In June 2023, Director-General Lai Chien-Hsin and a delegation from the Water Resources Agency (WRA) were invited by the Netherlands Office in Taiwan (NLOT) for a visit to the Netherlands. The objectives of this visit include establishing official communication channels between Taiwan and the Netherlands in the field of water resources, enhancing academic exchanges between Taiwan and the Netherlands, and learning from the European Union's experiences in inter-agency cooperation.
The visit yielded substantial results, including the establishment of communication channels with Dutch water resources entities such as the Directorate-General for Water and Soil (Directoraat-generaal Water en Bodem, DGWB) and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland, RVO). Technical and experiential exchanges took place in areas such as water environment construction, flood prevention, coastal protection, and Nature-Based Solutions. Additionally, meetings were held with industry and research institutions, such as Deltares and Royal IHC, to understand the integration of scientific technologies like data and machine learning. Detailed information on the specifications and operation of Dutch dredging vessels was also obtained, offering potential insights for Taiwan's future adoption of water resource technology and equipment.
During the visit, an international advisory conference was convened to seek input and feedback from the European consultants of the WRA regarding the agency's future goals and strategies in water resources management and flood resilience. Key recommendations included optimizing the use of water monitoring data, establishing a digital twin for predictive analysis, and ultimately enhancing the quality of decision-making.
The visiting delegation and the Directorate-General for Water and Soil (DGWB) in the Netherlands gathered for a group photo.
Snapshot from the International Advisory Meeting