December 11, 2007	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 30, 1428

AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands wants to redraw the map of Europe – literally. Dubai has built Palm Island. Now the world leaders in land reclamation are considering an island in the shape of a tulip to fight overcrowding and shield the coastline from the rising sea.

Supporters of the scheme say it will give Dutch companies a chance to showcase water management skills that are increasingly in demand due to global warming, but critics say the plan will be prohibitively expensive and harm delicate ecosystems.

While a poll in October by research company TNS NIPO with the Red Cross showed the Dutch are more afraid of flooding than a terrorist attack, many have a strong faith in Dutch expertise and technology to protect them from the water.

The Dutch parliament has asked a commission on coastal development to look into the idea of building islands in the North Sea that could be used for housing, farming or a nature reserve, while at the same time helping to protect the coast.

“People live on top of each other in the Netherlands,” said Christian Democrat politician Joop Atsma, who sponsored a parliamentary motion on building in the North Sea. “We are hungry for land. A huge area is needed for building.”

Atsma says high land prices threaten the country’s position as the world’s third biggest exporter of agricultural products, and make a 100,000 hectare island potentially worth $14.69 billion – enough of a return to fund the project.

A government body set up to promote innovation has drawn up proposals for an island about 50km long, sparking fierce debate which inspired one blogger to joke that a cannabis leaf may be a more suitable shape than the tulip on the formal plans.

“The Netherlands has a lot of know-how in terms of water. It exports this knowledge but it is missing out on innovation. More experiments are needed in the fields of alternative energy, tides and wind,” said Maria Henneman of Innovation Platform.“

Of course it is an expensive investment but with current technology a lot is possible.”

The Netherlands – literally the Low Countries – has a long history of pioneering technology to help it claw back land from the sea and fight recurrent flooding.—Reuters