ABSTRACT
Present water management policy and practice in the Netherlands have been heavily influenced by a combination of the geological history of the country and the activities carried out by its inhabitants since about 2500 BP (years before present). The history of Dutch water policies began when the inhabitants of the coastal and floodplain areas tried to safeguard themselves and their livestock by building and living atop dwelling mounds. This was followed by the defensive and offensive periods, during which dikes were built, peat was excavated, and land was reclaimed for safety, living space, and agriculture. Quantitative water policy began in the 1200s, when farmers started organizing to combat flooding. Since then, local, and later also regional, water boards were formed. In the late 1960s, qualitative water policy was added to the existing quantitative policy. Two decades later, in the late 1980s, the focus of qualitative and quantitative water policies broadened to include the protection of aquatic ecosystems and sustainable economic development.
