Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment

The most common support by third States for Ukraine, in the context of the international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, is the provision of goods and services, or indirect support. This indirect support includes processed satellite imagery, also called intelligence. With the content of third States’ support to Ukraine intensifying over the course of the armed conflict, this situation has highlighted the legal question whether a third State will become a co-party to a pre-existing international armed conflict, by providing one of the active belligerent parties to that conflict with processed satellite imagery. This legal question requires clarification for it has led to legal uncertainty, corresponding potential unwanted exploitation, and a tense situation in which Russia claims the “collective West” has become a party to the conflict in Ukraine, with third States denying. Focusing on the lex lata, international humanitarian law does not provide a conclusive answer to this legal question. Still, it is accepted that a third State can become a co-party by intervening directly or indirectly. While indirect intervention may encompass intelligence support to a belligerent, it lacks a clear threshold. After discussing several possible thresholds for co-party status through indirect intervention, this chapter introduces its own threshold. Accordingly, a third State can be qualified as a co-party when the following criteria are met: The extent of the support: a third State must support a belligerent State to such an extent that the support is systematic in nature and makes a material and integral tactical contribution to military operations related to specific hostilities; Causal link: there must be a direct causal link between the support and the specific hostilities; Intent: the supporting State must have intended to contribute to specific hostilities engaged in by the supported belligerent. Applying this newly introduced threshold to States supplying belligerents with processed satellite imagery, there are certainly instances in which tactical intelligence support will cross the threshold, resulting in co-party status of the supporting State.

Background Undernutrition among children remains a severe burden in Sub-Saharan Africa. Climate change is widely recognized as a major obstacle to improving children’s nutritional outcomes. Mali, a landlocked country in West Africa, has one of the highest prevalence of child undernutrition in the region and is also considered one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change globally. This study, therefore, aimed to assess the effects of precipitation and temperature on child undernutrition in Mali, with a focus on climatic differences between the southern and northern regions. Methods We pooled the two most recent cross-sectional datasets from the Mali Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) 2012–2013 and DHS 2018, integrating them with climatic variables at the DHS cluster level. The study included data from 12,281 children under five years of age. Precipitation and temperature data were extracted from the Advancing Research on Nutrition and Agriculture’s DHS-Geographical Information System database, which provides a comprehensive range of climatic and geographic variables at the DHS cluster level. We assessed the effects of precipitation and temperature over periods of three months, six months, one year, and two years before the survey on child undernutrition using multivariable multilevel logistic regression models. Results In southern Mali, 25.0% of children under five were stunted (95% CI 23.7–26.3%), 24.9% were underweight (95% CI 23.7–26.1%), and 9.3% were wasted (95% CI 8.5–10.1%). In northern Mali, the prevalence rates were higher: 29.6% for stunting (95% CI 27.0–32.1%), 28.7% for underweight (95% CI 26.0–31.3%), and 10.5% for wasting (95% CI 8.8–12.3%). From the pooled data analysis, we found that higher average monthly rainfall over the last three months (AOR = 0.977, p = 0.012) and six months (AOR = 0.974, p = 0.003) preceding the survey was significantly associated with lower odds of wasting in northern Mali, predominantly comprising desert areas. Moreover, in addition to reducing wasting, rainfall over the one year (AOR = 0.985, p = 0.010) and two years (AOR = 0.984, p = 0.009) prior to the survey showed a significant effect in reducing the odds of underweight among children in the north. Conclusions Increased precipitation had a beneficial effect on children’s nutritional status, particularly in the northern part of Mali, where water scarcity is a persistent challenge. Amid growing concerns about declining rainfall due to climate change, the risk of child undernutrition is expected to rise in the northern part. To address this escalating threat, it is crucial to implement effective and timely measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change and improve children’s nutrition.

Background In many low-income countries, enhancing the health of school-aged children is often impeded by insufficient or limited knowledge regarding their health status. Further, hands-on health promotion interventions are nearly non-existent due to the lack of designated health workers. The disconnection between schools and primary care facilities further exacerbates this issue. To address these challenges, the World Health Organization has introduced the Health Promoting School (HPS) framework, a comprehensive model designed to integrate health into all aspects of school life and promote physical, mental, and social well-being. We sought to assess the perceived health status of school-aged children, identify associated factors, and explore the role of community health workers (CHWs) in public schools in rural Rwanda. Methods We carried out a convergent mixed methods study among teachers and community members in rural areas of Musanze, Rwanda. Data collection instruments were adapted from the World Health Organization’s HPS framework and the literature. We conducted six in-depth interviews and three focus group discussions. We performed a logistic regression analysis to examine the factors associated with perceived health. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Results A total of 479 individuals participated in this survey. Of these, 425 (89%) were community members, while 54 (11%) were employed as teachers at Nyabirehe or Rwinzovu public schools. Almost half of respondents 221 (46%) described the children’s health as poor. Many factors were associated with perceived children’s health, including having an established leadership team for school-based health promotion (OR = 1.97, 95%CI: 1.01,3,84), and being familiar with school-based health promotion (OR = 4.77, 95%CI: 2.27,10.0). Qualitative results described the CHW as a bridge between communities, schools, and primary healthcare centers. Conclusion This study revealed that the health of schoolchildren needs particular attention. In resource-limited settings, HPS presents a promising opportunity to address the health and well-being of children at rural public schools. However, adapted policies, the establishment of health promotion teams, and hands-on orientation for teachers and community members are necessary to ensure an effective implementation of HPS. In Rwanda and other low-income countries where public schools lack nursing staff, CHWs could play a vital role in enhancing HPS and the linkage between schools and primary healthcare facilities.

As plastic pollution exists in aquatic ecosystems globally, monitoring its abundance and distribution has become crucial for understanding transport pathways, sources, sinks, and impacts. Riverbanks are accumulation zones for plastic, but the selection of monitoring methods is constrained by research goals, available resources, and site-specific conditions. This diversity in approaches has led to disparate datasets, highlighting the need for standardized monitoring protocols. Here, we study the spatial distribution of plastic at the riverbank scale, quantify the uncertainty of existing riverbank methods, and provide recommendations for improved monitoring based on the balance between uncertainty loss and increase in effort. We measured riverbank plastic abundance at eight Dutch riverbanks, categorizing the items using 108 item categories (River-OSPAR). For every riverbank, an area of 100 by 25 meters was subdivided into five-by-five-meter squares, resulting in 100 individual monitored sub-areas. We found riverbank plastic exhibited high spatial variability, with deposition patterns ranging from parallel to the waterline to clustered, random, or uniform (Moran's I between -0.050 and 0.301). Individual measurements from diverse sampling protocols are 5-49 times less accurate than estimates derived from extensive sampling, highlighting the diminishing impact of specific methods with increased data collection. Lastly, our findings suggest that increasing the sampling area quickly reaches diminishing returns in terms of accuracy. Reducing the sampled area by 80% only increases the uncertainty in estimating the true plastic density by 20%. While standardized protocols are essential for data comparability, a rigid, uniform sampling approach may be less efficient and resource-intensive than a flexible (step-wise) strategy that adapts to local conditions. By demonstrating that extensive sampling can mitigate the differences between unique sampling protocols, this study promotes a shift towards flexible and efficient riverbank plastic monitoring, ultimately accelerating global efforts to combat plastic pollution.

Societies are increasingly subject to transboundary crises that pose new challenges to crisis management and require a structural rethinking of longstanding arrangements. This study explores which governance aspects could be embedded in legislation to facilitate the organization of such transboundary crisis management. It builds upon research findings from the comprehensive 2020 governmental evaluation study of the Safety Regions Act in the Netherlands and the relevant literature. First, we provide a framework for a systematic study of the relationship between law and practice. Second, we present a model on how legislation for crisis management could be adapted to better fit with transboundary crises. This consists of a set of 10 key aspects categorized into five pillars: the interconnectedness of the various phases of crisis management and risk assessments as a starting point; flexible crisis management organization and network collaboration; allocated facilitator and exceptional decision‐making power; professional competences and netcentric information management; and learning capacities and democratic feedback. This model provides a point of departure for researchers and policymakers alike for rethinking the role that legislation can play in preparing for the crises of the future.

Background: Public schools have considerable potential to reach a significant portion of a given population and can play a central role in improving health across the lifespan. However, little is known about the current health needs of children at schools in rural and limited-resource settings. We sought to assess the perceived health of children and the role of community health workers (CHWs) at public schools in rural Rwanda. Methods: We conducted a convergent mixed methods study among teachers and community members to assess the factors associated with the perceived health of students in rural areas of Musanze, Rwanda. Data collection instruments were adapted from the World Health Organization’s Health Promoting School (HPS) framework and the literature. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to explore participants’ perceptions of children’s health. We performed a logistic regression analysis to examine the factors associated with perceived health. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Results: A total of 479 individuals participated in this survey. Of these, 425 (89%) were community members, while 54 (11%) were employed as teachers at Nyabirehe or Rwinzovu public schools. Almost half of respondents 221 (46%) described the overall children’s health as poor. Many factors were associated with perceived children’s health, including having an established leadership team for school-based health promotion (OR = 1.97, 95%CI: 1.01,3,84), and being familiar with school-based health promotion (OR = 4.77, 95%CI: 2.27,10.0). The lack of access to primary care was associated with negative perceptions of children’s health (OR:0.54,95%CI:0.31,0.95). Qualitative results described the CHW as a bridge between communities, schools, and primary healthcare centers. Further, qualitative findings highlighted the structural barriers and needs to be addressed for effective implementation of school-based health promotion. Conclusion: This study’s findings revealed gaps in children’s health in rural areas of Musanze. The strong association between school-based CHWs and children's health reflects the vital role CHWs play in linking communities and primary healthcare facilities. This study provides evidence to inform the development of innovative strategies for effectively implementing school-driven interventions to strengthen health promotion in rural and low-resource settings.

Local river interventions, such as channel narrowing or side channels, are often necessary to maintain safety, ecology, or navigation. Such interventions have different effects on the river's bed morphology during periods of high‐ and low‐discharge events. Mapping the bed‐level variations for different discharge levels and understanding these effects can provide new opportunities for the design of interventions in multifunctional rivers. At any moment, the local bed level in a river is composed of bed‐level changes that occur at various spatial and temporal scales. These changes consist of bed aggradation/degradation trends on a large scale, on an intermediate scale bed‐level variations as a result of discharge fluctuations, and on small‐scale moving river bed forms like dunes. Using the river Waal in the Netherlands as a case study, we analyze the intermediate‐term bed‐level changes resulting from discharge fluctuations (dynamic component) and propose adaptations to the design of floodplain interventions such that possible negative impact on the local bed‐level changes is minimized. Time series of bed levels along two 10 km stretches of the case study are considered for a period of 16 years (2005–2020). Using a wavelet transform, we isolate bed‐level variations resulting from discharge events. These bed‐level variations are presented based on the magnitude of the discharge event and are compiled in an interactive atlas of river morphodynamics, allowing us to mitigate the impact of interventions. This will help river managers in the design of interventions and lead to improved management, operation, and maintenance of multifunctional rivers.

Coastal ecosystems globally face pressures, with natural coastal habitats being replaced by engineered structures. While hard structures for navigation‐purposes and coastal defense can negatively impact native communities, they can also be applied in ecological restoration as artificial reefs. This way substrates may facilitate establishment of biogenic (shellfish) reefs and provide habitat heterogeneity in soft‐sediment ecosystems. In a 1.5‐year experiment, we introduced six different types of natural or biodegradable hard substrates in a subtidal soft‐sediment system. We compared the substrates with surrounding soft sediment and evaluated differences among substrate types using biodiversity indices, community composition analyses, and food web indicators. This offers a comprehensive understanding of how the introduced hard substrates affect ecosystem complexity. Overall ecological complexity indicators were higher in the second year of the experiment. We found a significant increase in species richness, community composition, and link density (number of feeding interactions per species) on hard substrates compared to the surrounding sediment. However, Shannon diversity index and food web connectance (measure of food web saturation) did not differ between substrates and the surrounding sediment. Although differences among types of hard substrates were small, certain species were uniquely associated with specific substrates with wood and granite performing best. While there was no establishment of epibenthic shellfish reefs within 1.5 years, we conclude that introducing hard substrates effectively enhances ecological complexity in soft‐bottom coastal ecosystems within that timeframe. We recommend the use of substrates with a historical ecological relevance in the system for scaling up introduction of substrates for ecological restoration.

Background Undernutrition among children remains a severe burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Climate change is viewed as a major obstacle to enhancing children’s nutrition. Mali, a landlocked country in West Africa, has one of the highest prevalence of child undernutrition in the region. This study aimed to assess the effects of precipitation and temperature on child undernutrition in Mali, with a focus on climatic differences between the southern and northern regions. Methods We pooled the two most recent cross-sectional datasets from the Mali Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) 2012/2013 and 2018, and combined them with climatic variables at the DHS cluster level. The study included 12,537 children aged under 5 years. We conducted multivariate multilevel logistic regression analyses to estimate the effects of precipitation and temperature on the likelihood of child undernutrition. Results The average monthly precipitation during the last year, as well as the in the last two years preceding the survey, was associated with a reduced likelihood of childhood underweight and wasting in the northern part of Mali, predominantly comprising desert areas. Furthermore, we confirmed that an elevated average temperature was correlated with an increased likelihood of childhood stunting and underweight in the northern part. Conclusions Precipitation and temperature exerted a substantial impact on the nutritional status of children, particularly in northern Mali. Considering the growing threat of climatic variations, implementing strategies to address climate change, especially in the northern regions, is crucial for enhancing children’s nutrition.

The increasing number of bicycle crashes leading to injuries in the Netherlands is frequently related (e.g., in the media) to increased use of the electric bicycle. For this reason, policy makers face the challenge of selecting and implementing the most promising countermeasures including those focused on electric bicycles. It may be questioned, however, to what extent the electric bicycle itself is a (direct) cause of crashes leading to injuries or whether other factors are important for explaining the increased number of bicycle injury crashes. On the basis of an abbreviated list of criteria by Elvik (2011), this paper illustrates the potential influence of factor inclusions, analysis selections, and data presentations on the general impression about crash causation with the electric bicycle as an example. The aim is to provide a ‘best practice guide’ by taking into account (1) a theoretical explanation of causal mechanisms, (2) control for confounders, and (3) a statistical association of sufficient strength and consistency in the expected direction. We conclude that an apparent increased risk of electric bicycles may be explained by factors such as age, exposure, health factors, and gender of the cyclist. A relatively simple analysis, by comparing fatality numbers of conventional and electric bicycles, showed that including or excluding these factors may lead to vastly different interpretations of fatality causes and the relative risk of electric bicycles compared to conventional bicycles.

With the increasing traffic intensity and traffic loads, it can be questioned whether the application of orthotropic steel decks with troughs as longitudinal stiffeners is still the best solution. Possibly, the use of bulb profiles as longitudinal stiffeners could offer a better solution. Bulb profiles were commonly used till the late sixties but are no longer applied due to high manufacturing costs. However, new welding techniques have become available nowadays, which could possibly eliminate this disadvantage. In this study, a comparison is made between an orthotropic deck with troughs and with bulb profiles. For both deck types, an optimized design is made with respect to fatigue, after which both designs are compared with respect to weight, costs, production, maintenance, and inspection. Surprising outcome is that the bulb deck can be more favorable on certain aspects compared to the more recent trough deck.

Riverine macroplastic pollution (>0.5 cm) negatively impacts ecosystems and human livelihoods. Monitoring data are crucial for understanding this issue and for the design of effective interventions strategies. Macroplastic pollution floating on the river surface and plastic deposited on riverbanks are studied relatively often. Data on riverine plastics in the water column remain scarce. In this study, we utilized trawl nets at different depths to sample plastic pollution in the water column at the entry point of the river Rhine to the Netherlands. We show that plastic concentrations in the water column increased during higher discharge. Moreover, the results indicate that the vertical distribution of macroplastic pollution changes during different flow conditions. Significantly higher concentrations of macroplastic can be seen near the riverbed during low discharge conditions, while no significant differences in concentration are observed between the bottom, middle, and surface samples during high discharge conditions. Taking into account the recurrence time of low discharge conditions the transport of plastic during low discharge conditions is substantial. These findings provide first insights into the key role of hydrology in explaining macroplastic transport in the water column. These insights can be used to improve future monitoring and intervention strategies.

Anthropogenic litter is omnipresent in terrestrial and freshwater systems, and can have major economic and ecological impacts. Monitoring and modeling of anthropogenic litter comes with large uncertainties due to the wide variety of litter characteristics, including size, mass, and item type. It is unclear as to what the effect of sample set size is on the reliability and representativeness of litter item statistics. Reliable item statistics are needed to (1) improve monitoring strategies, (2) parameterize litter in transport models, and (3) convert litter counts to mass for stock and flux calculations. In this paper, we quantify sample set size requirement for riverbank litter characterization, using a database of more than 14,000 macrolitter items (>0.5 cm), sampled for 1 year at eight riverbank locations along the Dutch Rhine, IJssel, and Meuse rivers. We use this database to perform a Monte Carlo based bootstrap analysis on the item statistics, to determine the relation between sample size and variability in the mean and median values. Based on this, we present sample set size requirements, corresponding to selected uncertainty and confidence levels. Optima between sampling effort and information gain is suggested (depending on the acceptable uncertainty level), which is a function of litter type heterogeneity. We found that the heterogeneity of the characteristics of litter items varies between different litter categories, and demonstrate that the minimum required sample set size depends on the heterogeneity of the litter category. This implies that more items of heterogeneous litter categories need to be sampled than of heterogeneous item categories to reach the same uncertainty level in item statistics. For example, to describe the mean mass the heterogeneous category soft fragments (>2.5 cm) with 90% confidence, 990 items were needed, while only 39 items were needed for the uniform category metal bottle caps. Finally, we use the heterogeneity within litter categories to assess the sample size requirements for each river system. All data collected for this study are freely available, and may form the basis of an open access global database which can be used by scientists, practitioners, and policymakers to improve future monitoring strategies and modeling efforts.

For Europe's urban agglomerations to be economically competitive, it is vital that international destinations be easily accessible. Although much has been invested in the construction of European rail infrastructure over the past century, passenger transport by rail has not grown as fast as transport by road and air. So why do people not use international trains more, even though they have an extensive international rail network at their disposal? Based on a series of in-depth interviews with relevant public and private stakeholders and two expert meetings, we identify the main bottlenecks and constraints. In order to understand the complexity of international rail transport, we have divided the existing bottlenecks into four groups corresponding to four layers of the rail transport system: mobility services, transport services, traffic services, and the physical and digital infrastructure. We formulate concrete policy recommendations for improvements to be made in the various components of the rail transport system.

Porosity is one of the key properties of dense particle packings like sediment deposits and is influenced by a multitude of grain characteristics such as their size distribution and shape. In the present work, we focus on the form, a specific aspect of the overall shape, of sedimentary grains in order to investigate and quantify its effect on porosity, ultimately deriving novel porosity-prediction models. To this end, we develop a robust and accurate simulation tool based on the discrete element method which we validate against laboratory experiments. Utilizing digital representations of actual sediment from the Rhine river, we first study packings that are composed of particles with a single form. There, porosity is found to be mainly determined by the inverse equancy, i.e., the ratio of the longest to the smallest form-defining axis. Only for small ratios, additional shape-related properties become relevant, as revealed by a direct comparison to packings of form-equivalent but smooth ellipsoids. Since sediment naturally features form mixtures, we extend our simulation tool to study sediment packings with normally-distributed forms. In agreement with our single form studies, porosity is found to depend primarily on the inverse of the mean equancy. By supplying additional information about a second form factor and the standard deviations, we derive an accurate model for porosity prediction. Due to its simplicity, it can be readily applied to sediment packings for which some measurements of flatness and elongation, the two most common form factors, are available. Graphical abstract