Understanding and comparing the ecological impacts of projects
DigiShape is committed to smart and sustainable solutions in the water sector. That’s why we develop and share tools that help the industry as a whole move forward. The D-Eco Impact Tool is an excellent example of this. DigiShape partner Deltares developed this tool, together with various partners in the Netherlands and abroad, to better understand and compare the ecological effects of projects.
Marc Weeber, researcher/advisor Water Quality and Ecology at Deltares, developed D-Eco together with his team:
“The D-Eco Impact tool shows where you need to steer on ecology. With this tool, it becomes clearer what you make decisions about.”
Why more attention to ecology in models?
Although awareness is growing, ecology is often overlooked in projects such as dike improvements, area developments or the construction of infrastructure. And this while Rijkswaterstaat, water boards, municipalities and provinces have major ecological obligations and guidelines, such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for nature and water quality.
How does the D-Eco Impact Tool help?
The D-Eco Impact Tool helps by making ecological impact measurable and reproducible, so that decision-makers can make informed choices. By converting complex ecological data into visual and quantitative insights, the tool makes it easier to include biodiversity and water quality in the process. This prevents irreversible damage and contributes to more sustainable developments.
In addition, the tool is flexible and can be easily integrated with other analysis tools, such as the REACT-Tool for river basins and the EDITO-Model Lab, where it is used in a Digital Twin for ocean models. In this way, different data sources and models can be better linked for a more complete picture of ecological effects.
Petya Eftimova, at Foros Bay, where D-Eco Impact was tested in the REST-COAST project.
How can the DigiShape community use D-Eco?
The community is cordially invited to use the tool (for the time being with guidance from Deltares) and to contribute to further development and knowledge sharing in this area. Marc Weeber, who developed the instrument with his team, tells all about it in this interview on the Deltares website.
Deltares is making the tool available via Github. More information can be found on the product page of Deltares: https://www.deltares.nl/en/software-and-data/products/d-eco-impact and from now on also in the tools section of DigiShape: digishape.nl/tools
More information
- D-Eco Impact Tool in DigiShape tools section
- Interview with Marc Weeber. You can contact him for questions or more information using the contact details below.
Would you also like to make a tool available to the DigiShape community?
Please contact David van den Burg or Rianne Croes.
