Environmentally friendly coasts: dune breaches and tidal inlets in the foredunes. Environmental engineering and coastal management: A case study from The Netherlands

In the Netherlands historically almost all natural conditions in the coastal zone have been highly influenced by man. In 1990, the Government adopted a new coastal defence policy for the Netherlands for the enduring safety and sustainable preservation of the functions and values in the dunes by “dynamic preservation of the coastline” at its position in 1990 (“the base coastline”). Because of the natural flexibility of a dune coast, some allowance is made for movements of the coastline. Permitting sand drifts or even the formation of dune breaches and tidal inlets are some of the possibilities. The paper gives an overview of the value of existing dune breaches and tidal inlets and their potentials, and criteria for engineering tidal inlets. It ends with some conclusions and recommendations for implementing the possibilities of environmental engineering in the foredunes.