(FIRST DRAFT) – Building Resilience for Sustainable Fresh Water Use in the Netherlands

Abstract

This paper explores how spatial planning can strengthen resilience in the use of fresh water resources in the Netherlands. Drawing on a literature review and a national case study, it analyses current capacities and adaptive strategies among key users, including industry, agriculture, drinking water suppliers, energy producers, and nature. The authors propose a planning framework that applies resilience and adaptive capacity as evaluative indicators. Findings reveal significant limitations in efficiency, productivity, and substitution capacities, alongside a need for long-term innovation. Emerging practices include improving accessibility and reliability of water resources at specific sites, incorporating water as a decisive locational factor, and promoting institutional integration between water, urban, and economic development policies. The paper highlights two dimensions of vulnerability strategies: on-site responses such as productivity innovation and thrift, and beyond-site strategies involving substitution and spatial relocation.