The Coast
The coast protects the Netherlands against flooding from the sea. The coastal zone is home to over a million residents and businesses. Many tourists and visitors also come here, there is a lot of economic activity (such as ports and industry), the coastal zone is important for drinking water supplies and there is a lot of valuable nature. The measures in the national Delta Programme are designed to preserve and strengthen these functions, now and in the future.
The plans for the coast can be found in the Delta Decision for Flood risk management, the Sand Decision and the preferred strategy for the Coast. The Sand Decision describes how sand nourishment can protect the Dutch coastline now and in the future. The objective for 2050 is a safe, appealing and economically strong coast that can cope with sea level rise and its acceleration.
Agendas
The Dutch coastal zone consists of beaches, dunes, dikes and coastal towns with many different and wide-ranging functions. The challenge is to keep it safe, appealing and economically strong, now and in the future. New concepts, such as dynamic coastal and dune management, offer good prospects for both flood risk management and other functions. An example is the Sand Motor on the coast of Zuid-Holland.
The coastal flood defences are up to standard. The erosion caused by the tides, winds and waves is compensated by sand nourishment (without regular sand nourishment, the Netherlands would lose an average of one metre of land annually along the entire coastline). If sea levels begin to rise faster, a larger volume of sand will be needed for coastal replenishment.
Preferred strategy
The goal of the preferred strategy is to keep the area safe, appealing and economically strong in the future. In the years ahead, the emphasis will be on the elaboration of the measures based on the Delta Decisions for Flood risk management, the Sand Decision and the preferred strategy for the coast. The region is working as much as possible on integrated solutions such as multifunctional dune zones or dikes.
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