The vision of the Resilient Asian Deltas (RAD) Initiative is that long term resilience of AsiaÕs delta systems is secured through unprecedented political and financial investment in Ôbuilding with natureÕ, which will protect and restore the natural river and coastal processes that replenish deltas and will keep them Ð and the societies, economies and nature that depend on them Ð above the rising seas. Dams trap vast amounts of sediment, while unsustainable amounts of sand and gravel are extracted from riverbeds to meet soaring demand for construction. Together, they are starving these great deltas of sediment. This is putting the livelihoods of millions of people billions of dollars in investments and trillions of dollars of economic assets at risk as well as priceless ecosystems.