“More and more emergency water-storage areas are being created, and since the events in Limburg we know that, due to climate change, they will also be used increasingly during the summer months. Does that mean these storage areas could become sources of disease?” Maarten Schrama, an ecologist at the Leiden Centre for Environmental Science, is researching this question together with Reina Sikkema, a virologist at Erasmus MC.

“Part of the Eendragtspolder near Rotterdam has been set up as an emergency water-storage area, ensuring that Rotterdam keeps dry even during heavy rainfall elsewhere. In August, water was deliberately pumped into part of the polder and held there by a specially constructed ‘dike’. This served as the research team’s field laboratory.”

Maarten Schrama studied biology in Groningen, focusing on evolution and behaviour, as well as marine biology and some philosophy. However, his core expertise lies primarily in ecology. “As an ecologist, you mainly study natural systems without human influence. But over time I’ve become increasingly interested in the role humans play in the landscape. Future-proof ecosystems are not only natural ones, but also ecosystems that include people. The challenge is to discover how biodiversity can be the key to solving our problems. When that happens, biodiversity gains such value that it won’t simply disappear again.”

Read more about the knowledge magazine H2O & Water Matters (December 2025), which features the full (Dutch) article.

Source: H2O & Water Matters
Date: 12 December 2025

This research is part of Frontrunner 1: Climate change and vector-borne virus outbreaks. Also read our report on the flooding of the Eendragtspolder.