Scheemda’s inconvenient future Consequences for Scheema

Because of the The dutch central

predicted shrinking of
the population in
Scheemda it is very
likely that there will be
an increase of empty
buildings. This can harm
the character of the
village causing more
people to potentially
leave Scheemda.
bureau for statistics
predicts that the
population of the
municipality of Oldambt,
where Scheemda is part
of will shrink by at least
5% by 2050.
The predicted decrese in population and the aging of the inhabitants
of Scheemda can become a problem. When there are vierwer people
some amenities in the village will inevatably dissapear because they
can’t make enough money.

It is also predicted by
Another issue is the lower amount of funding the municipality of
the dutch central
Oldambt would recieve from teh central governemnt as this is
bureau for statistics
destributed by population count.
that the percentage
of elderly people
living in the
municipality of
The hospital in Scheemda has a dyke
Oldambt will increase
around it because the local water board
to nearly 30% of the
couldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be a
local population.
flood within the next 100 years.

The picture below shows what a flooded This map shows that the northern The incresead flood risk for the area containing Scheemda could worsen
Scheemda could look like. In contrast to the part of scheemda is at risk of the effects of an aging and declining population. This risk could turn
predictable shrinking and aging population flooding once in a hondred years, away people from living in Scheemda because their homes could
the risk of flooding is and unpredictable yet while the southern part is only at potentially flood. Therefore, the bigger the flood risk becomes, the
likely possibility for Scheemda in the future. risk of a flood once in a thousand greater the likelyhood of the abovementioned issues growing in impact.
years. The only area of Scheemda
which is not at risk of flooding is the
centre which is slichtly above sea
level.
The royal dutch meteorological
institute predicts that the sea level
may rise up to 40 centimeters by
2050. This would make a flood in
the Scheemda are far more likely The daily life of an inhabitant of Scheemda will likely not change very
than it is right now. drastically based on the possible future events that might occur in Scheemda.
That there will be changes in the avrage age and size of the population of
Scheemda is quite predictable.

The changes to the population of Scheemda are very predictable, yet it’s
concequences can be very large. A smaller and older population can’t
support the same amenities in the village for an example, which could
lead to a furter degradation of the population.
The risk of flooding is far less predictable, but its consequences would be
massive. Large parts of Scheemda are at risk of flooding which would
cause extensive damage to the village.
This future scenarion for Scheemda begs the quistion what would
happen when the area did indeed flood? Would Scheemda be rebuild?
Or would the village just be repaired to serve the remaining residance
until its demise?
However, the main difficulty is the unpridictability of a major flood happening.
But, it is not unlikely to happen in the future, especcilly when the effects of cli-
mate change become more noticable. It can be predicted however that a ma-
jor flood would be the catalist making all the effects to the local society far wor-
se.
What the future will hold is uncertain, and this is not the only possible scena-
rio, and, therefore, by no means will this be the exact truth. “The more we un-
cover, the less certain we become”(Ahoy, 2019)