Independent Consulting

Since 2024, Kasper is supporting the Curacao Port Authority with the preparation and execution of works in the port. The works include the design and construction of new mooring dolphins , maintenance and renewal of sections of quay walls and the restoration of revetments. In his role, Kasper prepares technical bidding documents, manages the tendering phase and the following construction phase of the works. 

In 2024, several local organizations, including AWA-Consult, are joining forces in a project called 'Awa pa Kòrsou', which aims to restore historic waterworks in Curaçao. This initiative, supported by subsidies from the Dutch government and the Stichting Monumentfonds Curaçao, focuses on tackling climate-related challenges such as droughts, heat stress and flooding. Through the restoration of waterworks in areas such as Savonet, Zevenbergen and Rooi Catootje, the project aims to reduce the impacts of climate change on the island. Kasper is tasked with the coordination of the restoration of the historic waterworks in the area of Rooi Catootje in Curaçao.  

Starting 2023, Kasper is working on an initiative to start a platform aimed at knowledge sharing, peer review and  capacity building of local climate change related challenges, as experienced specifically on small islands. Topics to be discussed include transitioning towards green energy, balancing economic development with nature preservation and adapting to extreme weather. As 

colleagues are dealing with these issues in similar settings in different islands all over the world, this platform aims at addressing needs for capacity building, sharing ideas and experiences, and offering peer reviews. 

Starting 2022, Kasper is providing technical support to the Government of Grenada for the implementation of the  Grenada Resilience Improvement Project (GRIP), which aims at continuing to build Grenada’s resilience to natural hazards and the impacts of climate change. This includes technical assistance in the design and implementation of interventions to increase resilience of the following critical infrastructure: a) Reconstruction of Balthazar bridge across the Great River to reduce flood risk; and b) Coastal protection and flood risk reduction of the Eastern Main Road (EMR) at Soubise and Marquis. 

  In July 2022, Kasper participated in the Coastal Resilience Technical Assistance Mission organized by the World Bank in Bangladesh as part of his ongoing support to the World Bank's Bangladesh office. Kasper and his colleagues shared the results of their analytical work on reducing flood risks in the coastal zone with the Bangladesh Water Board, the Bangladesh Institute of Water Modelling and the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. The team also visited the Coastal Embankment Improvement Project Phase-1 (CEIP-1) which supports the resilience of the population living in coastal Bangladesh by reinforcing embankments, increasing polder drainage and constructing emergency cyclone shelters. 

Together with professor of Hydraulic Engineering and Flood Risk, Bas Jonkman, of the Delft University of Technology, Kasper recently carried out a review of the cost estimates of the coastal barrier planned to protect the Houston Galveston area from flooding from the Gulf of Mexico. The results were presented to the GCPD (the board of the state of Texas) who is in charge of the construction and management of the planned coastal barrier. 

In 2020, Kasper conducted a quick scan of major international civil engineering projects, to analyze reasons for cost overruns and delays. the results were presented to clients such as the WorldBank and others, in order to learn from common causes of such overruns and delays. 

 The construction of a new hospital on Sint Maarten started in 2021. The new Sint Maarten General Hospital (SMGH) will be a state-of-the-art hospital, with room for 110 in-patient beds and able to withstand the loads caused by Category 5 hurricanes. Since 2019, Kasper supports the Contract Management Bureau charged with the construction of the hospital in different roles (including assistant contract manager and construction coordinator). 

 The first arch bridge of the Van Brienenoordburg in Rotterdam was built in 1965. The bridge was expanded with a second arch in 1990. In 2019, Rijkswaterstaat was preparing options for renovating both arches of the bridge. Kasper, as a consultant with Horvat & Partners, studied and advised the project on the risks of both renovation options .  

 In 2019, Kasper had the privilege to contribute to a publication of DeltaLinks on one of the biggest themes both in the Netherlands and Worldwide: Sea Level Rise. The article titled 'Defend or Raise'  compares the effectiveness of reducing flood risks with flood defenses or by raising land.

In 2018, Kasper successfully defended his PhD thesis titled 'Advancing Methods for Evaluating Flood Risk Reduction Measures' at Delft University of Technology. His research applies economic cost benefit analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of measures for reducing economic risk and risk to life caused by extreme weather and flooding.  Examples of measures in his thesis include temporary flood barriers, emergency measures and protocols, early flood warning, raising land and embankments. 

In 2017, in the direct aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Kasper conducted a fact-finding study of the damages caused by the Hurricane, together with researchers of the Delft University of Technology . The results were presented in a seminar in Delft and published online. (Photo: TU Delft)