The second case is a deep-water lake in the north of the Netherlands. After being separated by a seawall, the seawall is divided into two lakes. Scholars have observed through birds that there are more birds in one lake and fewer birds in the other lake. Later, it was found that because one of the lakes has a deeper depth, the wind caused the waves to be larger, and the bottom mud made the bottom of the lake more Turbidity caused the birds to find food. After research and inference, experts and scholars decided to build a small project to help the birds survive in this lake. So by dredging, silt handling, a small island was built in the center of the lake. The island is almost as high as the average sea level. At high tide, it may be submerged below sea level, so it is equivalent to a small swamp. The significance of this island is that it reduces the waves while giving the birds a habitat. Similar to this kind of engineering, in the process of understanding the natural system, human beings understand the laws of nature, conform to the law, and then fine-tune the process, which can finally restore the natural energy and increase the ecological value of the region.

Facing the future, Ye Qinghua also discussed with reporters the issue of sea level rise that has received much attention.
Ye Qinghua said that in the Pacific Ocean, sea level rise is now everyone's consensus, but the reasons for the rise in sea level are not yet unified. Experts believe that there are various reasons, such as climate change, etc., but the sea level The rising trend is the consensus of scientists around the world. After the sea level rises, there will be a big impact on some islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and even some countries along the coast.

In the case of the Netherlands, the current seawall embankment standard is once in 100,000 years. But if the sea level rises another meter, then the standard will become 1000 years, or once in 5,000 years, which means that the finances will cost money, all taxes should be distributed, and so on. There will be a balance between flood control, storm surges or the economy of the embankment, but one day, it will not be able to afford to maintain the seawall. What about the time? So now the Netherlands spends a lot of money and manpower to study this matter every year, and it has to be studied until 2030.

What to do after the sea level rises, what to do in the Netherlands, what to do in the coastal countries of the world, if the sea level rises by 1 meter, its flood disaster will increase, and one day, its losses will exceed our current investment. So humans are now continuing to increase investment to resist floods? Still taking a step back and returning the land to nature, or taking another approach, this whole humanity proposition still requires a lot of research. There are actually a lot of theories, such as not providing protection or providing partial immersion, but there is still no conclusion.
  China's dredging industry is now accelerating the pace of transformation and upgrading while also actively contributing wisdom and strength to the “Belt and Road Initiative” initiative. Ye Qinghua also expressed his views.

China's dredging power adds bricks and tiles to the “Belt and Road”

He said that Dutch dredging enterprises accounted for about 80% and 90% of the world before the rise of Chinese dredging enterprises. Through nearly 20 years, we can see that China's dredging has achieved rapid development and played a role in the global dredging industry. Very important roles, including China's dredging, manpower, industry, technical level, etc., China's dredging and local dredging forces actually cooperate with each other in many places, such as in Africa, Canada, Barama and so on. This is a very good thing in itself, and the countries along the “Belt and Road” should also welcome the Chinese forces to join the market, promote the development of the industry in cooperation and competition, and also help the local economic construction.