The marine and coastal ecosystems face mounting challenges due to a rising incidence of intense weather events, a trend that persisted and intensified throughout 2023. Concurrently, the expansion of coastal cities, ports and marine infrastructures adds to the complexity, with their increasing scale and numbers. Coupled with the effects of climate change, these dynamics exert considerable pressure on our natural environment.
DHI works with clients in the public and private sectors such as governments, insurance, real estate and shipping. Our solutions, technologies and data help our clients transform model results into sustainable engineering solutions designed to cope with future climate and development needs.
Our solutions include:
Marine infrastructure – DHI provides solutions for all aspects of the infrastructure lifecycle from design, construction and operations to ensure that the new structures such as bridges, artificial islands and tunnels work with nature, not against it. We help ensure that the infrastructure complies with strict environmental legislation and can cope with even the harshest environmental conditions. By harmonising marine infrastructure with nature, DHI helps clients find the right mix of artificial coastal elements such as beaches, headlands, cliffs and lagoon environments to support the protection of life below water
Coastal development – Safeguarding against coastal flooding and adapting to climate change has never been more important. We help our clients implement sustainable mitigation measures for cost-efficient and resilient design and development of new land, islands and waterfront projects while protecting the surrounding environment
Aquaculture production – DHI’s tools and services include environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments, site selection, farm design optimisation, water forecasting and toxicological and biological expertise with respect to legislation and documentation
Environment and ecosystems management – With DHI’s ecosystem-based approach, we help clients solve challenges with alleviating environmental pollution and degradation, carbon capture through restoration of wetlands, coping with the impact of climate change on ecosystems, conserving and restoring biodiversity in water environments and meeting increasingly strict environmental requirements and legislation
Using hydrodynamic models in Venice
In Venice, DHI and partners have identified ways to balance navigational safety, infrastructure operations and environmental sustainability. ‘As a bustling port city, traffic from ships and other vessels can affect the ecosystem of the surrounding lagoon’, shares Andrea Pedroncini, Head of Marine & Coastal Solutions, DHI Italy.
He adds,
‘To protect the UNESCO World Heritage site, Port of Venice has invested two years of time and resources into a comprehensive analysis of the port's effect on the local environment. In 2023, our team completed the project and together with Port of Venice, implemented a wide programme to disseminate the results.’ This project is within the framework of the 'Channelling the Green Deal for Venice' project, co-financed by the European Commission through the CEF Program. Through hydrodynamic models and navigation simulations, Venice is enabled to stay true to its commitment to preserving its heritage while adapting to the changing needs of modern times.
Watch the video.
Mapping marine habitats in Malaysia In 2023, a DHI project on
mapping marine habitats with satellite data was announced as one of four projects selected in the third Ocean Innovation Challenge (OIC) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A web platform called MCSAV is now being developed to map mangroves, corals and submerged aquatic vegetation using remote sensing for the popular tourist destination Semporna in Sabah, Malaysia. With this platform, stakeholders will find it easier to plan, manage and monitor marine habitats in the area, which will in turn protect and enhance resilience for coastal-dependent communities.
‘Direct threats to marine habitats and resources have rapidly changed the seascape in this region’, says Malinda Auluck, DHI’s Senior Environmental Consultant based in Malaysia. ‘There is an urgency to protect and restore these ecosystems and I believe our contribution through this innovation is timely.’