Building a Nation through delta development: the Dutch Delta Approach in the Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar

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Building a Nation through delta

development: the Dutch Delta Approach

in the Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar

T. Ludden, 10756604

Bachelor Thesis, BSc. Human Geography

University of Amsterdam

Supervisor: M.A. Verzijl MSc

16-3-2018

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1. Introduction

1.1 Actualities and Nation-Building

The Rohingya refugee crisis sees more than 600.000 people fleeing the country of Myanmar. The Rohingyas are a Muslim ethnic minority in the North-Western part of Myanmar. While, the Myanmarese government acknowledges the existence of 135 ethnic groups, it fiercely rejects the existence of the Rohingyas. This results in military action in the region and to alleged crimes against humanity (Amnesty International, 2017). The why question of these events partly has its answer in the ethnic difference of the Muslim minority and the Buddhist majority in Myanmar (Mahmood, Wroe, Fuller, & Leaning, 2017). This fierce rejection of a religious minority hints to strict and brutal nationalism in a country which is known for its ‘peaceful’ Buddhism. These events raised the question how the nation of Myanmar was built. The country’s colonial past, its post-colonial isolation as well as international intervention nowadays all could have influenced-, and could still influence nation-building processes in the Irrawaddy delta, Myanmar,

1.2 Problem statement

Myanmar is in the news for several reasons. The recent Rohingya refugee crisis, the switch of its international name from Burma to Myanmar, and the debated ‘liberation’ of military rule which had the country isolated for almost fifty years could come to people’s minds when thinking about Myanmar. Striking about these three events is the connection to the

development of Myanmar as a nation. The name change is generally seen as an attempt to reconnect to the country’s past, before the British conquered the lands as part of their empire (Holiday, 2010). Myanmar is supposed to be the name not only for the Burman ethnic

majority but also for the hundreds of other ethnic minorities. The Rohingya however, are seen by the predominantly Buddhist government as a threat to Buddhism, who do not belong in the modern state of Myanmar (Mahmood, Wroe, Fuller, & Leaning, 2017).

Being a country which is struggling with developing a national identity, the country is struggling with general development as well. Issues in almost every aspect of society can be identified. Almost half of the population lives under the poverty line of the World Bank, not able to afford primary schooling which results in high levels of illiteracy. The relatively unstable economy, although more open since the political reforms of 2010, is still lacking in job opportunities and is thus very much dependent on rice production (Steinberg, 2013). Moreover, since the centre of the economy is located in the Irrawaddy delta, it is particularly

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vulnerable to effects of climate change and an increasing sea-level rise. Increased salinization which affects crops and fish yield, an increasing flood risk due to sea-level rise and relatively sinking land are among the problems (Syvitski, et al., 2009). The already sinking delta makes that the country is particularly vulnerable to changes in climate which are increasingly

occurring. A devastating example can be found in cyclone Nargis which hit Myanmar in 2008, killing around 150.000 people and destroying the fragile agriculture in the Irrawaddy delta (Selth, 2008). Thus, a rising sea level and intensification of cyclonic storms are

phenomena which the delta country of Myanmar is facing. Since the available knowledge in: flood protection, sustainable development of agriculture and energy is lacking domestically, and because of a lack in finance, Myanmar is looking for help outside of their borders (Bandinu, Barendsen, Delfos, Janse, & Overtoom, 2017).

One country which is specifically experienced and well known for their ability to keep the water out is the country of the Netherlands. The Dutch are well aware of this and are looking to export and sell their water related knowledge while at the same time helping developing countries (A. Commandeur, personal communication, December 19, 2017). The Dutch are extending their delta knowledge through feasibility studies, public-private

organisations and intergovernmental agreements among others. This often results in smaller scale projects such as the sustainable Dala project of the TU Delft, which looks at the sustainable development of the Dala township near Yangon, or the short-term studies of the DRR teams. However there are cases where plans for the whole delta are being made such as the Mekong delta plan in Vietnam (2013). While these studies are supposed to be context specific there is little literature which investigates the influences of foreign delta intervention on nation-building processes in the delta.

Scott gives the example of the emergence of commercial forestry in the seventeenth century. Instead of natural forests, with its flora and fauna, the Prussians started to reform forests so that commercial exploitation could be optimised (1998). While the new form of forestry provided many economic benefits; more useable wood fibre, a standard protocol in woodcutting and relatively simple supervision of the forest among others, scientific forestry meant a significantly different way of living for the inhabitants of these forests. They were now deprived of all the grazing, food, raw materials, and medicines that the earlier forest ecology had provided (Scott, 1998). Moreover, their connection with the forest, the place where they lived, was lost. While this example dates from the 17th century, similar examples can be found in development interventions worldwide. The Dutch Delta Approach (DDA)

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plans to manage a delta in a more efficient way (RVO, Netherlands, 2014; Partners for Water, Netherlands, 2013). While the results could be positive for many actors, the national identity of many inhabitants of the delta could be affected. Since the struggle against nature or water could play a positive role in nation-building (Scott, 1998; Knippenberg, 1997), as well as a negative role (Stockwell, 2005; Biggs, 2012), it is of scientific as well as societal relevancy to investigate the effects of Dutch intervention in the Irrawaddy delta, Myanmar. The struggle against water and the international intervention it brings in, could be a cause reason for the ongoing uncertainty and conflicts in the nation of Myanmar (D. Hogendoorn, personal communication, December 12, 2017; Steinberg, 2013).

2. Theoretical framework

2.1 Nation-Building

The old-French word naissance (nation) meant ‘place of origin’ and suggests that nations would be place bound. Ethnicity comes from the Greek word of ethnos which means folk. Acknowledging that folks origin from a place, it is generally accepted that ethnicity and nationalism are connected (Calhoun, 1993). Ethnicity could be seen as the extension of kinship and a nation would be the extension of ethnicity as the common variable factor of cultural commonality (Paul, 2006). This theory is not really applicable anymore in a continuingly globalising world. James Paul uses the oxymoron: ‘abstract community’ as a modern definition of nation. A society of strangers, usually connected by a state and a subjectively embodied community whose members experience themselves as an integrated group of compatriots (ibid.). This definition aligns with Benedict’s view on nations, since he approaches nations as imagined by people. Nations would not be created through

determinants such as race or religion within a cartographic border, instead Anderson claims that nations are imagined into existence by people who believe that they share similarities (Anderson, 1983). This claim suggests that nations are not static and not always created in the past. Other authors elaborate on this, claiming that if a nation state binds certain social

elements, it automatically unbinds other social elements elsewhere (Butler & Spivak, 2007). Following Anderson’s claim of imagined communities, the need of Myanmarese nationalists to build a nation with only one religion will be difficult.

Overall, some major recurring terms of defining nations are: language, history, culture and still territory. While it should be noted that a society of individuals can feel connected

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through many more ways. The government can try to build a nation in several ways. Homogeneity in societies can be built with education, promoting a common language and building infrastructure to connect the country more with each other (Alesina & Reich, 2013). Examples negative face of nation-building are the prohibition of local culture and even genocide towards ethnic minorities (ibid.). Religion can be a convergent factor as prayer brings many people together, as well as a divergent factor. Many domestic wars historically as well as recently have a religious background, Buddhism being no exclusion (Walton &

Hayward, 2015).

The factors written above, that form a nation are often all deeply social embedded factors and are formed over many years. However, Paul writes that nationality blooms in times of crisis. He gives the example of the 9/11 terror attacks on the WTC in New York, 2001, where a socially disintegrating country (USA) was united by heroic images of ‘their’ firefighters saving people from a burning tower (Paul, 2006). Likewise as the common struggle against foreign terrorism, other authors write that the common struggle against water would give nationalism a boost as well (Knippenberg, 1997) (de Pater, 2011). During the Zuider Zee project for example, supporters framed the sea as an unpredictable enemy of the Dutch nation. By defeating this enemy in the completion of the Enclosure Dam (Afsluitdijk), the Dutch would have grown stronger as a nation (de Pater, 2011). Historically, the Dutch overcame many threats of the rising sea, not always without sacrifice. The idea that the Dutch tamed the sea and rivers can be seen as something which defines the Dutch nation, and is also something they are known for worldwide (ten Brinke, 2007).

2.2 High Modernism

James Scott’s high modernism is a term which is best known for the transformation of society by authorities through high confidence in technology and science (1998). It rose in the end of the nineteenth century in Europe and North America when technology and science developed rapidly and the planetary boundaries were not yet in sight. Inventions such as the internal combustion engine and electricity made some major things in everyday life such more effective that managing data of people became more attractive for the state. High modernism also works well when a progressive authoritarian leader comes to power. These leaders often have large critiques on society as it is and use advanced science and technology as

prescription to society. Examples of such are: Nazism, the Iranian shah and late-colonial development schemes. In this chapter the high modernism components: society and authority will be explained before discussing some examples of contemporary high modernism.

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Thereafter, the focus will be sharpened to water infrastructure as high modernism. Finally the link between high modernism and nation-building will be described.

One of the preconditions of successful high modernism is the workability of society (Scott, 1998). In 1782 Condorcet predicted that society could work like natural sciences do. The simplification and rationalisation used in the example of scientific forestry could

potentially also be applied on society through industrial social engineering. Before this way of thinking, activities of the state were often confined to those who contributed to the power and wealth of the state’s sovereign. When inhabitants of a state were starting to be seen as data, state officials could characterize society such as scientists could control forests. Data of society practically meant: age profiles, fertility rates, literacy, property ownership or homicide rates. These statistical facts could be converted into social laws in order to improve overall wellbeing of society. Instead of providing a description to its inhabitants, the state could now provide prescriptions (Scott, 1998).

Next to the categorizing of society, the leader of planning of the new, high modernist society should be one who has little resistance from critical political opponents. Lenin, Hitler and the Shah of Iran were all authoritarian leaders with almost no limitations in power. High modernist ideology therefore implies that politics should be devaluated since they could interfere with the social solutions made by specialists from the field of science and

technology. Similarly to devaluating politics, high modernists believed that also nature could stand in the way of the development of society. A prime high modernist example can be found in the construction of the Panama Canal. Where once nature interrupted trade and travel, new technologies provided a solution to break the natural barriers of the world (Sutter, 2015). Again, the construction of the canal was led by an authoritarian superpower with an urge to develop other countries, the United States.

High modernism continued in the 20th century as the two world wars and the industrial warfare propelled states into mobilization of society and economy. High modernism also thrived in war-torn countries (Nazism) and the affected states of the great depression. States tried to motivate their inhabitants by sketching optimistic future scenarios, where the people worked together to support the technological and scientific developments of the country they lived in (Gregory & Sailors, 2003). Especially in colonial regimes experiments of social engineering were committed. Since some western stated inherently had authoritarian power in colonies, schemes were rolled out to remake their native societies in oppressed countries. An example can be found in colonial Zimbabwe, where through a social engineering act peasants

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were forced to work in modern agricultural systems which were already implemented in Britain. The Rhodesian peasant society was transformed by modernist planning by the British which improved the overall yield up until Zimbabwean independence. Without the British authoritarian power, the system collapsed and the traditional system was for the most part re-established. Having its roots in the British colonial period, the Zimbabwean government struggled to use agriculture as tool for nation-building (Thompson, 2007).

2.3 High Modernism as tool for nation-building

Historically as well as contemporary high modernism plays a large role in nation-building processes. Planning society could literally be seen as an extreme form of nation-building. Brasilia is an example of high modernist urban planning (Williams, 2007). The plans of Lucio Costa, were realised into the current capital of Brazil. Brasilia is centralised around two axes, the monumental and the residential axes. The residential axes exist of 96 Le Corbusier inspired superblocks, 6 stories high apartment buildings connected by relatively large roads. These massive residential buildings created a new and clear living society easier to govern since everything is planned by the government. Another example of this is the sectoral tendency of Brasilia. The city is segregating all the banks, the office buildings, and the amusement centre. This had been done so that Brasilia’s inhabitants could go to work in the most efficient way, a manifestation of the then Brazilian ambition of being an industrial superpower in the world (Williams, 2007). The great optimism in the future is a key aspect of high modernism (Scott, 1998).

The idea of a new central capital was primarily to attract people to the inward lands of Brazil. This would create a better balance demographically and economically. Another reason for a new capital was the need for a monument of Brazilian national identity. Since Brazil is a country of many races and cultures with influences from Europe as well as the Amazon jungle. Brazilian progressive nationalists found this ambiguous character problematic in realising a modern, strong and unified state in a period of transition (Tollerson, 2014). By moving the government to one centralised place in the country, Brazil tried to reach out to its inhabitants in the amazon region. Moreover, a new capital would be a step away from the colonial past since Rio de Janeiro was influenced by many Portuguese architectural styles. High modernism is a relatively radical optimistic vision for the future of a certain society. Many large infrastructure projects or social engineering experiments have been completed, supporting on the then latest science and technology. However, as science and technology improve over the years, capital cities and other major urban planning projects do

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not. Le Corbusier was a highly praised architect in his time but has been criticised as well. The large scale and monotony of its designs created feelings of isolation, forced conformity and disorientation among other negativities. High modernist social engineering experiments were thus partly shaping the personal identity of an inhabitant as well as building a nation on a larger scale (Holsten, 2009).

2.4 The Dutch Delta Approach

To transform the unpredictable nature of deltas into agri-cultural and urban spaces, people often intervene with engineering projects (Scott, 1998), examples being dams, dikes and sluices. Simultaneously with an increase of deltaic struggle, an increase of Dutch water activities can be found. Dutch delta planners are appreciated worldwide because of their historical expertise in working with water (Zegwaard, 2016). A central pillar in Dutch delta strategies is the concept of polderen. A polder is practically building dikes around low lying pieces of land in combination with the construction of a drainage system. By separating land from the hydrological regime, domestication or cultivation can be possible while at the same time forming a controlling institution (Willam H., 2002). This relatively simple model of water management could be seen as the base of the DDA. To create a polder successfully, all the dikes surrounding the land must hold the water out. In the middle ages, farmers had to cooperate to reach an agreement on shared responsibility for maintenance of the dikes and pumping stations. Some groups of farmers even organised themselves in water boards which set down rules to responsibilities and fines were imposed if one would break those rules (van Schoubroeck & Kool, 2010). The model was also used during the 17th century when the Netherlands were seven separate united republics. The model of polderen was then used to reach consensus in the economic development of the united republic (Prak & Luiten van Zanden, 2013). Later this polder model became an inspiration for a cooperation model to avoid labour conflicts. This polder model, which is included in the Socio-Economic Council (SER), brings employers organisations, labour unions and government together in talks about collective labour agreements.

Having polderen as its core, the DDA can be explained through the following two major concepts: adaptive capacity and the integrated approach.

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The first and foremost term which is used by Delta organisations is the adaptive approach. While many developments remain unclear for policy makers concerning the speed and impact of climate change and the size of the costs of measures (Delta Comissioner, 2016), the

Netherlands are the first to ensure flood protection and freshwater supply until the year 2100. In order to do so, the water management has to be adaptive to a continuously changing

climate and social conditions (van der Brugge, Rotmans, & Loorbach, 2005; Restemeyer, van den Brink, & Woltjer, 2017). Two terms that could define adaptiveness are: robustness and flexibility (Marchand & Ludwig, 2014). Robustness is defined as performing satisfactorily under a wide variety of futures (ibid.). In the Dutch Delta Programme, this can be found back in risk limitations using a statistical parameter: the frequency of exceedance (Wesselink, de Vriend, Bijker, & Krol, 2007). This gives the risk that the current design conditions for the Dutch flood protection system would be exceeded (see Figure 2). Therefore every dike, dam and must be built with this method in mind creating a robust water defence system. Robust

decision making is quite in favour in climate change literature because of its uncertain intensity.

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Flexibility would mean that that something can be easily adapted to shifting, unforeseen, conditions (Haasnoot, Kwakkel, Walker, & ter Maat, 2013). An example of Dutch flexibility in delta management can be found in the realisation of the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier in 1986. This construction would close off the eastern Scheldt from the ocean in order to protect the land from the sea. However in the 1970’s, it became clear that an ecological disaster was looming. The absence of the tidal range and inflow of polluted river water had started to cause significant problems of pollution in already closed off estuaries (Wesselink, de Vriend, Bijker, & Krol, 2007). Environmental NGO’s joined the already critical fishery sector in protests against fully closing of the Eastern Scheldt. After political backings of the protests, construction stopped for several months, in which the planning had to be adapted. The solution surfaced after more scientists and building companies were included in the conversation (Bijker, 2002). Instead of fully closing of the water, a giant sliding sluice door, which would only close during predictions of high water, was realised. It is argued by some, that this adaptation of policy radically changed water engineering in the Netherlands. While achieving safety levels was still the main goal, ecologists were playing an increasing role in Dutch water management (Disco, 2002). Hereby, the concept of

collaboration was crucial because diminishing flood risk and climate change in deltas is a cross-cutting theme. Numerous sectors like: water management, spatial planning and nature conservation, were involved and ask for calls for level’, actor’ and ‘multi-sector’ arrangements (Gupta, et al., 2010). An adaptive approach in the DDA thus bolsters on the terms of robustness and flexibility and also includes integration of stakeholders, multi-level governance and innovative solutions.

2.4.2 Integrated Approach

Deltas are among the busiest places on the planet. Water challenges in such crowded spaces are inherently connected to challenges in spatial planning, biodiversity and economic/social activity (Partners for Water, 2014). An example can be found in the Dutch dunes, these are a form of coastal protection as well as a source for socio-economic activity (Stive, Fresco, Kabat, Parmet, & Veerman, 2011). Following the Dutch model of polderen the DDA includes an integrated approach to delta management, involving various scientific disciplines as well as non-scientific actors such as inhabitants and companies. On the one hand this is for

inclusiveness of stakeholder in the decision making processes, on the other hand the integrated approach could also provide new and tailor made knowledge of the delta

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conflicts as reaction on the presented plans (Roth, Vink, Warner, & Winnubst, 2017). By informing, negotiating and discussing plans for calamity storage of water, citizens which would be affected by calamity storage would be able to understand why their land had been chosen and how large the probabilities would be that a calamity occurs (Roth & Warner, 2007). Moreover, inclusiveness is generally expected to strengthen societal support for, and improve the democratic legitimacy of decision making in delta management and leads in the end to more informed and effective policies (Roth, Vink, Warner, & Winnubst, 2017). In practice, inclusiveness of societal actors in a DDA can be found in ‘decision-makers’ conferences. Hereby, participants could voluntary discuss and co-design the advice at the consultation rounds, and on the same voluntary basis the politically elected representatives could decide over the final advice to the Delta Commissioner (ibid.).

Integration of stakeholders in delta planning could also lead to new and context

specific information. This was the case in the sustainable Dala project in Myanmar of 2017 by students of TU Delft. Here the researchers integrated stakeholders by giving lectures in Dutch water technology on two universities in Yangon. In the discussion after the lecture the

researchers gathered new insights in the lack of knowledge of globally well acknowledged problems such as global warming and sea level rise. Moreover, the researchers held small round table meetings with several communities in the Dala Township. By presenting them the same questions which were in the team’s research project, the researchers learned about hierarchy of power in the local villages and about the different urgency of problems (Bandinu & Janse, 2017). Furthermore, effective and adaptive delta management can only be achieved with proper a complete information from different sections. Data is often analysed using different impact models such as hydrological, hydrodynamic and agricultural production models (Marchand & Ludwig, 2014). Acknowledging the complexity of delta systems, integration of academic disciplines is therefore important for a delta-broad development.

2.4 Nation-building through delta approaches

The Dutch delta approach has formed the Dutch nation through common struggle

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More examples of nation-building through water projects can be found in hydrological infrastructure. For example, Tajikistan is finishing a dam which will be the tallest in the world. Moreover, it will give the country energy independence of neighbouring countries and would therefore contribute to strengthening the nationalistic discourse (Menga, 2015). The governmental choice for such infrastructure or for a foreign delta approach can potentially be linked to identity politics. An example of this can be found in the Andean highlands. In this water scarce area, identity is closely related to water rights. If governments would change the existing water system into a more technological convenient system, they could influence the local identity of people in the Andean highlands (Boelens, 2014). Acknowledging that Andean highlands have naturally different hydrological systems, similar developments could occur in applying the DDA in Myanmar. The rice farmers in the Irrawaddy delta are used to the certain farming methods which could be changed by incoming DDA alternations.

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3. The Myanmarese Irrawaddy Delta

3.1 The Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Myanmar is among the poorest countries in the world. Some stark statistics are that only around 20% of the estimated 55 million large population, has access to electricity, education rates are low, malnutrition is a problem among 35% of children under the age of 5 (Steinberg, 2013). After an isolated period of military government between the years of 1962 and 2011, the country would have implemented democracy in 2008 behind the face of the Nobel Prize winning Aung San Suu Kyi. However many academics believe the power is still in the hands of aging military leaders who positioned Aung San Suu Kyi as puppet to open up the country for foreign investments (Croissant & Kamerling, 2013). An approaching shift in government is inevitable since the generals who gained power after the departure of the British in 1948, are aging while the next generation of rulers is abundant. This political uncertainty adds to the already sober future of a country which already has a significant deficit in comparison with its neighbouring countries.

3.2 The Burmese/Myanmarese struggle for a national identity

The Myanmarese government officially recognises 135 distinct ethnic groups of which 105 have their own language. The largest ethnic group are the Bamar people with roughly 68% of the population. Other ethnic groups are the Shan, Karen, Rakhine, Han-Chinese and Rohingya people. Considering that Myanmar’s minority population covers one-third of the country’s total population it is not striking that the country suffers from rebellions and the violence that comes with it. Some authors estimate that Myanmar has known 236 years of open internal conflicts because many ethnic groups want to protect their individual languages, customs, cultures and history. Ethnicity therefore plays a major role in the construction of the national identity of Myanmar (Steinberg, 2013).

It is not usual that countries change their official name. It could lead to confusion on global market and tourism, it could lead to resistance from the inhabitants of a country and it is a relatively costly operation in general (Kotler & Gertner, 2002). The then Burmese State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) decided in 1989 to change the name from Burma to Myanmar. The decision was made in order to restore the original name used in the 12th century. It is originally the name of Burma in the Bamar language, which the majority of Myanmarese inhabitants speak (Dittmerr, 2010). A history of refugee crises and a change of state name can be seen as an extreme results of a disturbed national identity.

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In order to clarify the construction of the existing national identity, three major pillars have been identified: Buddhism, ethnicity and oppression. These were the three factors that occurred the most in the existing literature and were confirmed by four out of five interviews.

3.2.1 Buddhism in Myanmar

Approximately 90% of the Myanmarese are Buddhist of the Theravada school. This

dominance consists primarily of Bamar people but also Shan and Mon people are generally Buddhist. Being one of the three great missionary religions, Buddhism has its origins in India around 2500 years ago. Buddhism contains many different social or ritual forms and has spread throughout the majority of Asia. In the beginning, Buddhist monks would encourage that people should abandon their everyday lives to become monks and hence search for their inner peace. Sociologists describe the religion as humanist and individual. Meditation is seen by many as a keystone of Buddhism just as vegetarianism and reincarnation (Gellner & Gombrich, 2001). These practices of Buddhism have been politically intertwined since the rise of the earliest rulers of the area. The relationship between the ruling elite, the people and Buddhism has been so close that some authors speak of proto-nationalism (ibid.). The people were profiled in terms of their adherence to Buddhism and rulers who failed to promote and protect Buddhism were generally not accepted. The Buddhist kings from the classical period tried to oblige monkhood, purify practises, reform sects and build pagodas as much as possible. The monarch was seen as the patron of faith and his close advisors were composed of high monks (Steinberg, 2013). On a more local scale, monks were at the centre of society as well. They educated people in religion but also in general non-religious ways. All of the schools in pre-colonial Burma were settled in Buddhist monasteries (Philp & Mercer, 1999). Because of the intense integration of Buddhism in Burmese society, religion played a role of significance in the political systems as well. Buddhist rulers formed the centre of the Mandala system, and was the foremost argument against British suppression in the colonial period as well. Moreover, in the time that the military regime ruled Myanmar, Buddhism was used as legitimation. The SLORC wanted to unify the ethnically diverse country under a flag of Buddhism (Philp & Mercer, 1999). In some regions of the country this has led to conflicts between extreme Buddhists and other religious minorities. A prime and recent example is the Rohingya crisis near the Bangladeshi border. The Rohingya people are a Muslim minority group who lacked human security since the first military coup of Burma in 1962 (Mahmood, Wroe, Fuller, & Leaning, 2017). Despite officiously providing 2% of the population of Myanmar and despite multiple written claims of legitimacy, the Rohingya are not officially

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recognised and therefore a vulnerable group of people. Restriction of movement, social and

political exclusion, violations of economic and social rights and extreme violence by the

Burmese government are concerned in the issue (Amnesty International, 2017). Since 2012, over 750.000 people have fled Myanmar using dangerous ways of transportation, also causing hundreds of deaths.

Moreover, geographically the Buddhist Burmese have settled in the centre of Myanmar. The Bamar are settled primarily along the Irrawaddy River and in the Irrawaddy delta. The ethnic minorities are living in the coastal or mountain areas around the fertile lowlands.

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3.2.2 Ethnicity and Mandala

Although Myanmar is relatively homogeneous in religion, it is exceptionally diverse in population when looking at ethnicity as can be seen in Figure 3. As written above, Bamar people form the largest group with only 68% while groups like the Shan, Karen, Rakhine, Han-Chinese and Rohingya are spread around the country as well. Noted must be that these are rough estimations, the last serious attempt at an ethnic survey was in 1931 by the British colonial administration (Kramer, 2010). In the pre-British colonial era, the majority of these groups had their own political rights and units in the mandala system. However ethnic

differences became a major issue after the first Anglo-Burmese war in 1824. For the first time the groups had to fight together and while this could lead to fraternisation, the cultural

differences between the respective ethnicities became even clearer (Kipgen, 2015). While having dissimilar languages and some racial differences as well, ethnicity was also formed by the society in which one participated. The ethnic groups as they are known today, emerged over time when people followed the same charismatic ruler in a specific geographical area (Walton M. J., 2013). During the times of the Pagan Empire, Theravada Buddhism was eclipsing other religious practices and thereby transforming the regional inhabitants’ identity. For example, the Pagan have built more than 10.000 Buddhist temples, which were funded by wealthy rulers (Lieberman V. B., 2003). Additionally, religion, rather than ethnicity was more important in determining one’s personal identity. ‘‘To be Burmese is to be Buddhist,’ is a common phrase in explaining the centrality of Buddhism to Myanmarese identity (Steinberg, 2013). Still, the main differences between Myanmarese ethnic minorities historically derive from once powerful kingdoms of certain groups such as the Mon, Pagan, Shan and Rakhine. From the 6th century up until the British colonisation these groups fought wars, establishing historical differences (Walton M. J., 2013).

Coexisting with the ethnic diversity in Myanmar was the mandala system. Mandala means circle in the holy Sanskrit language of Hinduism and Buddhism and can be seen as a political system in pre-modern South East Asia (Dellios, 2003). The system is known for its diffusive distribution of power, while having monarchs who ruled on absolute terms. The main difference with the classical European power distribution was that mandala does not have a state with fixed borders and bureaucratic apparatus. Instead, mandala polity is defined

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by its centre instead of its borders (Manggala, 2013). In the centre a monarch, often Buddhist, rules by giving the example for the rest of society. The often charismatic leadership in the centre unfurled to the less powerful rings of territory around it. Since territory was not demarcated by borders, the various ethnic groups lived relatively peaceful (Chutintaranond, 1990). One’s identity was linked to the mandala centre, so a national identity was not

established. As a result many ethnic minorities today are used to have a different culture and would therefore not submit easily to a Myanmarese national identity (Steinberg, 2013).

3.2.3 Oppression

The friction between ethnic minorities worsened under British rule. After conquering Burma in stages the British administration decided to divide the country between central Burma, where the Bamar majority live, and the Frontier Area’s, which were originally ruled by traditional leaders of ethnic minorities (Walton M. J., 2013). They decided to rule the more developed central Burmese directly, while they planned to rule the frontier people indirectly. Hence, the British abolished the Burmese monarchy in central Burma while the frontier areas were able to keep their traditional political institutions (Kipgen, 2015). Having divided the country, the British continued the ossification of ethnic identity by their need of organisation. The new rulers wanted to classify all the ethnic groups in order to control and govern the population more effectively. As a result the British helped to solidify ethnic identities that, prior to colonisation, were more fluid, relational and context-dependent (Walton M. J., 2013). Furthermore, in 1925 the British began excluding ethnic Burmans from the armed forces. Only Chins, Karen and Kachins were allowed to join the Burmese military which essentially a tool for maintaining internal security. The Burman majority might have learned from this military oppression as they used similar methods a few decennia later (Walton M. J., 2013). The growing differences between the Burman majority and the ethnic minorities resulted in choosing opposite sides during WWII. Where the central Burmese supported the side of Japan in the hope of an accelerated independence of the British, the frontier minorities were

generally loyal to the British (Holiday, 2010).

The suppression of the Burman majority and the ‘collaboration’ of minorities with the British, ignited a seemingly Burmese nationalism movement. In reality the formation

resistance groups such as the Dobama Asiayone (‘Our Burma Association’ or ‘We the

Burmese Association’), was caused only by the Burman majority group (Walton M. J., 2013). At the same time the group referred to the actions of the ethnic minorities as fighting for ‘Their-Burma’. The ethnically exclusive nature of these nationalist developments became

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even more apparent when slogans such as ‘‘Master race we are, we Burmans’’ (Gravers, 1999). The voice of ‘Burmese’ nationality stayed strong during the Japanese occupation of 1943-1945 and eventually expelled the British in 1948. The Burman-Burmese national identity developed further during the military rule of 60 years. Although many Burmans feel they also have been oppressed by the SLORC regime, it is argued that they have gotten a privileged status because of their ethnicity, which was the same as that of the military rulers (Walton M. J., 2013).

It is of great importance to acknowledge that the national identity of Myanmar is constructed by many historical, social and cultural factors. Although Buddhism is still part of everyday life, some researchers observed a decrease in intenseness of practice with the opening of the borders. Examples are the mass use of plastics which are dumped in the Irrawaddy River afterwards, and the explosive growth of scooters as way of transportation (Bandinu & Janse, personal communication, November 23, 2017). Both can be linked to an increasing imbalance in the usage of the environment, which can be seen as a contradiction with Buddhist thoughts. Secondly, ethnicity has been playing an increasing role in Burmese history since the downfall of the mandala system. The different ethnic groups formed hubs of power and politics during the mandala system, creating strong cultural and linguistic differences between the many ethnicities in Myanmar. These differences are generally the cause of many conflicts between ethnicities, some still active today. Lastly, the conflicts between ethnicities and therewith the feeling of national identity intensified when the British tried to unify the country during the colonial period. The Burman majority in the country tried to form the national identity of post-colonial Myanmar into the Burman national identity. The battle against British oppression helped to promote Burman nationality, ultimately giving Burmans a privileged position during the military oppression. While Myanmar could be seen as a democracy since the elections of 2011, ethnic minorities are still either being oppressed or not acknowledged at all (Mahmood, Wroe, Fuller, & Leaning, 2017).

3.3 The Irrawaddy Delta

The Irrawaddy delta is the most densely populated area of Myanmar and proves to be the engine of the countries rice production since it is accountable for around 40% of the national rice production. The ethnicity diversity is relatively small while the majority of the inhabitants are Burman with small populations of Mon (Steinberg, 2013). The area houses the country’s largest city; Yangon and is the major commercial centre as well. The Irrawaddy River and its

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delta can be seen as the last major water bodies without major planning or management (D. Hogendoorn, personal communication, December 12, 2017). The little water management is fragmented by national ministries, regional agencies and local communities. Between these levels of governance, communication and the sharing of data is lacking (IADS, 2016; Huizer, 2018). Also the infrastructure in the delta is rather poorly developed. Transportation,

electricity, water supply and communication infrastructures are lacking (IADS, 2016). Since deltas are prone to floods, flood protection plays a large role in its development. The upper part of the delta is protected relatively well by horseshoe shaped dike system. They held the

high waters after the Nargis cyclonic storm of 2008 but the Dutch Risk Reduction (DRR) team, a group of researchers funded and sent by the Dutch government, found that the dikes suffered severe damages and would possibly not hold high waters again. Small steps have been taken already by Dutch teams to improve flood control, an example is the gift of 150 prikstokken (see Figure 1), tools which help by monitoring the condition of dikes.

Figure 3: Prikstokken for detecting weak spots in the levees of Myanmar (Dutch Water Sector, 2016).

A more agricultural issue in the lower part of the delta is an increasing level of salinity. While the dynamic estuarine ecosystems are resilient to variance in salinity, a rising sea level and a change in runoff by deforestation and dams are causing problems. The pressure on delta areas is rising in two ways. First, there is an increase in water related pressures noticeable. A rising sea level is making the delta area more vulnerable for storm surges and makes salinity

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intrusion easier which could affect agriculture, aquaculture and water supply (IADS, 2016). An example of a complication coming with sea-level rise is the coastal squeeze of the mangrove forests in the lower Irrawaddy delta. Normally, a rising sea-level would make the mangrove forests to retreat land inwards. However, human coastal activities such as:

urbanization, agriculture and infrastructure are blocking the natural retreat of the forests. This ultimately results in a decrease of the mangrove forests, causing a loss of biodiversity

(Gilamn, Ellison, & Coleman, 2007). A final pressure is the increasing rate of urbanization in coastal cities. A higher water demand, vulnerability for flooding and an increasing

anthropogenic pressure on the river ask for planning in the already densely populated delta of the Irrawaddy River (IADS, 2016; Syvitski, et al., 2009; Commandeur, personal

communication, December 19, 2017).

4. Research questions

After the booming times of high modernism in the later 19th and early 20th century, global development of countries became less radical and more complex. Socialism was less relative and the amount of progressive authoritarian leaders has decreased. Still countries who are struggling with certain aspects of development are depending on international help from developed countries. Science and technology also still do play a major role in the

development schemes of such. However the term high modernism is not used often in the international development studies literature. In order to: discover and clarify current

international development projects, how they differ from high modernism and how they shape nation-building processes, the case of the Dutch Delta Approach in Myanmar has been

chosen. The main research question is: How could the Dutch Delta Approach influence nation-building processes in the Irrawaddy delta, Myanmar?

The first assumption which is made in the main research question is that delta development shapes nation-building processes in the Irrawaddy delta. This assumption must be answered for in the first sub question. The question which will be answered is the following: How do delta development schemes shape nation-building processes in the Irrawaddy delta,

Myanmar?

The following chapter zooms in on how the Dutch water experts are planning to, and are already intervening in the Irrawaddy delta. The Dutch Delta Approach will be tested in the

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delta and a comparison with the Mekong Delta Plan in Vietnam can be found. The sub

question therefore is: How are the Dutch water experts planning to intervene in the Irrawaddy delta, Myanmar?

The final sub question will compare the Dutch Delta Approach with high modernist water interventions and will explain how it differs. Through answering this question, the current status in delta development will be identified and lessons can be learned from high modernist interventions. The final sub question is: How does the Dutch Delta Approach differ from high modernist interventions?

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5. Methods

5.1 Research strategy

Yin states that a case study design must be considered if: (a) the focus of the study is to answer “how” and “why” questions; (b) you cannot manipulate the behaviour of those involved in the study; (c) you want to cover contextual conditions because you believe they are relevant to the phenomenon under study; or (d) the boundaries are not clear between the phenomenon and context (Yin, 2003). Because the scope of this study lays on how a certain phenomenon (Dutch delta approaches) could influence a certain context (nation-building processes in the Irrawaddy delta, Myanmar), a case study design is the research strategy of choice. In order for this case study to contribute to a more general theory, the case of Myanmar can be seen as a representative case. Yin describes representative case studies as the capturing of circumstances and conditions of an everyday or common situation (Yin, 2003). While nation-building through delta development is not an example of everyday life, it is a development which is going on in various different countries as well. Hence, this thesis could add to the broader field of delta development.

Since the central theories in this thesis are difficult to approach, the units of analysis are not easy to formulate. Therefore, the nation-building processes and the DDA will be analysed through qualitative interviews and by literature review. The literature review has been done by content analysis.

5.2 Data Collection

The majority of this research has been completed by gathering and analysing academic literature, reports, delta plans and more documents of significance. Therefore, a method of data gathering has been applied. This study primarily relied on data published by other researchers that are written interpretations or recordings of their sources, and are thus seen as ‘second hand data’ or secondary data (Walliman, 2010). This data can be obtained through electronic databases such as Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar among others. Search terms which were used had to be as homogenous as possible in favour of the replicability of the study. Another used technique to gather data in literature research is by ‘backwarding’ which uses the literature that is cited in the already found studies. Similarly, by using the method of ‘forwarding’, which consists of the gathering of literature that have cited the read study can be useful methods in systematic literature studies (Jalali & Wohlin, 2012). In order to get in touch with organisations which would represent the DDA, The

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Amsterdam International Water Week has been visited. This event is hosted every two years and consists of the world’s largest trade exhibition in water technology and of a symposium for water experts. Since there was a Holland pavilion, many Dutch organizations which had ties with developments in Myanmar were present. Hence, conversations were held and contacts were made for the qualitative interviews.

Qualitative interviews could provide insights which were not foreseen. Hence, the interviews are valuable in qualitative research because the ‘how’ question implies that all the views of experts related to the subject matter to describe the case (Bryman, 2008). The experts which are interviewed are or have been working or researching in Myanmar; an overview is provided in the list below.

1. G. Bandinu MSc & A. Janse MSc, Sustainable Dala Team, TU Delft 2. V. Janssen MSc, Netherlands Water Partnership

3. A. Commandeur MSc, Royal HaskoningDHV

4. D. Hogendoorm MSc, University College London/ Deltas' dealings with uncertainty 5. T. Huizer MSc, Arcadis

5.3 Data Analyses

After recording interviews with experts, the interviews have been transcribed. This means typing out every word that has been said and if possible in what way words are spoken. Recording and transcribing allows the researcher to remember what has been said in the interview, to examine the spoken context more thoroughly and it allows further research to access the data as well (Bryman, 2008). Following a transcription, an interview can be coded or indexed to label the wide range of data into common themes. This makes the analysation of the data easier and also adds to replicability of the research.

By indexing spoken words into labelled content, larger units of analysation can be created. Discourses can be seen as language behind the sentence or the study of language in text and conversation (Brown & Yule, 1983). Ties and connections within a text can be analysed to identify certain ideologies of a certain expert in for example delta approaches (Wodak & Meyer, 2016). Together with the literature research large amounts of data in form of texts or transcriptions of interviews provide the base for a content analysis. While reading a text, codes chosen by the researcher are written down. After finishing a few texts more

specific labels can be created where codes which have been found too similar are merged into a single category of interest. The goal of these categories is to provide a means of describing

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the phenomenon, to increase understanding and to make knowledge more accessible. It also lies in the inductive approach to research since the researcher has to decide, through

interpretation, in which category an observation belongs (Elo & Kyngäs, 2008). Thereafter, by giving labels to passages in the studied texts, certain patterns between different data can be made clear (Bryman, 2008).

Lastly, to add to the analysation of the spoken and written words, I have visited the Amsterdam International Water Week (AIWW) and gathered data through participant observation. This was an interesting setting to explore since there were attendants from research institutes as well as representatives from Dutch water companies present. Following Gold’s classification of roles in ethnography (1997), I attended the exhibition in an observer-as-participant role or complete observer role, depending on the accessibility of the

conference. Any identified written, spoken or other signs of nation-building or national identity have been written down in field notes which can be found in appendix A.

5.4 Ethics

By doing qualitative research, ethical principles must be taken into account. Diener and Crandall (1978) broke down these principles into four main areas.

1. Whether there is harm to participants; 2. Whether there is a lack of informed consent; 3. Whether there is an invasion of privacy; 4. Whether deception is involved.

While approaching the harming of participants area, the focus will be on treating the gathered data through interviews confidentially. Before the interview starts, admission to record and transcribe has been asked. Also the interviewee has been asked if his/her name can be used while analysing the data. The informed consent is of importance in interviews and to a lesser amount also in ethnography. The principle means that prospective research participants must have as much information as might be needed to make an informed decision about whether or not they wish to participate in a study (Bryman, 2008). In a complete observer role this will not be an issue because the event is open to visitors. When participating through asking questions this ethical principle has been taken into account. Furthermore, the invasion of privacy is significant while taking interviews. The questions where the interviewee does not want to engage in have been avoided.

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Now that the subject is introduced, the main research question have been formulated and the applied methods have been presented, the next section will cover the results of the research.

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6. Delta Development and Nation-Building in Myanmar and the

Irrawaddy delta

Deltas are among the most fertile grounds on the planet because of the large sediment

deposits. They are also widely considered as vulnerable to certain impacts of climate change. A rising sea-level puts pressure on agriculture because of an increase in salinity intrusion, while at the same time provides a threat of floods during the hurricane season (Syvitski, et al., 2009). On the other side of the delta, changes in runoff creates uncertainty for the agricultural sector. Furthermore, human activities such as drinking water drainage and the realisation of dams upstream provide alterations in runoff and therewith sedimentation (Partners for Water, Netherlands, 2013). A rising uncertainty develops together with the amount of people living in deltaic areas. Developing deltas therefore create a challenge for the interaction between human and nature (Zegwaard, 2016). This challenge is often too large to handle by

developing countries themselves. Historically in South-East Asia, colonisers would introduce development schemes for the deltas. Examples are the French in Vietnam and the English in Bangladesh and Myanmar. The post-colonial period offered some more technological driven development schemes, acknowledging the peak in high modernism. Recently, delta

development with international help comes through delta plans and delta strategies which are designed by partnerships or agreements between the developed and developing country. In this chapter, the first two periods will be elaborated upon and their link with nation-building will be explained. Contemporary delta development will be discussed in the next chapter.

6.1 Colonial development in deltas; production over nationality

The earliest high modernist steps which were taken by the British around 1850. The delta was still authentic as every village specialised in one certain product or service. Some villages focussed on the sale of thatch and bamboo, used frequently for the construction of roofs. Other businesses in the delta could be fishing, rice farming and salt production (Adas, 2011). When the British started to treat Burma as an independent state instead of part of their Indian empire, the British geographers started to zoom in more on the inhabitants of the delta. The first estimations of population were made and detailed maps were created. Both can be seen as preconditions for high modernism since this begins with understanding society as data (Scott, 1998). Also the amount of acres of land where rice was produced was kept track of. In 1852 the estimations were around the 600.000 acres, in 1872 the amount had almost doubled while in the 1930’s the area had expanded to its greatest extent of 8.702.000 acres (Adas,

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2011). How this impressive development was realised can be seen an example of high modernist intervention by the British colonial power. Before the British intervened the potential cultivation area was dominated by nature. Jungle and swamp covered large parts of the delta and formed a costly obstacle to remove. Moreover, the swamps attract swarms of mosquitos who could carry malaria. This formed (and still forms) a real threat to the inhabitants of the delta and even determined migration patterns of rice farmers (ibid.). Not only natural conditions could be modernised, also the social situation was based on traditional laws and habits. Sumptuary laws of the Konbaung Empire restricted the inhabitants of the delta to buy large houses, fancy clothes or jewellery. Even domestic implements were

regulated by the government. Therefore the people did not find it urgent to produce more rice, they were not able to improve their livelihood anyway (Adas, 2011). The lives of the rice farmers was centred on their families and villages. The cultivator would build his own house, produce enough rice for his family and would catch some fish to provide a nutritious meal. These sumptuary laws made the inhabitants of the delta part of the Konbaung Dynasty and while that is something different as being part of a nation, unification of society through a shared suppressor was noticeable. The Konbaung dynasty could therefore be seen as the last kingdom in the Mandala system.

The first measure the British took, was the abrogation of the export ban on rice. The timing of this measure was good since rice exporters elsewhere in the world had disruptions in delivery. In India the Supoy mutiny diminished the rice export in India while in the United States the civil war formed a problem for the European demand of rice (Adas, 2011). The price of rice in the delta rose from 15Ks up to 50 Ks in 2 years. A more impactful measure was the introduction of the Ryotwari landowner system. Farmers could now rent and supervise their own piece of land instead of just working for a large landowner. Besides caring more about their own business this also adds to nation-building. If people own a piece of land which is part of a larger governmental system, they could feel more connected to that system instead of feeling connected to a governmental leader (Stockwell, 2005). Another step that can be linked to nation-building is the founding of a central administrative framework in lower Myanmar. The upper levels of governance were replaced by British supervisors while at a more local scale the myo-ok system from the Konbaung dynasty was preserved. Hence, the delta was divided into registered myo-oks, or townships in which a township leader had to report to the British supervision (Adas, 2011). While these early political reforms are seen as state-building, it is a precondition for nation-building (Stockwell, 2005).

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6.2 Post-Colonial socialism and delta development

After the British made Burma a major rice exporter in the colonial period with a structured government, the country split itself from the British Empire after WWII. The political gap that the British left was not filled in smoothly by an independence hero, but was fought over by various parties who all wanted to rule the country. Burma tumbled into social and economic turmoil in years of conflict and civil wars. Only in 1958, after the first major coupe d’état, the Burman dominated military extinguished the situation (Farrelly, 2013). While communism was on a rise during that period, it was seen as a threat to Buddhist doctrine and law and was therefore opposed by the government (Steinberg, 2013; Matthews, 1999). Socialism, however, was seen as a model in which the Burmese economy could get back under indigenous control. U Nu, the Buddhist leader of the government saw similarities between Buddhism and

socialism, while criticizing the greediness of capitalism (Steinberg, 2013). The socialist preference was ultimately realised in ‘The Burmese Way to Socialism´, a document written in 1962 by the newly established government.

“Man's endeavour to build a society set free at last from anxieties over food. clothing and shelter, and able to enjoy life's spiritual satisfactions as well, fully convinced of the sanctity, dignity and essential goodness of life, must proceed from the premise of a faith only in a politico-economic system based on the eternal principles of justice, liberty and equality. This is our belief.” (Union of Burma, 1962).

The quote above illustrates the ideology of the government and hints to a different, more modern way of development than the British had started. The major objectives of the state were the reformation of the economy from semi-private to socialist, the elimination of foreign influences through different spheres of society and finally the beginning of a Burmese

national identity or in other words the start of promoting ‘Burmanization’ (Fenichel & Khan, 1981). Major industries such as oil and mining companies were nationalised whereas smaller industries were semi-nationalised in a complex system. The agricultural rental system was replaced by a de facto land ownership system. The intention of this was to transfer the power to newly established village land committees which would oversee rural development. The committees should have provoked cooperation between peasants by providing incentives and maintaining tractor stations. However a rural communal attitude remained absent as in practice the committees did not live up to the expectations (ibid.). Points that can be taken from these measures are: that many people in Burma now worked in the name of the newly

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established state and that some cooperation between different sectors in agriculture was established.

While these post-colonial nation-building measures can be understood in line of socialism, it also adds to breaking with Burma’s colonial past. The British forged the fundaments of a Burmese state; by counting heads in population censuses, by determining land ownership and, most importantly, by collecting taxes. Moreover the far reach of the colonial rulers

contributed to individuals’ sense of being members of a larger community and, in a larger extent of a nation (Stockwell, 2005). The flaws of the colonial system sparked a wave of nationalism. The development of plantations, mining enterprises among others brought in immigrant labour which emphasised inequalities between communities, cultures and religious believes. These developments aggravated differences in society and started competition between nationalisms (Adas, 2011). Furthermore, the struggle of the ruled in Myanmar lead to a shared dislike towards the rulers in Myanmar (Steinberg, 2013). The ruled peoples sought therefore national binding factors to have a common ground to dispel the British from their lands. Buddhism was the major factor behind which the military government tried to unify Myanmar after British control diminished (Croissant & Kamerling, 2013).

In the development of the Burmese delta, the transition from small-scale, traditional rice farming towards larger scale rice production went smoothly. The delta was not inhabited much so competition between communities or cultural difficulties were not a problem. A phenomenon was however, that the rice cultivators in the delta were so determined to produce rice regularly at a profitable rate, that they lost the sentimental attachment to his land which characterised his identity and that of Lower Myanmar. This was the capitalist ‘greed’ which the Buddhist military leader U Nu disgusted so much and was one of the reasons to rebel against the colonial leaders (Fenichel & Khan, 1981; Stockwell, 2005). In conclusion, under the British rule, structural and modernist measures created a pluvial society with the feeling of being a part of a large governmental system however with little feeling of being part of a nation. Development in the delta was all about production, neglecting the foundation of a communal society. As a reaction on colonial greediness, socialism rose in post-colonial Myanmar, focussing more on domestic cooperation and development of a Myanmarese nation.

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7. Dutch plans in the Irrawaddy delta

“[…] While action is needed urgently, a lot of governments are unsure how to proceed in the face of so many uncertain factors. Much remains unclear concerning the speed and impact of climate change and the associated costs. The Netherlands is leading the way, with the

development of a long-term strategy based on an adaptive approach. We are pleased to share our expertise in this field with other countries.” (Delta Comissioner, 2016).

The quote above is coming from the Dutch delta commissioner which is a government official who is responsible for the creation and execution of the Dutch delta programme. It is

noteworthy that a government official who is appointed for the Dutch delta is promoting the use of such programmes internationally. This promotion of Dutch delta knowledge is however an increasing trend. When visiting the Amsterdam International Water Week in 2017, Holland promotion was clearly noticeable. Many Dutch water companies had clustered under the

orange banners of the Holland pavilion. More field notes can be found in Appendix A.

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Dutch water experts have been exporting their knowledge for many years, contributing to projects of various scale, worldwide. The Netherlands is home for some of the largest water technology firms in the world and has universities which rank among the top spots regarding hydrology and water technology. The Dutch government also actively promotes this expertise under the guise of helping developing countries, as can be seen in the quote above. For example, a total of 4.6 million euro in 2016 has been made available by the government for Dutch Risk Reduction (DRR) teams, consisting of water experts from consultancy firms or universities. The teams have undertaken 27 missions in which advises are given in water related issues e.g. safeguarding the water supply of Panama City and writing a plan for the Coastal protection of Manila, Philippines (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2017). The state also has designated a Delta commissioner, for the specific delta related issues, and works together with network organisations such as Netherland Water Partnership (NWP) and Delta-Alliance in order to export the Dutch water expertise. With a growing percentage of the world

population moving to coastal and flood-threatened zones, the need for water knowledge is higher than ever. In order to understand why the world wants the Dutch to help them so much and vice versa, the construction of the Dutch Delta Approach will be analysed. Thereafter, the Dutch delta strategy plans in the Myanmar delta will be identified and their goals will be presented. In the end the second sub-question; How are the Dutch water experts planning to intervene in the Irrawaddy delta, Myanmar? will be answered.

7.1 The delta approach in the Netherlands

The Dutch Delta Approach (DDA) is naturally formed by historical experiences and the geographical location of the Netherlands. Natural disasters as well as economic limitations of water made the Dutch manage their water to a high level. The North Sea flood of 1953, which caused 1836 deaths in the Netherlands, has resulted in the Delta works. These works contain: dams, sluices, locks, dykes, levees, and storm surge barriers and are still being used as example for projects elsewhere (Stroeten, 2012). The Zuiderzee reclamation works are partly the result of the wish of economic and demographic expansion and is together with the delta works widely praised for their technological innovation (van Lier & Steiner, 1982). Moreover, these spatial developments are closely entangled with water management. For illustration, in the current Dutch delta programme: three ministries, the national water management

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authority, water boards, numerous municipalities, certain provinces and the port of Rotterdam worked together in six regional and three national sub-programmes under direction of the delta commissioner (Delta Comissioner, 2016). Because all these actors are dependent on each other to keep the low-laying lands dry, inclusiveness in water management is of great importance. For all these actors to be included in the negotiation, the Dutch historically developed the system of polderen. This socio-political model which has been explained in section 2, would bring different actors such as: farmer organisations, businesses,

environmentalists and also the government together in order to reach an agreement on certain topics (Roth, Vink, Warner, & Winnubst, 2017). Since, inclusiveness of all involved actors ensures close monitoring of developments in the delta, Dutch delta programmes evolve over time. Therefore the DDA could be described as an adaptive planning approach, which analyses a range of future scenarios while also seizing opportunities from investment agenda’s outside the water sector (Partners for Water, 2014). The Dutch delta programme proves to be an example: where first the focus was on fighting and controlling hydrological inconsistency, now the delta programme is called Room for the River and embraces the natural aspects of water more (Disco, 2002).

The rising worldwide demand for water knowledge has been noticed by the Dutch government. Hence, the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure and Water Management and the ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy are joining forces with the private sector and water knowledge institutes through a range of programmes and investments. Under the name of the International Water Ambition (IWA) the Dutch government has appointed one major goal for the period up until 2021: enhance water security in urban deltas and to increase the Netherlands’ contribution to these efforts (Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, 2016). The DDA is officially a part of contribution to this main goal (Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, 2016, pg. 17; V. Jansen, personal communication, December 28, 2017). The IWA is also cooperating with Delta Alliance, an international knowledge-driven network organisation with the mission of improving the resilience of the world’s deltas, the Delta Coalition, world’s first international coalition of governments that have formed a partnership to deal with the challenges deltas face, and is based on the Dutch Delta programme. Dutch water knowledge, embodied in organizations or national

commissions, is being bundled in the IWA.

Building a Nation through delta development: the Dutch Delta Approach in the Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar