On May 16, 2024, SpongeScapes kicked off its first SpongeLab workshop in Loosbroek, The Netherlands, introducing the geodesign approach to local stakeholders in the Aa and Maas management area.
The workshop was organized by Leibniz Universität Hannover, which is leading work package 4 of the SpongeScapes project, “Co-assessing sponge strategies and enabling environments" together with Deltares and the Regional Water Authority Aa and Maas.
The case study area Aa-dal Noord within the management area of the Regional Water Authority Aa and Maas is characterised by extensive artificial drainage systems for agricultural land. The regional water authority Aa en Maas and the local stakeholders representing the local municipalities and agricultural sector aim to ensure the continued provision of sufficient water for end users and the improvement of water quality and the environment.
This first workshop aimed to introduce the SpongeLab process and the geodesign approach to the Dutch stakeholders. Geodesign uses participatory geospatial technology tools to help stakeholders understand the impacts of different future scenarios and evaluate them against their own priorities and needs.
The Aa-dal Noord case study is one of the 14 SpongeScapes case studies and one of the two SpongeLabs.