Volledige tekst van de Engelstalige video 'Sand for a sustainable coast'

(Word by word, the on-screen title appears: Sand for a sustainable coast. Voice-over:)

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VOICE-OVER: The sea level rises due to the current climate change.
Simultaneously, the land is subsiding due to natural causes and human intervention.
This may get worse in the coming years.
Unless we take action, the Dutch coastline will move land inward
at an average rate of 1 metre per year.
This has consequences to the safety of the hinterland,
natural spaces, recreational areas,
drinking water extraction and other coastal functions.

(An aerial view of the coast.)

In 1990, we decided on dynamically maintaining the coastline,
in order to prevent such consequences.
This is implemented based on sustainable maintenance of safety
and sustainable preservation of the functions and values in the dune zone.
Our strategy is to maintain the coastline at least at the basic coastline,
an imaginary, indicative line along our coast.
If this line is crossed, we assess whether or not we should act and how.
At the same time, we also aim to maintain the natural dynamic character of the coast.
This is implemented based on dynamic coastal management,
allowing for natural processes, such as shifting sands.
In order to compensate for the effects of rising sea levels and subsidence,
we add sand to the active part of the coast.
This is generally from the 10 metre depth line up to and including the beach.
Adding sand annually ensures
that the coast will balance out the rising sea levels in the long-term.
To compensate for the subsidence caused by factors such as extraction of minerals,
we also add sand to our coastal foundation.
The sand used in these so-called sand nourishments is taken seawards
of the coastal foundation.
In order to learn as much as possible about the sand nourishments
that we have performed since 1990,
we research the way water and sand are flowing,
the effectiveness of sand nourishment
and the impact of sand nourishment on the coastal ecology.
Where necessary, we adjust our policy, management and maintenance accordingly.

(Birds fly over a beach.)

Thanks to the knowledge we have gained
during such coastal research and the sand nourishments,
we have been successful in halting the structural erosion of our coast
in a cost-efficient way for more than 25 years.
Together with flood protection managers of the water boards,
we guarantee the safety of the hinterland,
keep the coastline and dunes in place, minimise disruption of nature
and ensure that the coastal functions are dynamically preserved.

(The Dutch coat of arms, next to: Rijkswaterstaat. Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The screen turns yellow and white. On-screen text: More information? Visit helpdeskwater.nl/kustoporde. A production of Rijkswaterstaat at the instructions of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management/DG Water and Soil. Copyright 2018.)

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