Vincent van Zelst

Vincent obtained a MSc. Degree in Hydraulic Engineering at the faculty of Civil Engineering of Delft University of Technology in 2017. After graduating, Vincent commenced working at the independent research institute Deltares at the unit Marine and Coastal Systems. Here, he is involved in numerous research and consultancy studies related to coastal Nature-based Solutions and cohesive sediment dynamics. Since January 2023, Vincent started a part-time PhD position (4 days a week). The study is involving quantification of the role of vegetation based Nature-based Solutions in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction along global coastlines in the current and future climate using numerical modelling and global data. 

The current research of Vincent is focussing on the role of coastal vegetation on reducing the impact of natural hazards, such as flooding and erosion. In his research he combines global data with various numerical models to identify and quantify relevant processes. Ultimately, this would yield insight in where vegetation based Nature-based Solutions are most applicable to reduce flooding and/or erosion.

Originally, coastlines are developed and stabilized by natural processes and ecosystems. However, human settlements in low-lying areas rely heavily on hard engineering (grey interventions), but on the long run these will be expensive and require large maintenance efforts for major coastline stretches. Furthermore, these interventions might appear cost-effective in the short-term, but could transfer the problem in time or space by alternating flows of water, sediments and nutrients, thereby decreasing the capacity of coastlines to adapt to changing external pressures. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are actions that protect, sustainably manage and restore ecosystems to address societal challenges (IUCN, 2016). Nowadays, vegetation -based NbS (green interventions) focusing on mangroves and marshes are gaining popularity to mitigate climate and disaster risks. The decision where green or grey interventions are applicable is not trivial and a combination, green-grey or hybrid interventions is also a possible adaptation option. What does determine the effectiveness of NbS in different coastal configurations?