Water management
The potential of grassland irrigation and water mills in climate challenges.
Summers that are far too dry, groundwater levels that are too low, floods and waterlogging; these are all phenomena in recent years which make it clear to us that water management is a very important challenge that we should pay great attention to today. Intangible heritage practices can provide new insights or inspiration here. We can use the experience of the past to find the climate solutions for tomorrow.
In the themed year 'Water Management' we have therefore examined two intangible heritage practices: traditional grassland irrigation and the craftsmanship of the water miller. Together with heritage communities, managers and researchers, we looked for the possible contributions of both intangible heritage practices to climate challenges.
Grassland irrigation
Irrigating grassland is an age-old agricultural technique in which flowing water is guided through ditches to the grassland with the aim of promoting growth and increasing (hay) yield.
The knowledge behind the technique of guiding water into ditches, so that you never have too little or too much water, is very interesting in times of waterlogging and desiccation. The impact of irrigation on the soil, soil life, and the groundwater level is also substantial.
Watermill landscapes
Watermill landscapes retain a lot of water and are examples of wet areas that used to be ubiquitous in Flanders and the Netherlands.
The miller manages and maintains the mill landscape daily through the weir. As a result, he or she has valuable knowledge of using such watermill landscapes for climate objectives.
Educational past
The first themed year 'Water Management' brought various needs and requirements to the surface, providing new insights and ideas for the first steps forward.
We share these lessons learned in the hope of inspiring others to study and play a role in (intangible) heritage as a lever for ecological sustainability.
