The Dutch coast consists of wide sandy beaches with high and wide dunes, with a total length of 250 kilometres. These dunes, together with the beach, the sea and the delta, form one interconnected untouched nature reserve.

Coastal management
Coastal practitioners and coastal managers are regularly faced with difficult day-to-day decisions on a variety of subjects ranging from coastal erosion and pollution to tourism development and urban expansion. In many countries with low lying coastal lands, such as The Netherlands, these issues become all the more urgent because of the changing climate that will accelerate sea level rise in the next decades. The Netherlands have along experience record with respect to coastal safety and sustainable development of coastal zones, that started many years ago with the study of civil engineering and hydraulic problems. But as time went by, societal preferences shifted, and the management of our coasts demanded a more integrated approach. Nowadays environmental, social and governance issues need to be matched with the more basic demands for safety and navigation. Integrated coastal zone management has become a key concept around the world and the Netherlands have proven to contribute to its implementation in a number of countries, both within and outside Europe. 
 
Sand suppletion
During the heavy storms in fall and spring, large parts of the beaches and dunes disappear in sea. During quiet times this process party corrects itself, but never to the full extent. Constructions of stone and asphalt cannot prevent these sandlosses.
To ensure a thorough protection against the sea, the government implements and executes a number of regulations which have been presented as the policy agenda for the coast. Read more about the Dutch policy for the coast...

To prevent the coastline from being swallowed by the sea, the government systematically adds extra sand from the sea to the dunes and on the beach. This technique is called sandsuppletion. In this way millions of cubic meters are added to the coastal zones.
Read more on coastal development and land reclamation... 

During the heavy storms in fall and spring, large parts of the beaches and dunes disappear in sea. During quiet times this process party corrects itself, but never to the full extent. Constructions of stone and asphalt cannot prevent these sandlosses. To ensure a thorough protection against the sea, the government implements and executes a number of regulations which have been presented as the policy agenda for the coast. To prevent the coastline from being swallowed by the sea, the government systematically adds extra sand from the sea to the dunes and on the beach. This technique is called sandsuppletion. n this way millions of cubic meters are added to the coastal zones.

Sealevel rise
The general assumption is that sealevels will rise faster than in the past. The average high and low tides will rise as well. The average high tides often rise faster than the average sealevel and the average low tides rise slower. 

A healthy sea
Dutch policies strive for a healthy sea and coast. Human activity in the North Sea and Waddensea is useful for society, but should not be done at the cost of a healthy ecosystem. When is the sea healthy? In brief, when all animals and plants can grow and reproduce.