.
Erosion/deposition
Coastal erosion threatens all of this. It leads to: Loss of land of ecological value. Out of 132,300 km² (counted 500 metres inland from the coastline) that are under the direct influence of coastal erosion in the enlarged EU, 47,500 km2 are natural sites of high ecological value. This means they are rich in biodiversity and represent important ecosystems. Most of these sites are part of the EU's NATURA 2000 network of protected areas. Loss of land of economic value. The estimate of the current total value of economic assets located within 500 metres of the EU's coastline, including beaches, agricultural land and industrial facilities, is €500 to €1,000 billion. Public expenditures to fight erosion are increasing. In 2001, they amounted to an estimated €3.2 billion. Loss of property. Every year, hundreds of coastal houses in the EU have to be abandoned or lose value because of an imminent risk of falling into, or being submerged by, the sea. Risk to human lives. Over the past 50 years, the population living in coastal municipalities in the EU has more than doubled to 70 million people (16% of the EU25 population). They are increasingly exposed to the risk of erosion and flooding. During the worst sea surge recorded in modern European history, the North Sea Surge in 1953, more than 2,000 people lost their lives in England and the Netherlands. Destruction of natural sea defences. Erosion makes natural sea defences, such as dune systems, vulnerable. In November 2001, part of the dunes on the Jurmala coast in the Gulf of Riga (Latvia) collapsed during a storm. This led to flooding of the hinterland. Undermining of artificial sea defences, potentially leading to flood risks as well. This is for instance the case in Essex (UK) where erosion of protective salt marshes has resulted in frequent damage to traditional seawalls during storm events.
Causes and responses
Coastal erosion occurs naturally and, to a much higher extent, because of human intervention. Sand and gravel taken away by waves and currents are naturally being replenished by material that rivers transport from the catchment area, or by sediment from eroding cliffs and marine sand banks.
Rapid development along the coast and upstream has disturbed these natural processes. Each year, 100 million tonnes of sand that used to naturally replenish coastal habitats in Europe are used for construction, trapped behind river dams or blocked by engineering works. Natural areas, a buffer for the powers of the sea, are disappearing.
The effects of coastal erosion differ across Europe. For example, two thirds of the Belgian coast is composed of sandy beaches and the remaining third is sealed by construction. As a result, one quarter of the Belgian coastline is eroding, which is a high rate in comparison to other countries. Italy also suffers from a high rate of erosion, 23%, which is largely due to the rapid urbanisation of its coasts and beaches. On the other hand, the Finnish coastline is hardly affected because half of it is composed of hard rock, which erodes very slowly.
Erosion in EU Member States with coastlines
Conclusion
Throughout the Netherlands coast a lot has been done to prevent any more damage to the coastline,Netherlands are the leading country in beach replenisment and cost cutting ideas in to preventing the coastal erosion effect on the coast
The Dutch coast is dominated by broad sandy beaches and extensive dune ridges. The Wadden region - with its dune islands and the abundance of birds and seals - belongs to the most important nature areas in Europe. The mainland coast (provinces Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland) contains the most important sea resorts of the country, and they are surrounded by impressive dune areas. These dunes protect the low coastal plain - with its polders and peat meadows - against the sea, since 25% of the Netherlands lies below sea level; without dikes, two-thirds of the Netherlands would be periodically flooded. The southwestern part of the country (the "Delta") has developed as complex estuary of the rivers Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt, with a wide variety of salt and brackish ecosystems. The new dikes of the Delta Plan protect the islands against the sea. Coastline length: 523 km, of which 353 km North Sea coast (incl. 254 km with dunes); the rest concerns the coast of the Wadden Sea and the Westerschelde estuary (towards Antwerp).