A dike is an embankment to protect an area against high water and waves. Usually it is made of sand or clay with a grassy reinforcement. Often extra armour is provided by a deposit of stone or mats made of osier. The grasses are bentgrass, with extra deep roots. Large parts of the Netherlands lie below sea level and our dikes are guarding the country. They are found along the coast and the rivers and canals that are everywhere in Holland. But not the dikes alone protect us. Hundreds of meters from the beaches we try to break the strenght of the waves by dredging big heaps of sand under water. On many beaches long rows of piles serve as wave breakers.

Worth mentioning especially are the Delta-works and the Afsluitdijk (Closing dike) After a disastrous flood in 1953 when thousands drowned and most buildings were devastated. As a result of neglect, underestimating the risks involved and un unusual combination of windborne currents and spring tide the dykes were saturated with water and broke one after the other. The Delta works were undertaken to decrease the length of the shore line and raise the height so that in future the chances of breaking are almost nill. The global warming may raise the level of the sea to such a point that safety no longer can be assured.

The Afsluitdijk was meant to increase the available land. In the Zuiderzee, then a large tidal bay a 30 kilometer long dike was built between 1927 and 1932. On top of it a motorway connects the province of Friesland with the northern part of the province of North Holland. During the storm of 1953 the dike was damaged badly but held. The bay has become a large lake and many parts of it were dried and now provide a working area and living space for thousands of Dutch. The three 'polders' Eastern Flevoland, Southern- Flevoland and the NorthEast Polder are now the 12th province: Flevoland.

Chinese tourists often are familiar with the Afsluitdijk that is admired as one of the very few man made constructions that are visible from outer space. Just as the Chinese great Wall is visible from space capsules circling the earth.

In their struggle against the water the Dutch were always obliged to unite and cooperate which has permitted them to become known as the controllers of the sea. Thanks to involvement of the future king, Crown Prince Willem Alexander we've enlarged this notion to: Watermanagement. This is a generic term used for preventing damage done by water, the maintenance of levees, the control of the water level, water recreation and the conservation of drinking water. The Dutch cannot afford to sit still and should, nay must, share their expertise in this field with anyone for whom water becomes a concern or an enemy...