Brief curriculum Marnix de Vriend

Marnix de Vriend studied Ecology and Environmental law in the universities of Nijmegen and Alexandria in Egypt. He proved to have excellent communicative and organisational skills.

In 1985-1986 he has been working for the ngo's on nature conservation in the southwestdelta during the final construction phase of the Eastern Scheldt Barrier(1985-1986). Then for five years he joined the ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries ending as head of the department of Coastal Fisheries and coordinating the Waddensea cooperation between Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands.

The last fifteen years he has been a project manager and consultant, first for Arcadis Arnhem and since 1998 he works as senior consultant for the Coastal & Rivers division of Royal Haskoning, the oldest consultancy in the Netherlands (fouded in 1882, 4000 employees).

He is the current Project Manager for two large "Room for the River" projects (Munnikenland, Waal/ Rhine) and Deventer (IJssel) as well as (formerly) EIA's (environmental impact assessments) for the dyke relocation projects in Arnhem and in Nijmegen/Lent, nature development in floodplains along rivers (a.o. Groene Rivier Pannerden), innovative approach in the "Overschelde project" (for Flanders) in an attempt to reconnect the Eastern and Western Scheldt, integrated waterproject "Water Werkt!" in Beek-Ubbergen (cutting down pipes, restoring natural brooks), strategic analysis of early conceptual options to prevent flooding in the Arnhem/Nijmegen (KAN) region and also (for Environment Agency, UK) in the Thames Estuary 2100 project and for the province of Zeeland (2004-2008) he was the project manager for the Weak Link ICZM project West Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen and presided four public debates in the Southwest Delta on de-poldering (giving back arable land to the Western Scheldt Estuary for ecological purposes, 2007).

Among others he has delivered papers, publications and presentations to various conferences, has chaired conferences and hosted many foreign guests visiting The Netherlands or (Thames 2100 project) in London. Among others he hosted the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Engineers (CIWEM, UK) on their three days study-tour on Climate Change and the Dutch Delta-works in 2005. Besides he has guided succesful excursions in The Netherlands for professionals from Botswana, Denmark, India, Bulgaria, Rumania, Vietnam, Ireland, South Africa, Poland, Germany, France, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom.