Erosion is eating away Europe's coasts.

• Author: Ayres, Ed
• Position: Environmental Intelligence

The beaches, sand dunes, and marshes along Europe's coasts are under growing threat from erosion, according to a study released by the European Commission in 2004. One-fifth of the coastlines of the newly expanded European Union are in retreat, most of them by between 0.5 and 2 meters per year--but with a few areas crumbling away at up to 15 meters per year. The worst of the losses have occurred in Poland, where 55 percent of the coastline is under assault. Other heavily affected states include Cyprus (with 37.8 percent eroding), Latvia (32.8 percent), Greece (28.6 percent), Belgium (25.5 percent), and Italy (23 percent).

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The study, "Living With Coastal Erosion in Europe: Sediment and Space for Sustainability," finds that the primary causes of the erosion are intensive coastal development and the mining of sand for concrete construction--or sediment for civil engineering projects. Development often displaces dunes and marshes that collect sediment and dissipate the destructive force of coastal waves or storms...