We all remember the heavy floods that the state of Kerala in India experienced in 2018 and another relatively milder one in 2019. This year too, Kerala has witnessed heavy rainfall and some extreme rainfall events. One of the regions in Kerala acutely affected by the floods is the Kuttanad region in the Alappuzha district, which is globally well known for its scenic backwaters and traditional houseboats. Kuttanad lies 2 to 3 m below the mean sea level, which is what makes it extremely susceptible to floods. For the same reason, historically, Kerala has always looked up to another part of the world with similar features, The Netherlands. More recently, Kerala has been closely studying a very innovative project implemented in the Netherlands from 2000 called the “Room for the River.” Informed by this intervention in the Netherlands, Kerala has begun to implement what the state calls as the "Room for Pamba" project in the Kuttanad region. To understand the basic features of the Room for the River project in the Netherlands and its applicability to the Kuttanad region of Kerala, we are today joined by Paul van Meel. Paul knows the Netherlands and the Kuttanad region from close quarters. By training, he is a civil engineer from the Delft University. He has over 45 years of global experience in integrated water resources development. In the Netherlands, he has been involved as deputy project director in two large flood protection programmes: the Meuse Works and Room for the River.