Editorial: Creating greater social value

Guest editor - René Kolman, former IADC Secretary General

Editorial: Dredging for sustainability

Guest editor Pieter de Boer Senior Advisor, Rijkswaterstaat

Editorial: Sustainability in action

Guest editor Polite Laboyrie International Director, Witteveen+Bos.

Empowering coastal youth through marine education

Dredging projects often focus on engineering and environmental outcomes, but their social impact can be equally transformative. In Costa Rica, DEME’s maintenance dredging works for the Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (Recope – Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo) haves parked a meaningful community initiative. Through the “Friends of the Sea” campaign, DEME, in collaboration with the national NGO called Latin American Sea Turtles Association (LAST), engaged young students from Moín Primary School in environmental education, fostering awareness and responsibility. This article explores how dredging projects can serve as platforms for social engagement, education and long-term sustainability.

Fehmarnbelt tunnel trench dredging project: a multifaceted sustainable approach

A fixed and direct transport connection between Scandinavia and Central Europe has been an enduring vision for many decades. This vision is now about to be realised with the construction of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link – an immersed tunnel that will cross the approximately 18-kilometre-wide Fehmarnbelt sea strait between Rødbyhavn in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany.

GULHIFALHU RECLAMATION PROJECT

Environmental and social management in marine infrastructure projects is fast evolving. In Gulhifalhu’s pristine waters, Boskalis delivered one of the Maldives’ most complex dredging and reclamation projects amid sensitive habitats and high stakeholder expectations. Guided by international best practice and close collaboration with partners, robust controls safeguarded marine habitats while enabling development. The result stands as a blueprint for future projects, demonstrating that sustainable marine infrastructure can deliver lasting benefits for nature, communities and economic progress.

INTEGRATING DREDGING IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Adapted from the second chapter of Dredging for Sustainable Infrastructure (2018), this article forms the foundation for this first issue and presents the concept of sustainability in relation to dredging projects. It describes the approaches and practices that are key to creating more sustainable solutions and infrastructure – a modern way of thinking about dredging.

NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS IN BENIN

In early 2018, the Government of the Republic of Benin awarded Jan De Nul a design and build contract to protect a 5-kilometre-long stretch of coastline near the town of Avlékété. The project fits into the government’s plan to turn the local coastal zone, which includes a lagoon, sandspit and beaches, into tourist hotspots. Yet the persistent oceanic swell and chronic erosion required an intervention. This is the perfect starting point for a nature- based structure that offers multiple ecosystem services. Its long-term effectiveness, however, hinges on the support of its end users. Stakeholder engagement was therefore central to the project.