Chapter 8 Natural Development and Human Activities on Saaremaa Island (Estonia) in the Context of Climate Change and Integrated Coastal Zone Management Are Kont, Jaak Jaagus, Kaarel Orviku, Valdeko Palginõmm, Urve Ratas, Reimo Rivis, Ülo Suursaar, and Hannes Tõnisson Abstract The coastal zone is a crucial environment that is experiencing pressure from a wide variety of different agents and interests. Many sandy beaches high in recreation value are suffering from increasing erosion, and the shoreline is receding in these areas despite of tectonic land uplift. Sediment deficit is evident in many places. One key problem in recent decades has been a rapid increase in the number of holiday houses built as close as possible to the seashore. Unlike in the Nordic countries, where major coastal settlement expansion took place after WWII, almost the entire coast of Estonia was, until 1991, proclaimed a Soviet border zone in which activities were strongly restricted. A revival in coastal land use and a rapid increase in coastal settlement have occurred over the last 15–20 years. This paper focuses on Climate Change impacts, natural and artificial changes on the coast of Saaremaa Island associated with increasing pressure and conflicting interests. We also examine the advantages and disadvantages of existing legislation regulating land use within the Estonian coastal zone in the context of integrated coastal zone management. The paper ends with an outlook. 8.1 Introduction Estonia’s coastal zone – with its long shoreline (3,800 km), strongly indented by peninsulas and bays, and dotted with a multitude of islands – is an attractive envi- ronment for human settlements and economic activity. The seashores surrounding both the mainland and Estonia’s islands are vulnerable and change quickly under the impact of different external factors (Orviku et al. 2003, Kont et al. 2003, 2008, etc.). Increasing activity in seashore dynamics in recent decades has been detected in many countries worldwide (Johansson et al. 2003, Langenberg et al. 1999, Lowe A. Kont (B ) Institute of Ecology, Tallinn University, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia e-mail: are145@gmail.com 117 G. Schernewski et al. (eds.), Global Change and Baltic Coastal Zones, Coastal Research Library 1, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0400-8_8, C  Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011