Beach nourishment projects, practices, and objectives - a European overview

The uses of beach fill in the countries of the European Union are highlighted and discussed with respect to the general situation, project type and objectives, design and evaluation procedures, legal framework, and financial aspects. As expected, significant differences were found among the investigated countries. In general, the study shows that it would be very profitable for south European countries to learn about the Dutch and German practices, particularly regarding the long-term coastal management and the regular monitoring of the coastal morphology. On the other hand, recent Dutch experience has shown that their legal system is a bit rigid, leading sometimes to renourishments that are less necessary to reach the global objective. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.