Piet Nienhuis (Groningen, 29 October 1938) passed through an international career of 40 years as researcher (biologist, ecologist) and research leader at the Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, and as professor and director at the Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands) and the Free University Brussels (Belgium). He was chairman and advisor of services of the European Commission and several Dutch governmental departments. He published hundreds of scientific publications, mainly devoted to ecology and environmental sciences, in particular to estuarine and river ecology and management. After his retirement in 2003 he continued his writing activities, together with his editorial and advisory work.

This unique text presents the environmental history of the lowland delta of the rivers Rhine and Meuse. It is an ecological story of evolving human-environmental relations and how they cope with climate change and sea-level rise. The text offers a combination of in-depth ecology and environmental history. The synthesis presents a blueprint for future management and restoration, from progressive reclamation of land in the past, to adaptation of human needs to the forces of nature.

Human Occupation and Management of a Fertile Delta.- Prehistory and Early History of the Delta.- The Delta in the Later Middle Ages (800-1500).- Technical Achievements in River Management (1500-1800).- River Management after 1800: Complete Regulation and Canalisation.- The Legacy of Human Intervention.- Changes in the Relation Between Man and Nature.- Land Use: Agriculture and Use of Wood.- River Fisheries Through the Ages.- Floods and Flood Protection.- Human Intervention in the SW Delta.- Human Intervention in Tributaries of the Large Rivers.- History of Industrial Pollution and its Control.- Changing Rhine Ecosystems: Pollution and Rehabilitation.- Changing Meuse Ecosystems: Pollution and Rehabilitation.- Pollution and Rehabilitation of the Aquatic Environment in the Delta.- Ecology of Biota in a Man-Made Landscape: Deterioration and Rehabilitation.- River-Fish Fauna of the Delta.- Eelgrass Wax and Wane: A Case Study.- Exotics and Invasions of Plants and Animals.- Changes in Biodiversity: Lower Organisms, Vegetation and Flora.- Changes in Biodiversity: Birds and Mammals and their Use.- An Ecological Story on Evolving Human-Environmental Relations Coping with Climate Change and Sea-level Rise - A Synthesis.- The Making of the Delta.- The Future of the Delta.