Dealing with heat, drought and wildfires: nature holds the answer

From 9 to 20 November, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) will take place in Antalya. The conference follows a summer in which the effects of climate change were felt everywhere: extreme drought and low river levels, devastating wildfires from France and Spain to the south of the Netherlands, and heatwaves across Europe.

Bertram de Rooij, team leader for Regional Development and Land Use at WUR and also a station commander at the Wageningen fire brigade, prefers not to call climate change a crisis. ‘As a firefighter, I would say: a crisis is short-lived, you have to put it out. If it goes on for this long, it is a structural problem. And that calls for structural solutions.’

To find solutions that last, Wageningen researchers are focusing on Nature-based Solutions. These are measures that use water, soil, ecosystems and natural processes to address challenges facing society. ‘These measures often achieve several goals at once,’ says Daan Verstand, researcher in Climate Adaptation and Nature-based Solutions. ‘Not only in relation to climate change, but also, for example, restoring ecosystems and improving people's health.’ They contribute not only to climate adaptation – adjusting to the effects of climate change – but also to mitigation: tackling the causes of climate change, for example by storing carbon or reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

City residents are increasingly feeling the effects of climate change. ‘In summer, cities can be as much as 8 degrees warmer than surrounding rural areas,’ says Verstand. ‘That is why we need to rethink how we design our cities, with much more greenery and water in residential neighbourhoods.’ More and more municipalities recognise this, but are struggling to put their ambitions into practice, Verstand observes: ‘Policymakers really do think it is important, but they see Nature-based Solutions as complicated. If you add more green space to a neighbourhood, you have less room to build homes or parking spaces. And it also requires a different approach to maintenance.’

An example of a climate-resilient neighbourhood can be found in Culemborg, a city in the centre of the Netherlands. In EVA-Lanxmeer, homes were built using bio-based materials. Green spaces provide habitats for birds, insects and other animals, while cooling the surroundings during hot weather. The neighbourhood has limited car traffic, and a large solar-panel roof generates electricity for car-sharing managed through a cooperative. Swales, ditches and ponds collect rainwater, improving the soil and preventing flooding. ‘Existing residential neighbourhoods can also be improved,’ says Verstand. ‘For example, by using permeable parking spaces or adding greenery to pavements and public spaces.’

Climate change is also causing more water-related problems, especially in a water-rich country like the Netherlands. There are longer periods of extreme drought, such as last summer, whilst in winter there is actually more rainfall. ‘We have always designed the Netherlands like a colander,’ says Verstand. ‘We wanted to drain water away as quickly as possible through ditches and canals. That is no longer sustainable. The challenge now is to make the landscape work more like a sponge.’

Verstand and his colleagues are studying how landscapes can be adapted to meet this new challenge. One example is De Onlanden, a nature reserve south of Groningen. This area, roughly the size of 3,500 football pitches, has been increasingly transformed into a wetland since 2010. During prolonged heavy rainfall, water can be stored here to prevent flooding in the city of Groningen. This has already proved necessary several times.

An evaluation carried out by Wageningen researchers showed that this water storage system worked well and saved money, says Verstand. ‘If you had tackled the problem in the city itself by raising embankments and dykes or using other engineering solutions, it would ultimately have cost three times as much. And the nature reserve also benefits biodiversity and recreation.’

Peat meadow areas can also be managed differently. When water levels are low, the peat in these areas dries out and decomposes, releasing large amounts of CO2. Verstand: ‘If you raise the water level, you’ll see less land subsidence and therefore fewer emissions. That means switching to different forms of land use, such as wetland crops. You could grow bio-based building materials such as cattails, but that is not yet profitable. The government could make it more attractive.’

During hot, dry summers, wildfires can spread with devastating force. The 2025 wildfire season was one of the most destructive in recent decades: more than a million hectares went up in flames. ‘The area affected seems to be smaller this year, but the economic and social impact has been much greater,’ says De Rooij. ‘Take the tourism sector in France, for example, or the juniper bushes in North Limburg that have been almost completely destroyed. They were unique and will be difficult to restore.’

In 2025, De Rooij was in Galicia, where he took part in a European mission to help fight wildfires and gain knowledge and experience. This year, he provided expert commentary in the Dutch media, particularly on the enormous fires in the Gironde region of France. ‘Fire needs fuel. In the Gironde, a vast monoculture of pine trees had been planted, so there was more than enough fuel there. With prolonged periods of extreme drought and heat, a fire like that can become uncontrollable.’ So, in a forest like that, a completely different type of vegetation is needed, says De Rooij. ‘The more varied, the better. Deciduous trees retain more moisture in the environment than conifers and are also better for ecology. And it goes beyond vegetation: you need to look at the whole system, especially the soil and water.’

In the Veluwe region, land managers and the fire service are now looking at ways to reduce the risk of wildfires. Part of the forest needs to be transformed, De Rooij explains. ‘Not just to help control wildfires, but also, for example, to restore nature. That takes time and cannot be done all at once. But deploying emergency services and repairing all the damage afterwards is extremely expensive. Investing even a fraction of that money in Nature-based Solutions would avoid many of those costs and bring far greater benefits.’

Nature-based Solutions show how much can be done to address climate change. ‘Yes, there are many heatwaves and extreme downpours. But the way we have designed our landscapes makes the situation worse,’ says De Rooij. ‘The solution lies in prevention. By designing the landscape differently, we can become more resilient to the changing climate. And in the long term, that is also cheaper and more efficient. If you do it carefully, there is no expiry date, whereas a dyke has to be raised again and again.’

Wageningen researchers have worked on projects including Vallei en Veluwe 2120, a vision of what the region could look like in the future. The vision starts with an analysis of the natural system: rivers, differences in elevation, soil and so on. Based on this, the researchers outline a future-proof landscape including space for water, connected networks of blue and green natural areas, and extensive recreational areas.

Vallei en Veluwe 2120 builds on NL2120, WUR's a comprehensive vision developed by WUR for the spatial planning of the Netherlands a hundred years from now. That may seem a long way off, but De Rooij and Verstand would like the government to adopt a long-term perspective as well. ‘There are future plans, but they are often vague and focused on a single sector,’ says Verstand. ‘If you know what kind of land use you want and where, you can steer spatial planning accordingly. Then everyone knows what we’re working towards.’