Implementation of coastal erosion management in the Netherlands Jan P.M. Mulder a, b, * , Saskia Hommes a, b , Erik M. Horstman b a Deltares, P.O. Box 177, 2600 MH Delft, The Netherlands b University of Twente, Water Engineering & Management, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands article info Article history: Available online 7 July 2011 abstract The Netherlands is a low-lying country, in which 9 million people are living below sea level and 70% of the gross domestic product is being earned in areas below sea level. Therefore, protection against flooding is traditionally the primary focus of coastal policy in the Netherlands. Analysis shows that characteristics of Dutch coastal management very well comply with the recommendations and key concepts to support sustainable coastal management as issued by the EU in 2004 (EUROSION). Sediment management represents the core of erosion management in the Netherlands; key concepts like resil- ience, coastal sediment cells, favorable sediment status and strategic sediment reservoirs, are important building stones. Development and implementation of coastal erosion management in the Netherlands, has implicitly been guided by a systematic Frame-of-Reference. Characteristics of this approach are the definition of clear objectives at different levels (i.e. strategic, tactical and operational) and an operational decision recipe related to policy development and implementation. Application of the Frame-of- Reference to current problems and challenges in Dutch coastal management indicates its ability to reveal shortcomings of the existing approach, and to explore potential solutions. Where EUROSION offers important concepts to define coastal erosion management, the Frame-of-Reference offers a tool to discern different objectives and responsibilities. The combination of both strongly supports imple- mentation of coastal erosion management. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction 1.1. Coastal processes The Netherlands is located at the southeastern part of the North Sea and has a coastline of more than 400 km. The Dutch coastline can be divided into three different parts: the Delta coast in the south, the Holland coast in the centre and the Wadden Sea area in the north (see Fig. 1). The Delta coast consists of tidal inlets and estuaries that, except for the Western Scheldt, have been closed by dams and storm surge barriers since the begin- ning of the 1960’s. The Holland coast is a typical storm- dominated sandy coast with aeolian sand dunes and some minor stretches being reinforced with hard defense structures. Barrier islands are characteristic features of the Wadden coast area. At present, 75% of the total coast is protected by sandy dune areas varying in width from less than 100 m up to several kilo- meters. Next, 15% of the coast consists of hard constructions like sea-walls, dykes and other barriers and 10% of the coast is formed by beach flats which are present at the tips of the Wadden islands (MIN V&W, 1990, 2000). 1.2. Coastal problems In the Netherlands, 9 million people are living in areas below sea level and 70% of the gross domestic product is being earned in these areas. The primary function of the coast is to protect this low-lying hinterland from flooding by the sea (MIN V&W, 2009). The coastal zone itself however, also accommodates important other functions: e.g. ecology, drinking water supply, recreation, residential and industrial functions. At present, coastal erosion is dominant along half of the Dutch coast and endangers these functions, raising the need for coastal erosion management. The necessity for coastal erosion management may increase even further in the near future as the Netherlands has a highly vulnerable coastal zone in terms of the potential consequences of sea level rise (Nicholls and de la Vega-Leinert, 2008). Concentrations of people and economic values in low-lying areas are expected to increase and at the same time climate change is expected to raise both everyday and extreme hydraulic boundary conditions in the coastal zone (Janssen and Okker, 2006; Van den Hurk et al., 2006). These changes will * Corresponding author. Deltares, P.O. Box 177, 2600 MH Delft, The Netherlands. Tel.: þ31 883358446; fax: þ31 883358582. E-mail address: jan.mulder@deltares.nl (J.P.M. Mulder). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ocean & Coastal Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman 0964-5691/$ e see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2011.06.009 Ocean & Coastal Management 54 (2011) 888e897