However, it does often seem that the industry is fighting a defensive action to justify works it knows to be of public importance whilst many who object to and oppose dredging projects do so with no accountability for the consequences. Hence CEDA Dredging Days 2007 asks the question ‘What will the environmental effects be if we do not dredge?’ The term ‘environmental’ is not restricted to marine organisms and their habitats but also makes reference to social and economic consequences for society should dredging stop.

Addressing this theme at Dredging Days, CEDA hopes to use statistics and arguments that will not only answer the question for delegates but will also result in a wider awareness of just how important dredging is to the infrastructure and public welfare of nations.

The conference will include five major sessions, with the first addressing flood defences and beach nourishment and asking if flood risk will be addressed by not dredging. Will coastal towns and habitats be put at risk without beach nourishment? What are the financial and environmental costs of the alternatives?

The second session looks at navigation and trade: What happens to our jobs, trading position and general welfare if we cannot accept larger ships in our ports? Is the use of more smaller ships or more road transport a better environmental alternative?

Session three concerns land reclamation. Can land in coastal areas where mankind seeks to converge be created in some other way? The keynote speaker with a particular interest is Dr Gary Patrick Mocke, head of the Coastal Management Section for Dubai Municipality.

Session four looks at aggregate production and asks what a cessation of winning essential materials by dredging would mean for land based quarries. Would increased emissions from land based machinery be a better option?

The final session examines the end of remedial (clean-up) dredging. Is it better to leave contaminated sediments where they lie for future generations to deal with?

CEDA does not want Dredging Days to be mere industry indulgence in self justification. In seeking balanced discussion, keynote lectures will be distributed to various NGOs in advance and they will be invited to present responses. Preference will be given to overview papers presenting win-win solutions and strong arguments.

Other dimensions of CEDA Dredging Days include the IADC Award for the best paper of the conference by an author under 35, a small dredging exhibition, a technical visit and a partners programme with visits to cultural attractions and other places of interest in and around Rotterdam.

For further information, contact the CEDA Secretariat at Tel: +31 15 268 2575, Email:csiti@dredging.org, Web: www.dredging.org or www.dredgingdays.org